Interview with Chinmoy Mishra, Co-Founder - AllizHealth

AllizHealth works towards simplifying process of storing, accessing and sharing of health data. AllizHealth, a Health, Wellness and Fitness Company, was founded in 2012 by Chinmoy Mishra. It is headquartered in Bangalore, with offices in Delhi and Pune.

Chinmoy Mishra completed Computer Science Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, in the year 2001. Chinmoy then worked with Infosys for almost six years and then with Health Asyst Pvt. Ltd. for close to four years prior to starting up with #-Link-Snipped-#.

In an exclusive interview with CrazyEngineers.com, we got Chinmoy to talk about his experiences at AllizHealth, what made him quit his job at Infosys Technologies and start-up with AllizHealth, how a startup in Health Care domain is different from any other start-up, their main competitors, various services offered by AllizHealth and a lot more. Read on!


1. Hi Chinmoy. Could you tell our readers something about AllizHealth?

Chinmoy: AllizHealth is a technology venture in the space of preventive health. We are building an analytics platform which could be mined to come up with preventive care interventions at individual, family and community levels. Given the alarming increase in non-communicable and preventable diseases in India, there is an urgent need to transition from a traditional curative care model to preventive health. Through our initiative, we are trying to facilitate this transition and address some of the challenges with our healthcare delivery model.

We started out as a two member team in July, 2012 and at present grown to a 10 member team with an office in Pune, Maharashtra. We are backed by a group of eminent physicians who also act as our advisors.

2. What made you quit your job at Infosys Technologies and startup with AllizHealth?

Chinmoy: It was at Infosys, that I first got into the healthcare industry and been a fascinated by the space ever since. While Infosys provided me a wonderful platform and a great support system, as with any other big size firm, at some point we have a bit of complacency setting in and we start getting satisfied with mediocrity. Fortunately, I realized this drift quite early and decided it was time to move on. Being in the healthcare industry for quite some years by then, I definitely had a liking to it and, secondly, I could see plenty of things which could be improved or innovated in the Indian healthcare space. So, after moving away from Infosys, I pursued my MBA at Babson College and then was with another healthcare firm for few years before taking the plunge and starting AllizHealth.

3. How is a startup in Health Care domain different from any other startup?

Chinmoy: As compared to other domains, the healthcare space definitely has high barriers to entry. Knowledge of the space and understanding of the ecosystem is vital to build a sustainable advantage. So, that limits competition to some extent. However, as a start-up in this space, one always needs to have the ears glued to the regulatory environment.

Again, as true innovations in this space need much deeper pockets, one has to be constantly weary of the bigger existing players. Having said that, healthcare is sunrise industry in India and provides tremendous opportunities to bring in efficiencies and create value.

4. Who do you think are your main competitors? What makes AllizHealth different from the rest?

Chinmoy: We are looking at completion from both established players such as CIGNA TTK and Apollo Life and from start-up firms in preventive care and wellness space. We believe, what differentiates us from our competitors is our use of technology to drive user collaboration and address the last mile issue. Our business case goes beyond identifying user health risks and includes personalized treatment options, recommendations and regular follow-ups to close the loop on user participation, health data collection, analysis and providing care interventions. Unlike our competitors, our platform encourages user engagement and focuses on the user rather than the care givers.


5. What are the various services offered by AllizHealth? Who are your clients?

Chinmoy: As mentioned earlier, we are building a platform of health data analytics. As part of the platform, we are developing three consumer facing solutions;
a) Health Risk Assessment - Based on proprietary and evidence based algorithms, this unique solution helps figure the health risks of an individual and predicts susceptibility of various medical conditions,
b) Personal health Records - This cloud based solution helps keep track of various health conditions, store health documents, set reminder’s & alerts and connect with specialist’s,
c) Analytics Dashboard - Helps our partners view real time, various health trends and design targeted intervention programs and wellness calendars.

To get users on to the platform, we partner with schools on our school health program and with corporates, insurance providers & hospitals for our corporate wellness programs. As part of these programs, we assess individual health issues, help monitor these issues and finally provide strategies to mitigate these risks.

6. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

Chinmoy: I would go with 30 any day. At 30, one is smart enough to know and young enough to enjoy. While you are considered adult enough to try anything you want, if something doesn’t work out, you are pardoned for being not matured enough. On a slightly more serious note, I miss that energy and the ability to put in relentless hours.

7. When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?

Chinmoy: I am a voracious reader and can read anything under the sun. Moment I get an opportunity, I go back to reading something. It could be anything from world politics to sports to Bollywood gossips. I love to be aware of what is happening around me. My friends actually do believe that if I don’t find anything new to read, I re-read the same articles and books.

8. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best? What will be your advice to engineers who get disheartened easily?

Chinmoy: Yes, very early on in our journey, we were close to signing up with a big group that could have instantly got us the visibility and traction. However, in order to get the project, we had to do make few of the decision makers happy. At one point we did consider this option, only for a rebuttal from our conscience. We did not go ahead with it and as expected lost the order. But, as we look back, it was turning point for us as we came out with our integrity intact and just strengthened our resolve and depth of persistence. It was a great thing that could happen to us so early on. So, my two cents to my friends, never compromise with your integrity, be resolute even if it means losing out on short term achievements. As they say, it is not how hard you punch, but, how hard can you take one and still come back.

9. Thank you for your time. Any message for our readers?

Chinmoy: Thank you for the opportunity. As for message for my friends, just go, do it. It may be a rollercoaster of a journey and certainly not for the faint hearted, but, every moment of it is worth in gold and an amazingly humbling experience.

Being an entrepreneur changes who you are, your belief system and the ability to see beyond the obvious. So, have faith and confidence in yourself, keep the imposter syndromes aside and let nothing or no one come in way of you achieving your dreams.