STEM Entrepreneur with a Quest for Social Impact

Anagha Joshi is an US-based STEM entrepreneur. She successfully manages two ventures – CEO, Instaaserve Inc. and an eminent leader at Texas School of Mental Health (TSMH). Her ventures center around valuing the need of social impact. Instaaserve Inc. connects and help recruits doctors and physicians across USA. TSMH advocates for mental health and helps build network for mental well-being.

She is an entrepreneur with a passion for creating a difference and leaving the world a better place. Armed with two degrees in organic chemistry and several years of work experience in life sciences and pharmaceutical industry, Anagha Joshi charted her own path as an entrepreneur. Science and I was eager to know more about her story.

Tell us bit about yourself and your educational background.

I am currently the CEO & Founder of InstaaServe Inc. and President of Texas School of Mental Health LLC ( Anagha Joshi | LinkedIn). I have been a researcher for more than 15 years in Medicinal Chemistry and Oncology drug discovery. I was a part of the team that was awarded 17 US and International patents for research on different pathways of cancer and our work has produced successful drug candidates. I have two master’s degrees in Organic Chemistry from Savitribai Phule University, Pune and University of San Francisco, USA. I have done several certifications and courses in Drug design, Machine learning, Artificial intelligence (AI), and Psychology. I am going to pursue my PhD in Psychology.

Tell us about your ventures and your motivation for starting these ventures?

InstaaServe Inc. was born out of the need to bridge the delay in hiring qualified medical professionals due to the time required for credential checks in all 50 states, and complex background verifications and resume matching. These processes would take weeks or months and were mostly outsourced to other countries, causing further delays and human errors. According to American Hospital Association, by 2033 American medical industry would face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians and at least 200,000 nurses needed to be hired to meet rising demand. The pandemic accelerated this need. Partnering with InstaKnow’s Human Intelligence Automation (HIA), we were able to significantly reduce the time required for hiring process, increase accuracy markedly, and crucially reduce the cost by about 30% for our clients. HIA is a customizable, advanced, more reliable, and more scalable than regular robotic processing and uses human vision like scans to read across multiple document formats. Our customized services have been also applicable successfully in financial document scanning, background checks, scientific data scanning, and license verifications for other professionals, just to name a few.

Texas School of Mental Health LLC was formed in 2018 by Dr. Girish Lad in USA, India, and Netherlands, out of the need to form an innovative mental health services provider. I joined in 2020 as the President, as we both shared the same goal to raise awareness about mental health and provide unique and affordable mental health services.  During our research, we came across the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) report indicating that depression would be the second most common illness in the world and by 2030 mental health disorders would be the leading cause of illness and majority of those who need mental health care lack access to high-quality mental health services. According to American Psychological Association, In US, there are approximately 29 psychologists per 100, 000 people. In India, the figure drops to 0.75 psychiatrists & psychologists per 100,000 people. We wanted to bridge this gap, especially in India and hence we formed our company structure based on four verticals:

• Finishing School of Mental Health – Here we will be covering the applicability gap between academics and practical training.
• Centers for Mental Health – Our efforts to open centers in different parts of the world, providing comprehensive mental care services under one roof. We have identified 4 niche areas for our focus- Oncology, Pregnancy, Obesity & Screen De-addiction.
• Corporate & Community mental health services- The COVID-19 pandemic drove home the importance of mental health interventions. We conducted various workshops on Mental Health & Pandemic Wellbeing, Gita & Stress Management, Silly Point (a psychological awareness program paired with anecdotes from cricketing world), Yoga & Mental Health, Importance of Patanjali Yogasutras in modern mental health, and Corporate Mental Health Policy
• In Research & Awareness – Collecting data & conducting awareness programs through various mediums and using state of the art techniques.

Whom does your ventures cater to and what is your vision and mission for your ventures?

Our AI automation clients are mostly mid to big sized healthcare staffing companies, financial institutions, and almost any industry that requires license, security, and background verification. My mission is to expand our footprint in the world of customizable automation solutions and provide unique services that are futuristic. We are always looking to innovate and adept to current demands. Our Mental Health services are catered towards big institutions and corporations that are passionate about providing mental health support to their employees, social welfare groups who are already doing awareness programs, professionals, students, and communities. We recently inaugurated our first of its kind in the world, independent Psycho-oncology Center in Pune, India. This center will provide the latest mental health services to individuals with cancer, their families, and caregivers, social workers, medicinal professionals, and cancer survivors, under one roof. We have tied up with Rising India Research Foundation, the local NGO and will provide services at little or no cost to families in need. India is in dire need of quality mental health awareness and services, and this is just our first step towards providing them. We are also tying up with partners across the world and looking forward to creating a larger impact in this arena.

What are the challenges in your business, what has been your support system and how do you define success for your ventures?

Challenges are a plenty, as they always are when we are trying to provide innovative and out of the box solutions that change the course of things. It requires perseverance to partner with and hire people who are not just well qualified but can also share your vision and are willing to put in equal dedication. Innovating includes being able to keep navigating and motivating through failures, not losing sight of the goal. Community services and awareness projects require a lot of patience and tact to get the point across of what is beneficial for the individual as well as the society. It has been especially hard in some parts of India, where people are unwilling to talk about and accept the need for mental health services. We had to use unique approaches like story-telling or role play to break the ice. It has been an amazing learning lesson for me, and I have been fortunate enough to be connected with people who are doing amazing work in this area.   Family and friends have been my greatest support through all of this. My husband, who is a busy senior executive himself, has been very supportive through my crazy hours and zoom calls. My son (16) has been my buddy and helps me with small office chores. My parents have encouraged my vision of social entrepreneurship and are my cheerleaders. My closest friends have provided me with advice, feedback, and the necessary therapeutic break when I need one.

What would your tips be to women entrepreneurs and also to NRIs looking to start ventures in India?

My advice to women who want to enter entrepreneurship is that if you have the drive, the vision, and the grit to follow your passion, take the leap with confidence! It is not an easy route and just like the corporate world, gender bias is present in business as well. You must be willing to challenge bias, advocate for yourself and pave the way for other female entrepreneurs. It is important to establish and grow your network. Personal relationships and professional networks provide the right emotional support and network to get off on the right foot. Building a community geographically or digitally helps spread the word faster and get the right contacts. I would highly support NRI’s who want to start ventures in India, especially in the field of social and cultural impact. There is a big need for people like me who have experienced the ease of availability of services and information for total wellbeing and important socio-economic issues in the western world, to try and bring those to India. There is a huge sense of pride when we as NRI’s can create even the slightest impact for the betterment of our country.

How do you maintain work-life balance and how do you unwind?

It is definitely a struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance in the always-available digital world and I have been able to, through trial and error, try to limit my hours of work. I enjoy spending time with my teenager and diligently attend his rock band performances. I am a staunch bibliophile and books provide me the necessary escape from real world J I try to read 2 books a month or more as my time permits. I enjoy good art, music, movies and food and vacations are a must, even if it is a small getaway for a day or two. I volunteer a lot in my free time and have been involved with several groundbreaking charities, from food donations for the needy, clothing and shelter for the homeless, rehabilitation of women impacted by trafficking or domestic abuse to raising awareness for cancer and mental health issues.

What is your professional dream and your motto in life?

Social entrepreneurship and a goal geared towards creating a positive social impact or change has always been my dream. I want to leave the world with a sense of satisfaction that I worked towards trying to make the world a better place and contributed my drop in the ocean. I want to be a woman entrepreneur that will support and encourage others like me. I love this quote by Swami Vivekananda that has been my motivation, “Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead. If you lose, you can guide.”