Following difficulty in finding a suitable doctor for a medical concern, Stephanie Eltz took matters into her hands and with the help of her best friend, now co-founder, Suman Saha, an Orthopaedic surgeon founded Doctify.
Doctify is a healthtech platform that allows patients to search, compare reviews and prices, and book appointments with medical specialists across the UK.
Tell me about the early days, the type of challenges you initially encountered?
I was looking for a doctor myself when I had a health concern. I found it really difficult to find the right one and on top of it, it was difficult to figure out who was free to see me on my day off. I wanted to create a solution that helps patients like me.
What is Doctify? And what are you trying to solve with it?
Doctify allows patients to search, compare reviews and prices, and book appointments with medical specialists across the UK. We focus on the rapidly-expanding private healthcare market and currently put patients in touch with doctors qualified in 47 different specialisms, including cardiology, oncology and paediatrics, as well as dentistry and dermatology.
In times where you can book a trusted taxi driver with a click of a button, you should be able to find a doctor with patient reviews to help you make the right decision. Even if you have a recommendation you should be able to double check online, and that’s why here at Doctfiy we are encouraging patients to take the opportunity to review their clinic or doctor and take their health into their own hands.
Doctify also allows doctors to manage all of their patients using an easy-to-use booking software.
How have you been able to fund it so far?
We have closed 4 investment rounds so far including private and institutional investors.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs looking to raise funds for their start-ups?
Make sure you know how you will be able to make money with your business :)
About the first few months, how excited were you, tell us about how those months felt, what happened?
The idea for the platform was formed when I had my own experience of hunting for a doctor to remove a pre-cancerous mole quickly. It was then that I realised how tricky it was to find a specialist who was able to see me at I convenient time, with an endorsement from a patient.
Alongside my former colleague and Co-Founder Suman Saha we founded Doctify, which is driven by a passionate belief that technology-led innovation can help drive greater transparency and access to healthcare.
We are a healthtech platform and we are building a revolutionary backbone for healthcare providers, doctors and patients. Since we started this journey in 2015, we feel proud to help equip our user with the information they need in order to receive high-quality, safe care, whichever way they choose to receive it.
How did you initially get traction?
We went to established and renowned doctors first. It was exciting when they bought into the idea!
What are the most crucial things that you have done to grow your business?
Making sure that my co-founder came on board was the most important decision.
What would you say has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far?
When my co-founder Suman met the queen (after we won Pitch@Palace).
What should we be expecting from yourself and the Doctify team for the rest of 2018?
We will be closing a seven-figure funding round in the next few weeks, and with the money raised we will be investing in national growth, improved processes, marketing and most importantly, our product. We’re confident that with the help of this investment, we will make Doctify the best platform connecting patients and doctors in the UK.
Lastly, what three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?
1. Choose your partners wisely
2. Celebrate the small successes
3. Learn from mistakes and move on
