Startup Story # 18: Did you forget to take your pill?

Founding team: (L-R) Geeta Gajelli, Vaibhav Kulkarni, Madhura Pande

“Don’t forget to take the yellow and red pill immediately after lunch.”- how often are these instructions from the doctor forgotten due to your daily routine? A visit to the doctor, results in prescriptions that must be strictly followed for effectiveness. Even missing one dose can take its toll on your health. Vaibhav Kulkarni, has a solution with his startup called Anandakanda (Sanskrit term for long term healing process). With a background in hospitality and strong marketing and business development skills, the entrepreneur has innovated a simple medicine reminder app. A technology based startup that develops medicine intake reminder system or MIRS product and is into e-prescriptions and maintaining medical records.

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With an alarming rise of health issues and unhealthy lifestyle conditions, this technological advancement in the healthcare industry can add tremendous value according to the founder. “Due to our busy day and night schedules we often tend to forget to take care of our health. This category of individuals includes everyone from home makers, working individuals, teenagers to senior citizens. We found several opportunities in these constraints and began Anandakanda in 2014,” says Kulkarni. Beginning as a sole founder, Kulkarni was later joined by Madhura Pande and Geeta Gajelli as co-founders. Both of whom have an engineering background.

Anandakanda targets not only those who require reminders but medical professionals and health instructors as well. To break it down, the software enables doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, health management system companies as well as dieticians, nutritionists, gyms, fitness coach, personal trainers and health clubs to ease their job. “People are now adopting healthier lifestyles, but the issue of forgetfulness or being busy still prevails. To solve this issue our software as a service (SAAS) based technique aids a doctor to help their patients or supports a trainer/dietician/nutritionist to help their clients to stick to healthy living by taking medicines on time or following a proper diet,” explains the creator.

mirsThe software further assists doctors in the healthcare sector by creating e-prescriptions and storing medical history digitally rather than in files.  “We were trying to influence doctors who are very used to the pen and paper method of writing prescriptions, to use a computer. We faced several challenges on this front. Later, we changed our approach and reached out to hospital software developing companies directly,” says Kulkarni.

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The Pune based startup now operates out of Nagpur and Sri Lanka as well and plans to expand to 10 new cities across India. Despite undergoing risks with the startup, Kulkarni claims, “within just two years of our operations we were able to generate a database of 10 lakh individuals with 30 lakh prescriptions, giving us insights about the medical condition of each individual.” Setting up in Pune did have its disadvantages as Kulkarni feels that the city is “still in the development phase of providing the perfect startup ecosystem.”

On being asked about his long term goals with Anandakanda, Kulkarni says, “We started with an aim to help individuals stick to healthier lifestyles. We wanted every individual to be healthy and to recover faster from illness. Today, having our base already set we wish to become the best reminder platform in all verticals and aim to provide analytical solutions to healthcare and wellness industry.”

Zeenat Tinwala