We had written about the incredible journey of Ayurveda based Wellness App, AyuRythm in 2021, when they had won the NICE Aarohana Business Plan Competition in 2021.
This article talks about their incredible growth story post the win, touching upon:
– how they were invited to Shark Tank India
– about AyuRythm making it to the Google top 10 Innovative app list
– being invited by Ministry of AYUSH to showcase Ayurythm during International Yoga Day
– launching their own line of Ayurvedic products under the brand name – RSaience
– collaborations with National and International brands
– Mr. Arjun Vaidya (Founder @ Dr. Vaidya’s) joining in as an advisor
And other important milestones.
The Ups and Downs of Popularity:
Winning the NICE Aarohana Business Plan Competition was a gratifying experience that validated all the hard work put in by the founders – Abhilesh Gupta, Ramnath Padmanabhan and Sandeep Acharya. The win gave them the impetus to explore bigger platforms like Shark Tank India.
They sent in their application on 21st June 202 and heard back from the Shark Tank India team in July, confirming receipt of the same. There was a screening process in the end of July where they made it to the initial cut. Post this, AyuRythm was selected for a studio round in the second week of October where about 198 enterprises were selected to go to Mumbai to do the shoot. In the 4/5 days they spent in Mumbai, the three founders of AyuRythm were trained in giving a 3-minute pitch by the Sony Liv team. Once the shoot was done, they got back to Bengaluru, without any confirmation or idea regarding when their pitch would be aired (if at all, that is).
Life went back to routine where the team continued to focus on their business. Then, on 20th December 2021, a glitch was found on their App. The AyuRythm App required User consent only in one place, and that was showing an error. On the 23rd December 2021, Google Play Store removed their App from their listing. The founders ran from pillar to post to get their App back on Google Store which eventually happened on the 29th December, when the App was re-stored (brought back with the original rating of 4.7). By this time, the team had almost given up on Shark Tank.
On the 28th of January 2022 which was a Friday, the team got a call from the Shark Tank India team asking for basic information like the correct spelling of the brand etc. On Sunday, the AyuRythm team was still uncertain about what to expect. Nevertheless, the team went into a frenzy of activity to ensure their servers were equipped to handle the traffic after the episode went LIVE. On Monday morning (31st January) their episode was aired.
They grossly miscalculated the magnitude of the impact. Their episode aired at 9.30 PM and their servers crashed at 9.40 PM. 150,000 people tried to log in on the AyuRythm App and then, 100,000 more tried. The result was disastrous. People started writing negative reviews, and the rating came down to 1.8 on the same night. To top it all, Play store has a policy that if an App is rated less than 2, they pull it down.
Certainly NOT what was expected. One day turned to a week and then to several weeks. There were many people who helped, including the Google team with whom they had built a kind of rapport, thanks to the earlier episode. The App went back, albeit with the lower rating, downloads down to half a million and the worst part – 8000 negative reviews.
There was only one way to salvage the situation, the founders of AyuRythm put all their energy into reaching out to their customers. They called thousands of users, told them the App was up again and to reconsider their review. It worked as people were kind enough to give the App a second chance. It was only then, that the three founders started cherishing each download.
Today, the App has a healthy 4.3 rating with over 6000 positive? reviews.
Collaborations and Growth Plans:
AyuRythm has been growing from strength to strength since. Here is a look at some important milestones:
2022
- MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Google announced to cohort 100 Indian early to mid-stage startups and help them to build high-quality global apps and games. A part of Google’s Appscale Academy, the initiative hopes to identify and support promising Indian startups and help them grow to successful global businesses. AyuRythm was chosen to be in the top 10 Innovative App list
- AyurRhythm made it to the top 2 at the Digital India Mission Week, Gandhinagar, partnered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This resulted in massive exposure and some long term planning.
- Central Council for Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN, Ministry of Ayush) certified AyuRythm’s technology as well as awarded AyuRythm as the best IT solution company.
- MeitY has been one of the great supporters of AyuRythm and they extend invitations of participation for all their initiatives. Being associated and recognised by the Government helps immensely as it adds credibility, opens avenues to network and grow
- In November 2022, with slightly less than a million users on its platform and a clearly distinguishable business strategy, AyuRythm launched Rsaience (rasain plus science). Under this brand were personalized products that a customer could pick depending on their current and inherent body type assessment. It is an App-driven experience where the consumer doesn’t have to worry about the schedules, seasons, or personal choices as someone is always around to help with queries.
