I had the pleasure of talking last week with Hemanshu Jain, founder of Khyaal, an engagement platform for senior citizens in India. We discussed his entrepreneurial journey, lessons learned from past failures, and advice for startup founders based on his experience building both Diabeto and now Khyaal.
Lessons from Serial Entrepreneur Hemanshu Jain
Hemanshu Jain is an experienced entrepreneur in India, having successfully built and exited his previous startup Diabeto before founding his current venture Khyaal.
Early Beginnings
Hemanshu started Diabeto in 2012 to build a hardware glucometer along with his co-founder who had a pharmacy background. It began as a passion project fueled by their interest in hardware and grew into a full-fledged startup.
Diabeto struggled initially to raise funds in India since hardware startups were still rare. Through perseverance and continuously learning, they were able to build out the product and company.
Pivoting for Success
After realizing diabetes management solutions weren't taking off in India, they pivoted Diabeto's model for the US market in 2017. Being adaptable and not rigid on the original idea was key to finding the right product-market fit.
Diabeto was eventually acquired successfully, but he says the 5 year journey also had many failures before getting there. Failing fast and changing course was crucial.
Tips for Founders
Hemanshu stresses the importance of building a strong team aligned to the founding mission. He suggests founders spend significant time on hiring, as the right team makes up the foundation.
On difficult days, he recommends focusing on your customers and their positive feedback rather than third-party criticism. Finding motivation through creating real impact is key.
He says being adaptable to change and persisting through failures has helped him develop resilience as an entrepreneur.
New Venture - Khyaal
Khyaal aims to provide digital literacy, community support, and upskilling for seniors.
He took a different approach this time by first building an audience and community of elderly people before designing the product. He advises entrepreneurs to continuously gather customer feedback and be flexible.
What is Khyaal?
Hemanshu Jain is the founder of Khyaal, an engagement platform for senior citizens in India. He started Khyaal after realizing that many elderly people feel lonely, especially after losing a spouse or friends.
The inspiration for Khyaal came during the COVID-19 pandemic when Hemanshu spent more time with his father and understood the difficulties faced by seniors living alone. Initial ideas were around building hardware products with sensors to track health vitals, but through talking to seniors, Jain realized the bigger need was around solving digital literacy and providing community.
Khyaal began informally on WhatsApp groups where they offered free digital literacy workshops to seniors on topics like online shopping, transportation, and entertainment. This organic growth led to over 10,000 seniors joining their WhatsApp groups. They then built a mobile app as their MVP to offer a more private community platform.
Some key benefits Khyaal provides are:
* Digital literacy training to help seniors use smartphones and apps confidently
* Support groups to discuss grief, loss and other mental health issues
* Entertainment content and games to reduce loneliness
* Financial services tailored for seniors like fraud protection
India has over 140 million seniors currently, but this will double in the next 5 years presenting a huge market opportunity. Khyaal aims to be the one-stop solution for the elderly to live life happily and independently.
Summary
Hemanshu Jain's journey shows how perseverance through failures and a willingness to pivot are key traits for startup success. His focus on listening to customers provides valuable insights for founders as they build and refine products to solve real problems. He emphasizes that aligning your team to the social mission creates an energized culture. His experiences at both Diabeto and now Khyaal demonstrate that experienced entrepreneurs continue learning and evolving with each new venture. His advice stresses being flexible, responsive to user feedback, and resilient when faced with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. His insights provide motivation and practical guidance for the next generation of startup founders in India.
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