The pandemic has led to a massive acceleration in the adoption of telehealth; 46% of the US population used telehealth as of July 2021 vs 11% in 2019. However, the process of obtaining routine prescriptions has not been streamlined. Dr. B is a telehealth platform focused exclusively on making prescription medicine more accessible. The company is starting with COVID antivirals with plans to expand into everyday medications whether it be birth control or cholesterol medication. Each online assessment is reviewed by a board-certified physicans and the cost of the consultation is only $15, which is less than the standard copay for a physician’s visit. For patients that are unable to afford the $15, Dr. B waives the cost, making access to life-saving medications more accessible. Dr. B, which started by helping people secure COVID vaccines during the height of the pandemic, is now able to serve patients in 41 states with nationwide coverage imminent. The entire process takes less than 3.5 hours on average and can be completed from the comfort of your home.
AlleyWatch caught up with Dr. B Founder and CEO Cyrus Massoumi to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise? Was it seed, Series A, B, etc?
Dr. B raised $8M from Lerer Hippeau, Founders Fund, and other investors who support its mission to make healthcare more equitable. This was an equity seed round.
Tell us about the product or service that Dr. B offers.
We have created an affordable and accessible way for people to get consultations for prescriptions. Instead of having to try to find a doctor’s appointment either online or in person, Dr. B patients submit an online health assessment on their own time, which is reviewed by a doctor. A consultation on Dr. B is only $15 dollars, less than the average insurance copay. If patients cannot afford the $15 based on need, Dr. B provides the service at no cost. We’re starting first by offering consultations for Covid-19 antiviral prescriptions, and will soon be expanding to offer prescriptions for many everyday medications.
What inspired the start of Dr. B?
My mother always wanted me to become a doctor to help improve access to healthcare. Much to her disappointment, I haven’t gotten my medical degree but the importance of making healthcare more equitable has stuck with me. This was amplified by seeing family friends that were unable to afford healthcare coverage and being so afraid for them. This fear I had is felt deeply by millions of Americans every day that also don’t have coverage.
With Dr. B, my mission is to improve the efficiency and equity of healthcare. We started out by helping over one million people get access to Covid-19 vaccines last year when doses were scarce. We’ve now made the natural transition to helping people get the Covid-19 treatments they need.
How is Dr. B different?
We are the only telehealth company to provide anyone care regardless of their ability to pay. Many telehealth companies actually charge patients more for their online services. We want to make sure everyone can get the care they need and deserve.”
What market does Dr. B target and how big is it?
Currently, Dr. B is offering consultations for Covid-19 therapeutics across 41 states. The company is also planning on soon launching Visitless Prescriptions for a wide range of everyday medications.
What’s your business model?
We earn revenue through the $15 consultation fee, which helps us provide no-cost care for lower-income patients. We also don’t have a big marketing budget for Super Bowl or subway ads. We’re banking that our innovative service will spur organic word-of-mouth traffic.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
We believe we are filling a critical need in any market because we provide care for anyone, regardless of their ability to pay. We know that many of the most innovative and successful companies launched and scaled during downturns. We’ve turned the usual economic market on its head by not spending a huge promotional budget and instead focusing on providing no-cost care.
What was the funding process like?
We have great working relationships with both Lerer Hippeau and Founders Fund. Both firms are also founded by entrepreneurs, which makes them great to have on our cap table as they have first-hand experience bringing a company from an idea into a fully-fledged product.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We were fortunate to have had these great relationships with our investors. My view is that it’s actually a great time to build the next wave of great companies. Firms that are investing now will have great returns. Investors that appreciate and understand that are still at the table.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
We are extremely grateful to our investors for believing in our mission to make access to healthcare more equitable. Our ability to improve access to prescriptions while also making it affordable for everyone is what sets us apart.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We just launched our telehealth service and early demand is already suggesting that we’re filling a healthcare void that exists for so many people. We plan to soon expand beyond Covid-19 treatments to provide prescriptions for many everyday medications, from heart health to diabetes and reproductive care.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Focus on building a great team. If you have talented individuals that work hard and are driven, you can do anything. But in order to ensure your business impacts the world in a positive way, you need to make sure the mission of your company can motivate your team to do the best work they can.
Focus on building a great team. If you have talented individuals that work hard and are driven, you can do anything. But in order to ensure your business impacts the world in a positive way, you need to make sure the mission of your company can motivate your team to do the best work they can.
Our team is phenomenal and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of at Dr. B. Our mission of being able to solve one of the most difficult problems—access to healthcare—for everybody is an extraordinary motivator for our team, and it’s why we’ve been able to create such an incredible platform.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We are going to further refine our product to make it even more accessible and easy-to-use and work to offer our services in languages beyond Spanish and English in order to serve patient communities that tend to be at higher risk with fewer healthcare resources.”
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Lure.
