Managing your mind is only a phone call away

Khyati Dharamsi

A Bangalore-based start-up uses a combination of neurosciences and technology to help people overcome their fears and achieve their full potential.
Srinivas is your typical Class IX teenager who hated Maths and whose scores barely made the grade. On the advice of a friend, the lad passed up coaching classes, picked up the phone and dialled a ‘genie’ for help. Srinivas no longer fears Maths and now consistently scores in the 90s. This modern-day genie doesn’t emerge from a magic lamp. It has a phone number. And instead of three wishes, you get three phone calls to get your wish – achieving emotional wellness and mental fitness to tackle the challenges that life throws at you. This genie is part of Myndgenie, a company that offers phone-based coaching. It promises to change the way you think, keep stress at bay and help you live to your full potential. Headquartered in Bangalore, Myndgenie was founded by V Bharathwaj in January 2012. It combines technology and neurosciences to ‘condition the mind to achieve its goals, break through mental blocks and exist in a state of peak productivity at all times’. “We use different techniques to help all manner of people, from students, to professionals, to homemakers,” reveals Bharathwaj, who chucked a decade-long corporate career to follow his passion for behavioural sciences. “Say, an individual is afraid of dogs. He undergoes Systematic De-sensitisation, whereby he is taken on a journey from listening to a dog bark to touching a dog, over the course of five to six weeks. In Rapid Mind Conditioning, which we are in the process of patenting, the change happens within 45-60 minutes instead of 6 weeks. This is because we work on structures and analyse parts of the brain that store information, process information and the sensory experiences linked to them,” explains Bharathwaj. How It Works
To schedule an appointment, you need to call Myndgenie, who will then email you two software links that direct you to two apps. One is Mynd Code, an online brain pattern profiler that helps you understand how your brain thinks in terms of emotions and feelings. The second app is Mynd Quotient, which reveals the sate of your mental health. Over the course of three telephonic conversations, a dedicated coach will guide you on techniques that help you work through your mental and emotional issues for a fee of Rs 1,750. The Opportunity
“While working with US-based multinational ITW and later with 24/7 Customer as their Global CMO, I experienced stress that is common in the corporate world and that impacts productivity. This led me to behavioural sciences. I trained in India as well as in the US, which helped me grow in my career,” says Bharathwaj. There are a host of behavioural science techniques available to people but Bharathwaj realised early on that most people do not use them in their daily lives. Myndgenie has plugged this gap with its easy-to-access coaching service. Revenue Model
Myndgenie, is self-funded and is now looking at getting seed funding. “We initially adopted a workshop-based model but thanks to the phone-based service, we are able to service calls from Dubai, Hyderabad and even a pilot in the US. We thought of the phone-based model keeping in mind scalability of business,” explains Bharathwaj. The company initially offered a single-session service for Rs 1,000, but re-priced it in October 2012 to Rs 1,750 for three sessions. It is in the process of designing an annual package, starting January 2013. Since it began operations 11 months ago, Myndgenie has conditioned 1,000 people with seven coaches The company plans to increase the number of coaches and is also setting up an academy, where professionals will undergo a three-to-four week training programme. Success Stories
Myndgenie services both corporate and individual clients. “Café Coffee Day was our first corporate client and we continue to train their teams,” says Bharathwaj, who is happy to share some unusual success stories. “There was this gentleman who was to run the half marathon three days later. He had been practising for five years but developed cramps and had to stop running after 15 km. We gave him specific techniques to use and he told a 35-member audience that he had applied the techniques and could successfully complete the half marathon.” Bharathwaj says his coaching service has helped professionals who couldn’t make presentations, people who have issues with establishing a rapport or feel persecuted at work and those who suffer from low self-esteem, among many other types of issues. “Issues like these always impact productivity and hold people back,” Bharathwaj points out. But Myndgenie can change all that. Getting past conventional mindsets is not easy and Bharathwaj is all too aware of that. “Mental fitness is a new concept in this country and training to achieve it is considered eccentric.” But a company that it deals with overcoming mental blocks is more than game to take on the challenge. You can send your feedback on smementor@moneycontrol.com or simply post comments below