This Alum’s Start-Up Is Now Worth Seven Figures
Johar Singh (Questrom’24) returns to Innovators’ Night to share his journey
BU alum Johar Singh reflects on building his start-up, navigating setbacks, and returning to BU to speak at Innovators’ Night 2026. Photo courtesy of Johar Singh
This Alum’s Start-Up Is Now Worth Seven Figures
Johar Singh (Questrom’24) returns to Innovators’ Night to share his journey
As a sophomore at Boston University, Johar Singh (Questrom’24) faced a question he could not ignore.
His mother, an ICU physician on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, was doing some of the hardest work imaginable, with so little recognition. “How can we care for those that care for everyone else?” he asked himself.
That question led to Astra Wellbeing, a platform Singh built with classmates Josh Bruehwiler (Questrom’24) and Taha Moukara (Questrom’24), with the help of Benmore Technologies, a software consulting and development firm founded by Richard Buehling (CAS’24) and Timothy John Uzoegbu (CAS’23). When Singh’s team started, they placed QR codes in hospitals; collected positive feedback from patients, families, and staff; and manually sent the feedback to workers.
The response was immediate. In early pilots, thousands of messages were submitted, and about 80 percent of participants said they felt meaningfully recognized.
This past February, Astra Wellbeing was acquired by HomeTeams in a seven-figure deal after several months of negotiations. Singh now serves as HomeTeams’ president and chief product officer and will return to campus on April 15 as the keynote speaker at Innovators’ Night, Innovate@BU’s largest celebration and pitch competition, with a prize pool of $80,000.
Ahead of his return to campus, BU Today spoke with Singh about Astra Wellbeing, taking risks, and what students often overlook when starting a venture.
Q&A
with Johar Singh
BU Today: What was the biggest challenge you faced as you started turning Astra Wellbeing into a real company?
Singh: Pretty much everything was a challenge at first, because you don’t know what you don’t know. So you’re doing everything for the first time. It’s how to build a product, how to test demand, and how to validate that this was an idea. Then, it becomes how to get funding, how to actually build something real, and, eventually, how to scale and put together a team.
BU Today: Not everything works out when you’re building something. Can you talk about a moment that didn’t go as planned?
Singh: I remember my senior spring break. All my friends were going somewhere on vacation, and I flew to a competition instead because in the past, that had worked out. I thought even if we didn’t win, we’d at least make connections. But we didn’t win anything, didn’t make any real connections, nothing. That plane ride home really sucked. But that’s part of it. Not everything is going to work, and you just have to keep going anyway.
BU Today: How did being involved with Innovate@BU shape your experience as a founder?
Singh: It helped a lot. I did pretty much everything there. I was there three to four times a week. The biggest thing was the network. Many of our early opportunities came from connections made through Innovate@BU. But you have to actually put in the effort. Stay after, talk to people, get to know them. Most people don’t go that extra mile.
BU Today: You’ve been to Innovators’ Night in different roles over the years. How has that experience changed for you?
Singh: Yeah, this will actually be my fourth time. The first time, I was just a student in the audience and didn’t really know what I was doing. The second time, I was competing in the New Venture Competition. The third time, I was the student IGNITE speaker. And now I’m coming back as a featured speaker. I think that progression just shows that if you stick with it and keep building, things can change pretty quickly.
BU Today: Looking back, what do you think mattered most in getting you to this point?
Singh: Honestly, just doing it. As much as BU and different programs can help, the biggest learning comes from actually going out there, taking risks, and betting on yourself. That’s the biggest thing.
BU Today: As you return to Innovators’ Night as a speaker, what do you hope students in the audience take away from your story?
Singh: No matter where you are in your journey, if you stick with it and keep doubling down on yourself, it’s not a question of if you’ll have some sort of success. It’s just when.