- Rsaience products are made in a factory with 70 years of history, 4th generation of Ayurvedic doctors, spread over 12 acres of land in dense forests of Kerala where they even grow their own herbs, ancient cooking with most modern quality controls, formulations by one of top 5 Ayurvedic doctor in the world – Dr Sanjay Chhajed.
- Rsaience products range from hair care, face care, body care and breast care for women (35 products in vatta, pitta, kapha variants) and are available on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and the Rsaience website and AyuRythm website.
- The founders are as hands-on as they were on day one. Once the products are shipped in a packageable manner from Kerala to Bengaluru, the founders do secondary packaging and ship them out to the customers. Currently they have about 6-8 k users hitting their App everyday, they have started marketing by targeting them. Eventually, with a million downloads, and 200,000 monthly active users, they hope to scale up their business.
- Working towards becoming a part of the Samsung Health App. AyuRythm developed use cases, yogasana, kriya mudra, meditation, pranayam and personalized diet plans to showcase to the Samsung’s Research Team based in Noida
2023
- A couple of weeks ago, the team conducted a presentation to Sri Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and are working with his team to establish a partnership with Art of Living
- More recently, team AyuRythm explored how they can synergise with Patanjali over a discussion with Acharya Balakrishna at Haridwar
- AyuRythm has launched another solution (hardware cum App) called the Sahaj Nadi Yantra (SaNaaY). Made especially for doctors, the SaNaaY uses the bluetooth of an Oxymeter and helps them in assessing vikriti of the patient and view results. Around 150 devices have been sold since the launch.
- Talks are on with a company in the USA named Vayushakti, who want to repurpose the Oxymeter. There are some 130 million yoga trainers in the USA that they wish to reach out to, so they can use SANAAY and give the right kind of advice to their students. As a pilot, the two companies have mutually agreed to start their collaboration with an initial investment of 50,000 dollars from Vayushakti (AyuRythm to provide only software).
- In a recent development, Mr. Arjun Vaidya (Founder, Dr. Vaidya’s) has joined AyuRythm. Arjun Vaidya has been making waves in the Ayurvedic products industry in India for several years now, and his name is synonymous with quality, innovation, and success. As the founder of Dr. Vaidya’s, one of India’s most talked-about D2C Ayurvedic products brands, Arjun has transformed the way people view Ayurveda. His modern and innovative approach to Ayurvedic remedies has earned him a reputation as a trailblazer in the industry, and we are thrilled to have him on board to help guide our company’s growth.
“Since our early days, Arjun has been an instrumental figure in the development of the AyuRythm app, and his immeasurable guidance and support have been invaluable to the team throughout the journey. From the beginning stages of building the app, Arjun has been there holding the team’s hands and offering guidance and advice whenever it was needed to ensure that the app is not only effective, but also aligned with the values and principles of this ancient system of medicine, including initial product validation.
Arjun’s contribution to the AyuRythm project goes beyond his technical expertise. He has been a mentor and a friend to the team, always ready to listen, offer advice, and provide support when needed. His unwavering belief in the team and in the potential of the app has been a source of motivation and inspiration, and has helped to keep the team focused and committed to the project, even in the face of challenges and setbacks. His passion for Ayurveda and his commitment will enable us to bring the best possible products and digital solutions to our customers, for all product lines including RSaience, SaNaaY and AyuRythm”, believes Abhilesh Gupta, co-founder AyuRythm
Apart from several other Work in Progress arrangements, AyuRythm seriously wants to focus on Menopause and other woman centric solutions.
Moreover, team AyuRythm knows that Ayurveda lacks evidence, and therefore are now working with institutions to do joint analysis/ independent research.
Lots of people tried to acquire AyuRythm, but the founders found most investors lacked depth of understanding. They recognised the gap that others missed – Ayurveda is a personalized science.
As Abhilesh Gupta says, “we are the only company in the world sitting on Ayurvedic digital data points (we track 70 parameters) of three types – for academia, for industry, for consumers.” Imagine the possibilities!
The future is as big as they want it to be.
