We sat down with the founders of .Life, another bright team from our Spring Program 2021, to share with you the details of a huge and burning problem this team is tackling. The team is developing a unique application, which aim is to help those, who are under constant time pressure and experience lack of balance as well as people who are in the middle of a burnout or are dealing with mental health problems. 

Meet the co-founders of .Life – Tauno Loodus, Margus Simson, Romans Taranovs and Pavel Nedobity.

What is the problem you are solving? 

Margus: There are around one billion people in the world who are suffering from mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. Every year 20% of them experience a burnout. There are way too many people who are having a busy life to the extent that they can’t remember what a happy life should look like. They have lost the healthy balance in their lives and don’t know how to get a more meaningful life back.

Pavel: We, as humans, have evolved to chase prey in the savannas of Africa. The life we live today is so complex and full of social and technological challenges, that it is no wonder that billions of people struggle. There is no way back to a wild life, so we want to use the best of modern technology to help people figure out what matters to them most, focus on those things and achieve a better life balance.

Romans: When you have a lot of short-term things on your plate you tend to forget your dreams and true wishes, which make you a human being and make you “You”. We are solving the problem of helping mentally overloaded people to keep themselves motivated and content in their daily lives. We believe that the app we’re creating can give back at least one hour of meaningful time to our users every day. 

Tauno: I am in my 40s and time flies. I have 50 more years to go and 100 other things that I would like to do. I would like to spend time with my children, live healthy, go fishing, play golf, sail the sea, travel around the world with my wife, see my friends more often, etc. All these goals give me goosebumps. Can I manage to do all the things I dream about? Mark Twain once said that the two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you figure out “why”. With the help of our app we want to make it more simple for people to find out why they were born and live a more meaningful life.

Why is now the right time to solve this problem?

Margus: People’s lifestyle has only gotten busier and the numbers of mentally tormented people is going up. COVID has increased the number of people with mental health problems in every part of the world. Mental health issues are the 21^st century plague yet the severity of the problem has not yet been recognized and dealt with to the extent it is necessary. 

Pavel: The AI and ML technologies have developed enough to be more useful in guiding you to a better life. This was not possible to the extent it is now. 

Romans: The problem we are solving appears to be essential with people’s mass access to information through the rise of smartphones. Each day, the amount of information created and consumed by people over the globe continues to increase. Along with the increase of ‘available for consumption’ information anxiety increases as well. Thus, it is just the right time to have an app that can bring us more focus and help us to take better care of ourselves in the midst of our often overly overwhelming daily routines.

Tauno: When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. When is the next best time? Today. So we are starting the journey to help stressed and overloaded people to act now and create a better balance in their lives. To have more years of well-being and more years of life that one can look back and say it was all worth it.

How are you different from your competitors?

Margus: There are tons of mental health oriented tools, self-help books, courses, mindfulness apps and everything else imaginable out there. We are the only ones looking at an individual from all angles and giving them full 24/7 overview of their use of time, taking into account their long-term goals, quantifying their feelings and emotions as well as giving them AI-powered recommendations. All in order to change their lives one small nudge at a time.  

Romans: We solve the problem of unfulfillment and loss of focus by employing a more complex approach. We blend advancements coming from technology and neuroscience to look at every aspect of a person’s daily life. We don’t separate work from life, public life from private roles, but rather believe that any minute spent during a day is equally meaningful.  

Tauno: Our app gives you an overview of your past and present life as well as your future goals. Through small nudges we guide you towards a better future – into a better ‘now’. Knowing the direction you are heading to and understanding what matters to you the most will help to lower the stress and anxiety. Clearly, there is more to it, though we cannot say it just yet.

What is the recipe for a successful team?

Margus: Diversity. In the case of our app, diversity of different backgrounds, individual thinking, unalike life experiences only make the app so much more capable of understanding people’s lives, troubles and solutions.  

Pavel: Several people from our team have lived and live the struggle we are trying to solve, myself included. It gives us a strong desire to build something that works and unites us on this mission. Coupled with humbleness, empathy and active listening, we inspire and support each other on this journey. 

Romans: Trust is the core foundation. For the trust among founders, you must be able to work even without formal agreements signed and for trust among the delivery team, you should have a team, who has faith and trust in the product and the vision of the company. 

Tauno: I would add that understanding each other’s backgrounds, skills and motivations is a huge plus.

What will be written in newspaper headlines about your company in 5 years?

Margus: They will write that for the first time in human history, in 2026, there are less people with depression and burnout in the world than a year prior to that. They will also mention that the launch of .life, 5 years ago, is considered as the turning point in people’s minds concerning mentioned problems. 

Tauno: Wouldn’t it be amazing to see millions of people living their lives stress free in a more meaningful way? People have understood that living a stable, meaningful and content life starts from their own mind and that time is an investment, not an expense. So, I would say that newspapers will write that: .life has found a formula on how to keep your life well balanced – no matter what happens daily. 

Pavel: Depression and stress can be solved  – with an app! You don’t need to suffer anymore.  

Romans: Happier life is possible and our app will be a focus changer for this matter! Newspapers will write that a group of enthusiasts unlocked the secret of being successful and still manage to hold the balance within themselves. At last, we will be able to focus on our true strong sides and improve our society not by increasing revenues and profits, but through a new paradigm – a more content society is a wealthier society.


To find out more about .Life: tauno@kyzen.life