India Angel Fund Invests in Mental Wellness Startup - IPHM Services

IPHM Services has succeeded in raising a seed round of funding from India Angel Fund, most of them Women Entrepreneurs, also first time angel investors.

New age healing assistance, IPHM Services (Integrated Personalized Health Care Management), helps design programs and workshops for the psychological well-being of individuals and employees of large organizations. 

Founded by Dr. Sachin Bhavsar, IPHM believes that the Heart, Body, Mind and Soul are four pillars of life and an integrated system that needs constant nurturing. Their services aim to assist individuals to reach their own potential by developing skill sets within them, pertinent for their good health, emotional and mental well-being. 

An influx of funds would mean training more individuals, employees and aspiring entrepreneurs to reach their potential growth and increase general productivity within an individual. Afterall, all these aspects are interlinked and a positive push in any direction would enhance our own offering. 

Speaking on this fundraise, Dr. Sachin Bhavsar, Founder - IPHM Services said, "While we have always believed in nurturing the four attributes for a healthy living, there is also very little awareness of the real-time applications and the rapidly evolving technological advances in the healthcare system. This infusion would mean creating cognizance at the grass-root level and would definitely ameliorate the overall health economy."

Being a subject matter expert and an integral part of IPHM Services, Sneh Kulkarni, Co-founder – IPHM Services remarks, "There was always a need-gap between awareness about mental health and real-time use of technology in the healthcare system. We are now one world that has been connected digitally and therefore, it becomes easier to really understand societal structures and socio-economic backgrounds. This enables us to understand the different cultures that people come from, and offer a personalized approach to helping these individuals."    

First time angel investor and an alumni from IIM Ahmedabad, Monaliesa Sarkar said, “I have been working actively with various NGOs and government bodies in Delhi NCR and I cannot stress enough on the need for more startups to emerge in the mental health space. I also love the fact that an inspiring person like Dr. Sachin is matched by a powerhouse of energy which is Sneh Kulkarni. I am also kicked that this deal is led by women angels like me, Jyoti, Koel and Sabana and we have a woman entrepreneur like Sneh. I have always advocated that Women Angels should actively lead from the front and back other Women Entrepreneurs.” 

Women are now stepping up as angel investors and putting their energy, time & money in industries that are not only growing but are also adding value to the well-being of the nation. Speaking on this, women entrepreneur Jyoti Tiwari said, “I have been a healthcare professional for more than 15 years and absolutely agree that mental health is the key to overall health and wellness and our immunity can only be built by working on the MIND and not just the body. I am also making my first angel investment and just love the fact that it's a woman co-founder like Sneh Kulkarni on the other side apart from the inspiring Dr. Sachin.”

The third women angel investor on this project is a powerhouse with 17+ years of experience in corporate retail and also runs a successful startup. Koel Dutta said, “Having been a professional for 17 + years and having successfully exited from my last startup TieKart, I am now making my first Angel investment thanks to my old friend Rahul Narvekar and I am sure we 4 women angel investors can work with mentoring Sneh on how to build this company, since I have also run a successful startup.”    

The 4th women Angel Investor Sabana Khatoon also an IIM A Alumni, wearing multiple hats as a business woman, active in various initiatives in Kolkatta from helping run TEDxChowringhee to various entrepreneur networks said, "Being a single woman entrepreneur and having myself seen so many cases in the past few months of mental health issues, I am quite excited to make my first Angel Investment and that to with Sneh Kulkarni and Dr. Sachin.”. 

“Being a Doctor I always tell everyone that mental health manifests into physical health and especially in such challenging times, it is more so. I am awed by the personal journey of Dr. Sachin, multiple surgeries, amputation and still he is so positive and an absolute role model for everyone. I also love the positive energy that all the women here bring as a team. This is also my first Angel investment and I like the fact that it's in a space I am personally involved in too”, said Dr Vikaas Grover, a doctor by profession and a startup enthusiast.

India Angel Network has made another seed investment of Rs. 25 lakhs into IPHM Services. Speaking on this deal Rahul Narvekar, Co-founder IAF said “Mental Health is a subject which has been amplified in mainstream conversations recently and especially in these times of uncertainty and fear and overall negative atmosphere, it has brought home the fact that we need to openly talk about this but also address and heal. I was introduced to Sneh and Dr. Sachin by Rajiv Dabhadkar and was completely awed by their dedication and deep domain expertise in this space. Dr. Sachin’s personal journey is a story of grit and determination and that is the key ingredient for any entrepreneur. Interesting to note that this has turned into a women dominated deal. We have an awesome majority of women entrepreneurs and I believe that women make the best entrepreneurs, CEOs and Angel Investors. Women do multitasking routinely, are more open about sharing and are natural care givers and that’s what mental health platforms need. Also all the four Angel Investors are first time Angels and I would LOVE to see more women become Angel Investors.”

About Integrated Personalized Healthcare Management Services

The USP of the IPHM service is “Nurturing health in heart, body, mind, and soul. IPHM believes that this is an integrated system that works on these four pillars. If one fails then life becomes unbalanced. IPHM offers services such as Stress management, Women wellness, Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Integrated HR is the Programme designed by Integrated Personalised Healthcare Management for the Corporates. IPHM evolves into the mainstream functions of organisations, the remote work revolution predicts further possibilities and is here to stay. Every organization needs to make new strategic choices and also equally need to take care of employee’s mental health.

