Ria Rustagi

I used to think focus was a discipline problem. Turns out it might be a frequency problem. 200Hz left ear. 210Hz right ear. Your brain invents the 10Hz difference on its own. That's alpha state - the brain's natural zone for calm, clear thinking. This is the science Sychedelic is built on. Not vibes. Not wellness marketing. Actual neuromodulation, responsive to your HRV in real time. What's your current go-to when your brain just won't cooperate?

@agupta @varunvummadi Such a great reminder to keep showing up and keep learning.

Had the pleasure of sharing the stage with @varunvummadi at Startup School today. What an epic story. Grew up without much money and spent time in college winning kaggle competitions. He got into YC and was working on an idea around model finetuning. In shipping it, discovered that customer service was a big use-case in his user base. Bet the farm on customer service. Landed Zepto and DoorDash as customers, beating out much bigger competitors. Now, growing insanely fast and being a defining example of a new generation of Indian founders.

@snowmaker Such a well-organized event. The learning from YC founders was incredible. Would've loved to connect with more fellow founders in the crowd, but the energy and the partner advice at the end more than made up for it. Grateful to have been there.

Just wrapped Startup School India. One big takeaway: the ambition has shifted. The founders I met today aren't just thinking about building "the Indian version of X." They're building for the world - and they have the technical chops to pull it off.

@_ShantanuKul Was there too. The YC partner session at the end was everything to be very honest, no-fluff advice you don't get in most rooms. Would love a founders-only track next edition. The conversation changes completely.

1/25 Y Combinator just hosted its FIRST EVER Startup School in Bengaluru. 25,000 applicants. One day. One ballroom. The bar was so high, even getting a seat felt like admission into YC itself. The Indian startup ecosystem will be talking about this for years. 🔥

What we're building at @Sychedelic_cult and why it's different: Most brain health products tell you what to do. We're building something that tells you what's actually happening, so you can decide. Cortisol. Sleep quality. Cognitive baseline. Measured. Not guessed. Founders. Working moms. People carrying two full-time jobs that don't pause for each other. You deserve data, not a supplement stack and hope. Kickstarter, May 2026.

@bryan_johnson Decide once. Let the habit do the thinking. Your brain thanks you with everything else.

Best things you can do for health. Decide: + when to sleep + when to exercise + what to eat Routine does the heavy lifting.

@agupta Building @Sychedelic_cult neurotech headphones that help you go from stress to focus in minutes through neuromodulation (tDCS). We also track your HRV and your Mood to quantify the change through PPG Sensor. Hoping to help people mentally heathier lives.

Just wrapped up Startup School India. So incredible to hear experienced founders share their journeys on stage and meet the next generation of founders. If you’re a founder in India building something people want, reply here so I can hear about it!

@ycombinator has never backed a neurotech startup. I'm here to change that. Today I'm at @startupschool YC Startup School Bangalore in a room with 2,000 carefully curated founders and the energy is exactly what you'd expect when the world's best builders get in one place. But here's what's running through my head. The most powerful accelerator in the world hasn't touched consumer neurostimulation yet. No closed-loop neuromodulation. No brain-computer wearables. No on-device AI for the nervous system. That's not an oversight that's a wide open category waiting for someone to define it. We're building that at Sychedelic. A consumer-grade headphone that combines tDCS neurostimulation, binaural beats, and live HRV biofeedback closed-loop, on-device AI, CDSCO-approved (Indian FDA). Patents filed in 150+ countries. Already in the market A category disruptor in a space YC hasn't entered. Yet. 5 years as a founder taught me a lot. But the one thing I never let go of - never stop learning. Never stop networking. YC startup school is a gold mine for both and I'll take that over any boardroom any day. You have to keep showing up. Even when especially when you think you already know enough. If you're here today and we're connected — drop me a DM. Would love to find you in the crowd and catch up. Building the future of the brain wearables.

"10 days of building in public." Here's what changed: More conversations than the 3 months before it. People don't invest in products. They invest in people they've watched show up. The Kickstarter isn't in May. The Kickstarter started on Day 1 when I said the number out loud. Everything since has been proof that I mean it. Still in. Still building. #BuildingInPublic #founders

Brahmi and Lion's Mane are powerful. But they have to survive your stomach, clear your liver, and cross your blood-brain barrier before a single molecule reaches your neurons. That's not an herb problem. That's a delivery problem. tDCS doesn't have that problem. Direct cortical input. No bottleneck. Delivery is the frontier. And it's being solved. #cortisol #supplements #brain

@MZora0419 Regulate the nervous system, this is the sentence most of medicine skipped. Maté said it first. The science is finally proving it.

El hombre que cura lo que la medicina no puede: Dr. Gabor Maté. Este médico de 80 años dice que la verdadera curación proviene de la regulación del sistema nervioso, no de fármacos o meditación. Aquí están sus 7 leyes olvidadas para acabar con el estrés crónico de raíz: 🧵

@eelliot888 Imagine this but for your brain's electrical activity, not just your bloodwork. That's the unlock.

1 aydır düzenli D3 - Magnezyum - Omega 3 - Multivitamin alıyorum. Saçlarım, yüzüm, cildim, enerjim mükemmel. Hiçbir şeye üşenmiyorum her şeye enerjim var. Modum sürekli dalgalanmıyor. Saçlarım yumuşacık oldu.

@bryan_johnson And the startup spends the next two years wondering why it feels tired all the time.

When a company starts to wrinkle and grey, they acquire a start up. That's their blood boy.

India takes its startup inspiration from Europe. I spent 7 years there. Here's what I brought back to Sychedelic that actually matters: The obsession with getting the product right before getting the story right. European founders build. Then talk. We talk. Then build. Then wonder why the product didn't land. Sychedelic is built the other way. May 2026. #Sychedelic #building #brand #startupIndia

I'm tired of the word balance. I'm a founder. I'm a mother. I have a 20-month-old. I don't balance them. I live in them. Simultaneously. Messily. Without apology. Some days the company gets more. Some days she does. Most days neither gets what they'd get if the other didn't exist. And it's still the best life I've ever had. Stop trying to balance your life. Start trying to actually live it. #mom #founder #building

@socetyhatesjay If this is you right now, it's not who you are. It's what your brain is going through. That's fixable.

five signs you’re depressed - dirty room - losing interest in hobbies - slacking on hygiene - bed rotting - isolation

@LoreCardenasX 3am wake-ups aren't a sleep problem. They're a nervous system problem. Completely different fix.

10 señales de que tu cuerpo necesita urgentemente recuperarse del estrés crónico (y no te das cuenta): 1/ Despertarse entre las 2 y las 4 de la madrugada.

@AlexHormozi Neurotech startup. India. Deep tech. Nothing about it was fast, easy, or risk free. Wouldn't change a thing.

I’m sorry it wasn’t fast, easy, and risk free to achieve your dreams.

@DearS_o_n Purpose is part of it. But so is learning how your brain actually works under stress. Most men are never taught that. That's not weakness that's a gap in the information.

Without drugs... what is the greatest weapon against anxiety and depression to a man?

I don't sleep much. Not because I'm grinding. Because I genuinely cannot stop thinking about this. There's a difference. One is performance. One is passion. I've never had to force myself to work on Sychedelic. That's how I know it's the right thing. If you have to convince yourself to show up that's the signal, not the schedule. #sleep #productivity #building