2. Divya Agarwal Jackson Richter Ben Maines
Picker
MS Health Policy & MS&E
Hustler
MPP, Health Policy
Concentration
Hound
MD Candidate & MS E-IPER
Saffron supplement as an
alternative to traditional
anxiety and depression
treatment
Where we started
Anti-anxiety gummy +
integrated community
platform to holistically
address the mental health
epidemic
Where we are today
151 total interviews
Mentors: Radhika Malpani & Steve Douty
3. Our journey to product market fit
Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10
Week 0
Saffron
Supplement for
anxiety
Week 8
Teenagers are
the beachhead
market
Week 10
Next Steps
Week 2
For young adults
18-40
0
8
2
Journey
to
Product
Market
Fit
Week 5
Teens are excited
by our VP
5
Week 3
What is the right
target market?
3
10
Week 6
Parents
desperate for
solutions
6
4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
We initially aimed to provide adults 18-40 with a saffron-
based low-cost anxiety supplement
(1) Plant-based, low-cost,
side-effect free supplement
for anxiety
(2) Platform that educates
and empowers users on their
mental health and promotes
an active role in becoming
more mentally healthy
Value
Proposition
(1) Young adults 18-40
struggling with anxiety,
depression, and stress
(2) Anxiety medication
patients who are
experiencing side effects
(3) Uninsured and
underinsured young
adults seeking low-cost
mental health relief
Customer
Segments
Week
5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
This was our initial MVP: A website about our saffron-
based supplement
Week
6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
We got out of the building to test our hypothesis that
young adults want a saffron-based anxiety supplement
We talked to 20 people
at the Cal Ave farmers
market!
Week
7. We learned that teens were more excited to talk to us and
that people preferred gummies to capsules
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3
1 2 10
% of respondents expressing interest
20% 13%
60% 60%
20%
40%
Week
8. We iterated on our MVP by creating new landing pages
focused on our gummy
1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 10
We set up two landing pages to
test two value propositions…
We validated our hypothesis:
an anti-anxiety gummy is our
core VP
Week
9. We learned that adolescents were excited about a side-
effect free anxiety gummy
1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 10
Meet Aly, 17
Struggles with anxiety. Wants to feel her best and
feel like herself.
Loves acting, shopping, and making TikTok videos
“If I could buy something to feel better and feel like
myself I would buy it right now.” ~ Aly
Week
10. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 10
We thought that our key partners would be popular
related brands, mental health apps, personalized
nutrition brands, and non-profits
Personalized Nutrition
Mental Health Apps
Popular Brands
Non-profits
Week
11. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 10
We thought that our key partners would be popular
related brands, mental health apps, personalized
nutrition brands, and non-profits
Personalized Nutrition
Mental Health Apps
Popular Brands
Non-profits
Week
12. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 10
Instead we learned that manufacturers and distributors
would be our key partners
Steve Blank told us
about getting our
product in front of lots
of people.
This requires: Major
Distributors &
Manufacturers
8
Week
13. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 10
We talked to some VCs to understand if our VP was
compelling and fundable
“You need scientific
credibility and
customer credibility.”
~Sonoma Brands
8
4 5 6
Week
14. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 10
We also learned that to be fundable and scalable we
cannot limit our market to teens but that we can start
there!
8
4 5 6
Week
Adolescents
Young adults
+ Adolescents
Adults
+ Young adults
+ Adolescents
15. Other key lessons we learned along our journey
- Building the right team is challenging
- Navigating competing advice is hard
- Hypothesis testing: Knowing when enough data is
enough
- Individual, Team, and Project milestones are essential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Week
16. Some of us will continue to work on ānanda this summer!
Still working out details and roles beyond
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10
8 9
Week
Divya Agarwal
Jackson Richter
Ben Maines
Botha Chan
Internship
?
17. Our Ask | Help us revolutionize mental health
Mentorship: Advice or connections to scientific advisors or
other advisors
Accelerators: We are looking to join accelerators this summer
and fall
Funding: We are on the path to raise a pre-seed round
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10
8 9
Week
18. To our mentors, teaching team, & classmates:
Thank you.
Radhika Malpani
Mentor
Steve Douty
Mentor
Steve Weinstein
Teaching Team
Steve Blank
Teaching Team
Jennifer Carolan
Teaching Team
Tom Bedecarré
Teaching Team
Todd Morrill
Teaching Team
Kaitlin Highstreet
TA
Notas do Editor
During our journey we talked to a number of VCs and learned that credibility really matters. But not how we first thought. It’s not just about showing compelling clinical trial data, we’ll need to have a scientific advisory board, a clear signal to VCs that we’re really onto something. And at the same time, we’ll need Key Opinion Leaders associated with our brand to appeal to our target audience.
We also learned that to be fundable and scalable we can’t limit our market to teens. Based on market research and feedback we realized that we can start in the teen market and from there quickly scale to reach young adults and eventually people of all ages
We also learned some other major lessons along the way. Building the right team is really hard but also one of the most important parts of any startup. We’re also learning how to wrestle with this challnege of navigating competing advice, and knowing when enough information is enough to make a decision confidently.
Divya and I have are excited to carry ananda forward this summer through the GSB’s Botha Chan Fund, and we’re optimistic and still exploring what this will look like beyond that!
And as we wrap up, here are a few of our asks as we look toward the future. We’ve had amazing mentorship through this class and are looking for continued opportunities in that regard, and we’ll be seeking accelerators and funding in the months ahead.
So thank you all so much for being here and to the teaching team and our mentors for the help along the way.