Fujifilm India Organizes Virtual Workshop ‘Xperience’ with Commercial Photographer Zack Arias

Fujifilm India Private Limited, a pioneer in imaging technologies is organizing a Virtual Workshop ‘Xperience’ with Commercial photographer Zack Arias. The workshop will be hosted by Radhakrishnan Chakyat, Commercial Photographer and founder of Pixel Viilage YouTube Channel and go live on Fujifilm’s YouTube handle on 24 July at 7pm.

To inspire the passionate photographers at home, the company has invited Zack Arias to share his journey in photography and his amazing experiences with Fujifilm's range of cameras and lenses. Zack is an Atlanta-based editorial and commercial photographer who belongs to the growing circle of photographers enthused by the new camera. He started enjoying photography when he was about 15 years old and has been pursuing it as a career for over twenty years.

Zack started his journey with Fujifilm X100 camera and has been using it to travel the world.  With his excellent photography skills, he cherishes the Fujifilm range of cameras for their incredibly sharp lens, seamless performance, incredibly handy grip that it offers to all travelers. During the ‘Xperience’ webinar, Zack will be sharing his journey with Fujifilm and giving advice on how to choose the right gear for first-time buyers and professional photographers in the country.

Commenting on the webinar, Mr. Arun Babu, General Manager Electronic Imaging and Optical Devices Division, Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd, said, “As majority of the country's workforce is working from home, we at Fujifilm believe that it is essential to find leisure time during these challenging times. We have associated with renowned photographers such as Zack Arias and Radhakrishnan Chakyat to share insights, support our passionate customers through these educational sessions and help them dive deeper into photography and videography skills during their time at home.”

With this workshop, Fujifilm aims to teach various kinds of photography styles ranging from wedding, documentary, fashion and commercial photography to even shooting videos. Join the experts in discovering & sharing new techniques, smart tips, great fun and true passion.

Don't miss this opportunity! Mark your calendar to register yourself at https://fujifilmxindia.com/events/ffw51/  and login Fujifilm YouTube handle.

Air Deccan Gopinath proposes low-cost campaign in polls

To reach his electorate as well as keep costs within the stipulated budget of Rs 25 lakh for election campaigning, Air Deccan founder G. R. Gopinath is resorting to viral marketing, SMS messages, and e-mail.

Gopinath, who is standing as an Independent candidate from Bangalore South constituency, India's IT capital, has also launched a dedicated website with provision for suggestions, advice and feedbacks.

"We are using viral marketing techniques to keep our costs within the sum allotted by the Election Commission," said Gopinath. Viral marketing is a low-cost marketing technique that uses pre-existing social networks to increase brand awareness. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet, or any form of video clips, images, or even text messages.

As per Gopinath, the email blasters were done with database received from volunteers instead of buying the database. The SMSs are being sent free by service providers who are his well-wishers. Even the social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are free sites.

Gopinath said he opted to contest these elections with the backing of Infosys Technologies' Nandan Nilekani and Mohandas Pai, Pradeep Kar of Microland; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and brand guru Harish Bijoor.

CXOtoday

After losses Lenovo announces management changes

Chinese PC maker Lenovo, which today announced a loss of $96.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, said CEO William J. Amelio resigned in a management reshuffle.

While Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi would return as the chairman of the company, present chairman Yang Yuanqing will return as CEO in the place of Amelio, Lenovo said in a statement.

Observing that the next several quarters will be "very challenging for Lenovo and the rest of the PC industry", Lenovo said the worldwide restructuring program announced on January 8 is expected to save the company approximately US$300 million in the 2009/10 financial year.

"In the past quarter, same as many other companies, Lenovo was deeply impacted by the global economic turmoil," said Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing. "We have taken actions to ensure that in an uncertain economy, our business operates as efficiently and effectively as possible, and continues to grow in the future."

The PC maker said its global sales of US$3.59 billion for the reporting quarter is 20 per cent less compared with the same period of 2007.

"The Group's results were impacted principally by slowdown of the Chinese PC market in which it has significant market share and demand reduction in the worldwide commercial PC segment," the company statement said.

On January 9, Lenovo had announced that the company is going tolay off 2,500 employees, nearly 11 per cent of its work force.

Is the Apple founder Steve Jobs dead?

Hijacking a Web feed of the Macworld 2009 conference, hackers have made spoof announcements about the death of Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple.

Earlier this week, Jobs clarified persistent rumours about his health saying that he is suffering from health problems caused by a hormone imbalance.

However, the entire Web world was inundated with false claims of his demise via a fabricated live feed from Macworld Expo after hackers managed to breach security on a well-respected website.

The hackers fiddled with the micro-blogging feed at Macrumorslive.com, which was running smoothly through the first 23 minutes of the keynote speech given by Phil Schiller, senior vice president of marketing at Apple.

But, out of nowhere a message was posted that said, "Steve Jobs just died."

While the micro-blogging feed continued with developments about iPhoto, it was after three minutes that the feed came up with a clarification.

"Retraction on Steve Jobs comment ... we don't know how that got in our feed. Steve did not die," The Telegraph quoted the feed, as saying.

Another message came soon after, and said, "Oh wait, sorry, Steve did die. Our condolences."

The hackers were found to have affiliation with a website called 4Chan.The anonymous participants of 4Chan have discussed a number of high-profile online pranks, including attacks on the Church of Scientology and the breach of a Yahoo email account belonging to vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

"Our MacRumorsLive keynote coverage was hacked today, inserting inappropriate content into the text and photo feeds. We apologise for the inconvenience and are working to restore our services," read an item on Macrumors.com.

While bloggers have claimed that the site's passwords have been out on 4Chan since a day before the hack, but the claims have not been confirmed as yet.

Agencies