It’s another busy day here at Careclues; the coffee machine beeps and pours out liquid energy, phones ring incessantly, the printer splutters out pages of official looking documents, techies tap away at their keyboards – but the air now is charged; with mere days remaining in the lead up to the anticipated launch of the health tech platform. The birth of CareClues was devised with a goal in mind – providing affordable, quality and convenient health care to all.

We are anxious and excited, quite like those expecting their first child. We are delivering CareClues in a few days. How would this project, we have poured passion and hard work into, fare in the outside world? How will people respond to it? Will people love it as much as we do?

It was an embryonic thought when Jaydip Dattaray, our CEO, first thought of bridging the gap between patients and quality healthcare services in India. By 2011, the stage was set for new entrants into the health tech domain. Many were trotting the beaten path to capitalize on the market but Jaydip chose to hold back, to hone and perfect our product to help make lives easier and healthier. Now isn’t that how planned parenthood should work? You don’t rush into it; you wait till you are ready to shoulder the ensuing responsibilities and challenges that come with a decision.

Jaydip was looking around the dismal medical landscape in India. Rural areas faced severe paucity of medical resources and healthcare, lowering life expectancy of millions of people. Medical expertise was limited to urban areas while the bulk of Indian population resided in villages and towns. Lack of privacy left many needing help, hesitant to approach doctors. There was no provision for emergency health care services for swift action to save lives. These issues drove Jaydip’s philosophy, as he reveals, “The product needed to retain the ability to solve real problems that patients experience every day.”

That’s how we plan to grow, by nurturing our platform into the largest, trusted health care and wellness delivery platform in the country. We’re pulling out all stops to get there.

Aboard the CareClues team, determined to see this vision through, are an eclectic mix of individuals. There are so many who have come together to shape the app. Every day the sales team, whose phones ring incessantly, coax doctors to join us on our journey. There is the marketing team – content writers who sit dazed, staring off into space for the eureka moment and giggling over quirky gifs and cover images that they put together with the graphics team.

We have designers who sit stoic faced making changes every so often, at the behest of sheepish smiles and manage to create something truly awesome in the end.

Our brainstorming sessions are always intense with a variety of opinions being voiced. Disagreements occur frequently as we are all trying to make something from scratch, trying to do things which will set us apart until we finally strike a happy medium and work in harmony. We settle on a solution and renewed efforts are made to implement solutions as a cohesive whole. It is challenging being part of a project’s genesis and that’s what pulls some of us out of our beds and into Office, even on weekends. As Sachu Thomas Isaac, one of our technical analysts (who has dedicated his nights to office and long hours of work) explains – the diversity of the work keeps him interested; it constantly presents him with challenges to scratch his head over, or stroke his beard—as he puts it. Like most of us, Sachu also appreciates that his opinion is always heard when a difficult decision is to be made.

It is not just the creative people in the marketing team who are ever in pursuit of elusive creativity. Satya, one of our technical wizards, resorts to some unusual methods to usher in fresh bouts of inspiration.

Some like to work in solitude away from the din which proves to be difficult sometimes in the chaotic rush of work.

Clearly, there is never a dull moment with such a young group of people with varied mindsets coming together to join forces into creating something unique.

There’s a quieter corner in the office where the development team works, tapping away solemnly at their keyboards. They do the heavyweight work and are veterans who have been there right from the inception of the company. They look serious alright, but they don’t shy away from shaking a leg to ‘Jimikki Kamal’ on office trips.

They’re a boisterous lot when it comes to birthdays of some of our members. Cake smearing is a customary part of the celebrations. None that we know have escaped the process.

The best part is the food that comes after the celebration. Everyone’s got their eye on the highly coveted last piece of cake. We’re happiest when we are digging into scrumptious feasts and egging others on to join in the gluttony.

There is a plush sofa in the middle of the office which has become an unwitting congregation point. The reason? Full bladders and a single toilet. You might walk in to find people deposited on the sofa waiting their turn. Every once in a while the less law-abiding try to break off from the queue and rush in. It’s a good time to catch up on the news and read a magazine or two while you’re waiting.

Those in dire need of fresh air and smoke in their lungs, seek out the solace of the balcony. We are on the eighth floor so it’s pretty windy most of the times. However, butter fingers and heights maketh not a good combination so some phones inevitably find themselves falling over the railing. Although a Nokia model has lived to tell its tale.

We’ve got some young blood in the team, straight out of college. Satyanarayan Gandham, our technical analyst for one, who recounts how he joined the team. He was geared up for placements in IIT Kharagpur when CareClues came in. He was looking to join a startup with promise; “I didn’t want a conventional, monotonous job which I could do easily. I wanted to join a place where I could contribute to its genesis. I was looking forward to some challenges.”

We have the normal office stereotypes, the prankster who knocks off your headphones while passing, the serious workaholic pushing away people poking him and the foodie with an inbuilt food sensor.

There are good days and bad days and there are days when we reach the end of our rope. Still, CareClues is more than just the place they work at for most. As Sourav, our data head says with a smile, “I love the environment here, there’s so much freedom to envision and put across what you want to do. Now we are just waiting for CareClues to get out there and be everything that we have dreamt of.”

Whenever we get deeply invested in something—a child, our passion or even a pet project— our expectations and dreams inevitably seep in. However, with every step towards fulfilling a dream there are certain responsibilities which we need to shoulder. Just like the responsibility of parenting, which doesn’t end with the birth of the child, ours has only begun. Alongside our young and optimistic team, you all will be playing a big role in CareClues’ growth and maturation, which will eventually shape the Indian healthcare sector; set its medical standard, and define its
moral and ethical character. Just as the weariness of a long journey is eased by good company, your presence and support will go a long way in boosting our resolve on our path to bettering lives.

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