Dr Dhaval Mody: With a Large Population and Large Number of Children With Special Needs, We Have a Large Market Over Here

Dr Dhaval Mody of Vrudhi Educational and Technological Services Private Limited.

Tell us about yourself?

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist and mental health expert with more than 28 years of clinical experience especially working for children with special needs and youth mental health

. Professionally I have always been a teacher, trainer and therapist. Have been instrumental in using technology to deliver scalable models for mental healthcare. I have spearheaded two startups and have significant experience in building educational and healthcare solutions.

A tech enthusiast having trained at Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkotta for mental health data analytics, NIMHANS for life skills, and the US for computerized cognitive training for children with developmental disabilities.

I have presented at over 500 seminars, conferences and workshops and trained mental health professionals, doctors and teachers.

On the personal front, my wife is also a doctor with a specialisation in child and women’s health. I have twin daughters both pursuing their Masters in the US. My father still practices medicine and my mother is a homemaker.

What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you? 

Being an entrepreneur is a journey of self growth and introspection. I learnt to take up challenges and for a greater good, so accepting the highs and lows that come with it is the first learning. I like to call it the feeling of ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’.

It made me understand the tremendous perseverance required to follow your dream/ passion so that it sees the light of the day. I learnt that it’s important to be with people, network with people and to stick with people who have stuck with you, since no battle can be fought alone.

If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Good ideas and great intentions don’t work, we need good business proficiency. Having prior experience working for a company or running a company are of paramount importance. Everything is possible, be patient, ‘Patience Pays’ is something that i would want to advise myself.

A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?

I am blessed that my family supports me in every decision I take which has allowed me a free hand in managing my business.

The first year into the startup did consume most of my time but now that we have been able to streamline our processes, my efforts are concentrated on product enhancement.

I have a wonderful team and we have been able to support each other through family emergencies. Having said that, my medical practice is also crucial to me as I have been practicing for more than 28 years now.

So I have a 5-day working week. Saturdays are for medical practice and Sundays are for family.

Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?

in India, according to the Census of 2011, stated, that out of the 121 Crore population, 2.68 Crore people have disabilities, which is 2.21% of the total population in India. This brought to the fore the dire dearth of adequate resources and specific interventions for this population.

According to the ASER 2018 report: 56% of class 8 students can’t do basic math and 27% can’t read. Nationally 1 out of 4 children are leaving class 8 without basic reading skills. 84.8% of students of class 8 could read a class 2 level textbook in 2008.

The number has dropped to 72.8% in 2018. Half of all children in class 8 struggle with simple division operation. The COVID-19 crisis brought education systems across the world to a halt. The schools remained closed for millions of children, and as some may never return to school, the loss of learning that many children are experiencing is morally unacceptable.

Additionally, the potential increase of Learning Poverty might have a devastating impact on future productivity, earnings, and well-being for this generation of children and youth, their families, and the world’s economies.

School closures have caused large and persistent damage to children’s learning and wellbeing, the cost of which will be felt for decades to come, according to a new report launched by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP), co-hosted by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, and the World Bank.

Parental Issues From the conversation with parents or experts we have realised that it is difficult for parents to focus on different aspects of their child’s overall development, as they were confined to their homes during the COVID – 19 pandemic.

It has affected the educational, cognitive, behavioural and social areas, especially for children with disabilities. Children with disabilities suffered social isolation and had no academic help, giving rise to a need for providing an online learning platform.

School Issues: Not all schools have special educators Schools often at loss on how to manage special educators All teachers are not adequately trained to make classrooms more inclusive High rate of attrition among special educators in schools All these issues and significant challenges influenced us build SpEd@home

What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?

A strong founding team, with deep understanding and experience in the field made it easier to understand the market needs, doing market research and building the product easier.

While most competitors today are providing just 1-1 coaching through various online media, while there are others that are providing educational toys alongside coaching, we are curating an edtech platform that will change the way special education gets delivered globally.

How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?

Product and sales are at the heart of every business. Having a good product without a great sales team never will give results. Sales is an art and science, Art of communication and science of building/following processes/techniques, that help you sell.

Identify your users, define your business model, select your sales medium and finally deliver your commitment.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your business, and how did you overcome it?

There are a million challenges but the biggest challenge in todays time is building a team and maintaining it. Building a work culture and an environment of learning and growing makes things more effective.

While today even large organisations are struggling with a similar issue, so I would not say I have solved it all.

What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in India and the specific state you are in over other states in India?

With a large population and large number of children with special needs, we have a large market over here. While Mumbai is our as well as educational hub, its easier to source talent and do business

What (if any) are some weaknesses of operating your business within India and your state?

With a huge market, outreach and ease of business within India sometimes comes with its challenges, and thus often proves a weakness for operating business in India

If you could operate your business in another state in India rather than the State you are in, which state would it be and why?

Karnataka has a robust IT infrastructure, and we do see a great engineer talent there, also its a state with better acceptance for children with special needs, thus have better impact on our business in terms of acquiring more clients too

India has an incredibly diverse population. How has the affected your consumer base and business?

Diversity brings with it, its pros and cons. In our case for children with special needs we find pockets where these children are better accepted vs places where these children are not accepted, thus making it difficult to sell our products in those regions and clusters.

Infrastructure is really important to businesses. How have you seen India’s infrastructure improve recently? Do you see new opportunities opening up?

In the recent times, better internet penetration, good facilities for startups, better government support and funding has increased access to bigger markets and improved the way business is done.

What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years with your business?

Have very clear aspirations when it comes to business accomplishments ie.to touch a million lives by 2027 and to change the way special education gets delivered globally.

On personal front aspire to make way for a personal growth and development journey of empowering and enabling more youth to support them as they get into their entrepreneurial journey.

And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?

Good governance requires imposing tariffs, taxes for greater benefit and I believe that every individual should support the same

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