Four years ago Stefan Ritsch had an epiphany.
A former anxiety suffer, he desperately wanted to help others in the same situation.
It was an ambition he and his wife Megan first discussed a decade ago, but only put into action following a chat with a friend.
“We discussed what we wanted to do: create a business that made a positive social difference of change. And then within the discussion we came up with this concept,” says Mr Ritsch, from Austria, who is now based in Abu Dhabi.
That concept was Enritsch.com, which finally launched two months ago after four years in the planning.
The website includes three elements: articles on themes related to emotional and physical well-being; the chance to ask experts in the field of diabetes, mental health, emotional health, osteopathy, homoeopathy, yoga, nutrition and naturopathy, questions anonymously from the comfort of their home; and by February, a discussion forum where people can seek support.
The website is free to the public and makes money by charging businesses to list on the site’s directory. Prices start at Dh1,200 annually and the website currently has about 600 businesses in Dubai and another 100 in Abu Dhabi.
“It helps all the elements. It helps the end customer, but you also help the business and I think that’s a winning formula,” says Mr Ritsch, who left his job in project finance to launch the portal.
However, Enritsch also aims to help the less fortunate, giving back 25 per cent of its profits to UAE charities.
“A lot of people in the region, whether they are locals or expats, can afford to go and get this advice we are providing,” says Ms Ritsch, from Australia, who also has a full-time marketing job. “But there are also those who can’t afford it and often they are the most vulnerable.”
If all goes to plan the online UAE community could be one small piece in a much larger network.
“I see Enritsch developing centres all over the world where people can come for health, healing and spiritual growth. It is so much bigger than the platform we are starting,” adds Ms Ritsch.
Q&A
Stefan and Megan Ritsch tell Gillian Duncan what inspired them to launch their well-being enterprise:
What motivated you to start Enritsch.com?
MR: I am from a small island off the east coast of Australia. There are 1,800 people [living there]. Everybody knows your business, so I have seen a lot of people, including in my own family, suffer in absolute silence. Even when they brought psychologists on to the island, there is no way people would go. So that leads to other complications such as substance abuse.
What about you Stefan?
SR: In Australia I suffered from anxiety attacks. They are quite debilitating. For me it was when I went to public places. I broke out into a sweat and I didn’t know why. It was very hard. I went through this for about two-and-a-half years and it took quite a while to get through this. I went through different treatments, well I wouldn’t say treatments, because it was all on the natural side. I tried different things. It took two years and I kind of got over this. What was interesting though was when I spoke to friends they all said I had this too. But nobody wants to talk about it.
How widespread do you think these type of problems are?
MR: Everybody has it in some form. This is the point. It is not necessarily that they don’t want to step out and do something about it. Nobody wants to be shuttled with anxiety but quite often they don’t know where to go. That’s where I see a huge opportunity. I see Enritsch centres all over the world where people can come for health, healing and spiritual growth.
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