The young Bangladeshi entrepreneurs who care about mental health
Former participants of Generation Unlimited's imaGen Ventures Youth Challenge, a team of entrepreneurs is now helping young people improve their mental health through an innovative app.
Seeing how young people’s mental health was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Jahnnobi Rahman, MD Shamiul Islam Shopnil and Naimul Hoque Joy set about creating a mobile app to help. The Relaxy app offers a friendly and safe environment where young people can talk about their emotions without fear of judgment.
During the pandemic’s peak, young people were hit hardest by loneliness, suffering significant symptoms of anxiety and depression. Users of the Relaxy app can access online psychological well-being services, such as group counseling and one-to-one support. Members of this community can also support one another with their relationship issues, stress and feelings of anxiety.
“Don’t be afraid to feel what you are feeling,” says Jahnnobi, of the sentiment behind the platform. “Your emotions are real. No matter how sad you are, you are never alone with Relaxy.”
Building new skills
To turn their idea into reality, the team from Bangladesh took advice from experts such as psychologists, therapists and academics. While creating the Relaxy app and their startup of the same name, the three young entrepreneurs gained valuable business skills, like multitasking, delegation and decision-making.
The trio also believes that having to take part in board meeting discussions meant that they honed their communication skills – helping them to better negotiate with stakeholders. Connecting with partners has also made them great listeners, which all three consider an essential skill for running a new business.
The experience of reaching out to potential partners taught the team the importance of connecting with people from various backgrounds and areas of expertise. Jahnnobi believes that gaining networking skills was the most valuable part of this process: “Through a solid network, we met professionals to fund our ideas, accessed professional business expertise, and got feedback on our new venture.”
Developing an app is a creative and innovative process, so the group knew that they would have to take some risks. What’s more, they learned while implementing Relaxy that risk-taking is an essential step in running a business. In Shamiul’s opinion, taking calculated risks can result in huge success: “Risk is an opportunity to learn and grow a business to the next level.”
Managing a new company can be challenging as problems will arise along the way. The group believes that their critical thinking and problem-solving skills have helped them build strategies to grow their business, manage unexpected situations and reach a successful result.
Growing a business
Set up by a team of five in 2020, this mental health startup now comprises 15 young employees. Relaxy also has 25 Wellness Ambassadors based at various educational institutions in Bangladesh.
Since launching Relaxy, the team has provided access to more than 200 therapy consultations and hosted 12 live sessions to educate youth on mental health stigma and how to deal with emotions. In its first month alone, the app was downloaded more than 2,500 times and attracted 1,640 active users (with an average screen time of 15 minutes per day).
The team relates their success to a job-specific skill that they acquired on this journey: customer service.
“Excellent customer service was essential for us to ensure the success of our business,” says Naimul. “From talking to clients to discussing funding opportunities, it has helped us to connect with our potential customers.”
For aspiring entrepreneurs planning to set up in business, the team advises focusing on developing leadership skills to know how to motivate employees, manage operations and delegate tasks. Their final tip is to really understand the problem that you want to solve.
“There is nothing better in this world than to see that your solution is actually helping people, so keep hustling to improve your business idea,” says Naimul. “You will get there eventually. Best of luck!”
Launching a new imaGen Ventures Youth Challenge in Bangladesh
The founders of Relaxy gained exposure into entrepreneurship and innovation as participants of Generation Unlimited's imaGen Ventures Youth Challenge in Bangladesh back in 2020.
The latest edition of the youth challenge is open for applications until 15 September 2022, with a focus on solutions to tackle the climate emergency in the country.
Apply here.
