Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Murty Chennubhotla, founder of Ayurmegha, located in San Ramon, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Ayurveda is a 5000-year-old science and is a Traditional Indian Medicine. However, due to a lack of evidence, it is hard to find authentic and trusted Ayurveda practitioners. We built TeleVeda™, a secure TeleHealth platform to connect customers with the best Ayurveda practitioners from across the globe.

Our practitioners are located in the United States, Australia, and India. The practitioners have a minimum four-year college degree in the field of Ayurveda. In addition to providing a secure and trusted digital platform for consultations, we also built Ayurmegha Shop, an e-commerce marketplace to bring authentic Ayurvedic supplements to your doorstep directly from the manufacturers in India. We carefully select partners who manufacture classical Ayurvedic supplements. Our key partner, Sadavaidyasala Pvt Ltd, has been manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines since 1913. With our partnership with leading freight carriers, we strive to deliver these products within a week to your doorstep directly from the manufacturers in India.

We recently opened a modern Ayurveda restoration clinic in Hyderabad, one of India's fastest-growing cities, aiming to provide Ayurvedic treatments for clinical and lifestyle diseases and disorders.

Tell us about yourself

I have been working as a Technology Consultant for over 30 years and have been a bay area resident since 1994. During these 30 years, I have worked with some leading Fortune 50 organizations across the globe, including the United States, India, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2015 I was drawn to Ayurveda and quickly realized that this is a fascinating science but has not been embraced widely due to a lack of evidence and trust.

With the goal of modernizing the Ayurveda industry, I started building an Electronic Health Record system for Ayurveda institutions. The platform is currently used by leading Ayurvedic clinics and research organizations in India to manage health records using traditional Ayurvedic templates. I very strongly feel that by modernizing Ayurveda and integrating it with modern medicine, we can bring the many benefits associated with Ayurveda to a very large population across the globe.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

With no background in Ayurveda, I had a very steep learning curve to not only understand Ayurveda but also to design and develop a platform that could be used primarily by the Ayurvedic institutions. Today, Ayurmegha is a known name in India's leading Ayurveda fraternity. Since its inception in 2016, we have completed over 5000 consultations and delivered supplements to our customers in the US, Australia, Hong Kong, and Europe using our e-commerce platform. Additionally, our Hyderabad clinic is getting very positive feedback from our customers. We have a long way to go; however, building a technology platform and establishing a physical clinic during the past five years has been a fascinating journey.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Treading an unknown path has its challenges. Ayurveda has seen very few technology investments and creating a way to modernize this industry has its own challenges as there are no industry benchmarks to compare with and excel. Like every startup, we have always found solutions to deliver more with less since our funds to invest and grow are very limited.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Ensure that you are convinced and confident of your vision. There are more critics than supporters because your vision is difficult to articulate and translate. Overcoming criticism and believing in yourself are critical to building a sustainable business.
  2. Learn to live with unknowns. There are always unknowns since this is a unique business you are trying to build. Unknowns include finding the right funding sources, creating the right marketing channels, and building the right sales team.
  3. Accept that you will make mistakes. Your journey is always unique, and no book on earth can educate you on the experiences you are likely to gain. The books are only guidelines and are written based on the author's journey, not yours.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Being an entrepreneur is fun not just because it gives you the independence to be your own boss. It gives immense satisfaction when you provide employment and when you give back to society.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://ayurmegha.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ayurmegha/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayurmegha/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ayurmegha
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ayurmegha/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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