A Sure shot way to a great Work Life balance: Avinash Singh, Founder Healthji

India is a country where health is not considered a priority. Though the business of Gyms, Spas, and diet pills is running amazingly, there is a huge population, which is falling sick due to various diseases everyday. BP levels are high and Professionals in almost all the sectors constantly feel stressed, overworked, unhealthy and irritated. The only concern is about the deadlines; workout plans usually get postponed and never get started. Sometimes, even if they start, unending work keeps them away!!!

Healthji is a venture by a seasoned professional who has spent years in the corporate world leading various initiatives but finally stopping to do something for the benefit of all. Avinash Singh, decided to give back to the society after his long stint in the corporate world and the vision was one “To make every Indian professional realize the importance of good health and take proactive measures to avoid disease”. 

But how did such a healthy idea emerge? Avinash tell us “Indians genetically and due to our food choices have a high predisposition to various Lifestyle Diseases such as Diabetes (we now have the dubious honour of being the Diabetes Capital of the World), Obesity, High Cholesterol etc. Moreover, work-life balance is skewed with people working 14 to 15 hour shifts in India's software and BPO/ITES Industry.

Hypertension, High Cholesterol, Diabetes, Weight and Stress, Burn out Issues are Prevalent. Though the western world has taken a notice of importance of wellness of employees and individuals long time ago, India is still far behind. I realized that there was a need to do something in this area and thus Healthji. I wanted to focus on empowering our corporate professionals to take control of their Health and Wellness. Through our diagnostic tools they can understand the risks and then avail of a series of online self-help modules with a wealth of content to work towards improving their “Health Quotient”

Healthji  and Desidieter are two initiatives by this “health conscious” entrepreneur, with a focus on Demand Side Health Economics which works on reducing Health Risks through proactive Prevention – an area which is extremely underserved in India and for Indians Globally. While Healthji services include Health Risk Assessment, Personal Health Record Archive, Family Health Tree, Good Health Good Life Resources like Video, eBooks, LiveSmart Series etc. for corporate employees, Desidieter is more Individual based and consumers interested in Diet and Fitness can take packages which give them access to tools and services which include online access to Health Experts such as Dieticians, Fitness Experts over chat, email or phone.

“A healthy lifestyle and a little concentration towards good health of its employees can do wonder for an organization. Our services help the organizations by Improving Health Levels and Enhancing Morale of its employees, Reducing Absenteeism, Improving Productivity and thus Reduced Healthcare costs.” Avinash explains.

But it wasn’t easy for Avinash too to leave a cushy job and enter into unpredictable world of entrepreneurship, particularly when the task in hand is so challenging. He says “We have to do a lot of “missionary work” to explain to Indian Corporate Customers the tangible value of our services. So while this is a proven and extremely well adopted business model in the Western world, it will take a while for Indian customers to see the value. But then the creativity and sheer will that it takes to build a business grounds up, particularly one which is a bit of a path-breaker, keeps me going.”

When we have startling facts like - The number of people with Type 1 + Type 2 Diabetes in India expected to cross 200M by 2012 or Incidence of Coronary issues among South Asians the highest amongst various ethnic groups globally, one cant help applaud the great gesture by this entrepreneur. Many big firms in India have already taken the path of “Corporate wellness” but it is something else that makes Avinash happy - finding great investors, a fantastic advisory board, a phenomenal team, tremendous partners, amazing customers, some really insightful mentors and well-wishers!!!

There are no successes without failures and Avinash seems to be a pro in handling them. He admits “We Made quite a few mistakes, learnt from each of them, took a deep breath – and moved onwards towards our goal of becoming India’s Premier Health and Wellness Portal with a Brand Synonymous with Good Health and Good Life for Indians Globally.”

With experience from both the corporate and entrepreneurial world, Avinash leaves us with few essential tips for the budding entrepreneurs. He points them out “Perseverance and Patience really are virtues. The only true value that creates all other values (investor, employee etc) is Customer Value. Be willing to Listen and Learn ALWAYS, but be prepared to make tough Decisions yourself. Be willing to be flexible as you build out your Business Model and

Don’t forget…You can build an empire only if you are healthy enough to run it!!!

We hope this article will inspire all our Entrepreneurs and readers to be very conscious about wellness of their body, heart, mind and soul and live a healthy life.

Yourstory is glad to be associated with Healthji and wish Avinash and the whole team a lot of success in making this phenomenal venture reach out to every Indian.

Be healthy!!! Stay Healthy!!!