Lybrate: An app that brings the doc to your phone

Tiger Global-backed Lybrate helps patients find specialists and consult with them through its app, but few are paying for it

Gunjan is an MBA student based in Bengaluru. She needed some attention a month back but was not very keen to visit a doctor in person. A friend recommended her to download a medical app and seek remedy online. "That is when I downloaded the Lybrate app. Initially, I sought medical advice free. Then went for paid service and got in touch with a top gynaecologist in Mumbai. I am very happy that I did that," says Gunjan over the phone from Bengaluru.

Gunjan is one of many users of Lybrate. Launched in January 2015 by Saurabh Arora and Rahul Narang, the company aims to be a leading online consultation platform. While Arora, an IIT-Delhi alumnus, has worked as a data scientist at Facebook, Narang was a software engineer at Snapdeal.

The medical app is the company's revenue generator. It offers, among others, free interaction with doctors, paid consultation with specialists, audio and video calling facilities between doctors and patients, and a regular health feed on more than 400 topics. The company claims that nearly two million apps were downloaded in a year, making it one of the top medical apps in the country.

"We are already the country's largest online OPD (out-patient department) and our aim is to make it the world's largest," says Lybrate Chief Executive Officer Arora. The company also facilitates online appointment with doctors and guides patients in selecting the right specialists. "But that is not the core of what we do. We want to build a communication platform that helps people consult doctors online and seek their advice in the post-consultation period," adds Arora.

"Lybrate's concept of making health care accessible by using smart and innovative technology is disruptive and the need of the hour. The platform enables people to directly talk to doctors online through its app and web portal - accessible from anywhere, anytime. That is how it overcomes the logistic and geographical chasm," observes Mumbai-based oncologist Purvish M Parikh.

While working at Facebook as a data scientist, Arora started working on the idea of increasing access to quality health care to the people. After quitting his job at the social networking company, he met his former colleague Gokul Rajaram and discussed the idea. "It was Gokul who put me in touch with some investors and helped secure initial funding," says Arora.

The company was registered in the US, which is where Arora was based then, and secured $1.23 million in seed funding in August, 2014, from Nexus Ventures Partners. After shifting to Delhi, the next four-five months were devoted to developing the product, talking to doctors, engaging investors and building the team.

From a team of just seven in December, 2014, Lybrate now boasts of a team of 110 people. "After we built a team of 50 people, we finally hired a person to handle human resources," he says.

Company officials say the initial response to the app was so encouraging that it was decided to scale up the business. That is when Tiger Global was roped in to infuse more capital. In July 2015, the company raised $10.2 million from Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners and former Tata group chairman Ratan Tata.

"What is heartening to see is that behaviour changes are taking place in the country. The fact that 300-400 consultations are taking place online everyday through Lybrate shows that the communication platform has the potential to make it big," says Sandeep Singhal of Nexus Venture Partners.

The company claims to have 80,000 doctors on board. It boasts of monthly interactions (doctor-patient) of nearly 5 million. However, monetisation of the increasing traffic has not been very easy. Company officials say that not more than 10 per cent of such consultations are paid. All others are for-free services.

Another big challenge for the company is to reach out to customers in non-metro cities. Currently, 60 per cent of its traffic comes from metro cities. Offering services in local languages is one of the options being considered to expand the reach. Other options being considered to increase the traction in non-metro cities is by undertaking non-digital promotional activities.

"Increasing revenue and profit is not the target in the short-term. We have set engagement target for ourselves. We plan to bring 500,000 doctors on board and expand our reach in Tier-II and III cities," says Arora.

FACT BOX

Inception: January 2015
Founders: Saurabh Arora and Rahul Narang
Area of business: Online OPD
Fund raising: $11.43 in two rounds from Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners and Ratan Tata

EXPERT TAKE

There is no denying that the existing health care system is bursting at the seams with demand exceeding supply by a huge margin. The geographical spread of health care is very limited, number of specialists are in short supply in areas where they are needed and the capacity of existing hospitals to provide services is limited.

There is clearly enough space available for new players to emerge. Lybrate is one of those emerging players. But for the company to make a mark, it will have to overcome many challenges. Convincing potential patients to let go of physical interaction with doctors is clearly one of the biggest challenges. One establishes a rapport with a doctor, creating it over phone or online is a challenging change-management task.

Language could be a barrier between patients and doctors. That is something which will make it challenging and exciting for companies like Lybrate to make its presence felt in small towns and cities. Regulatory environment is another area. How to treat prescriptions on a WhatsApp message or email is something that needs be figured out.

There is definitely huge potential for multiple players in the health care space. But the one that negotiates challenges better than others will be the winner.

Vipin Pathak is co-founder and CEO of Care 24