About Founder

When I was seven years old, I developed selective mutism because I was bullied upon moving overseas. It wasn’t easy for me to talk. Because it seemed to be so for most other people, it always felt like no one understood me. My voice was trapped behind walls of silence for over three years. The young Mahima wished for an anonymous wall that could understand and support her without judging her. That idea remained with me. I knew that I didn’t want others to feel like they were alone and misunderstood in their struggles as I did. A few years later, I witnessed a friend with a chronic illness feeling isolated just like I did. I decided to reframe my negative experience into a positive outcome, which resulted in a commitment to solving this problem of isolation for others like me and my friend. This is what led me to create Starfly.