I Leveraged My Medical Background to Build A Profitable Healthcare Tech Company
Hello, my name is Folagbade Momoh. I am the founder of Bleverdesign. We are a healthcare digital technology company that operates a two-wing company model. An agency wing that provides digital technology services for healthcare clients and a product studio wing, where we build our healthcare software products.
Our flagship product is our agency wing, BD Agency, where we provide services like design, development, branding, marketing, and software solutions for healthcare providers.; Our product studio wing is BD Products, where we build healthcare products for both providers and patients.
We have launched three products already; BDBMI, a Body mass index calculator with more personalized and tailored healthcare services; CSBMed, an insight and intelligence platform focused on healthcare, healthcare companies, startups, and businesses; and Heltjob, a platform where healthcare practitioners can discover their dream country to practice.
Our mission is to improve the quality of healthcare and healthcare delivery for both patients and providers. We want to help healthcare providers deliver excellent healthcare services to patients, and at the same time, we want to build great healthcare products that foster a healthier world.
If I had decided earlier to find and focus on a niche that is unique to me and my set of skills, I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort. It took so many trials and errors to get here. Our target clients and customers can relate more to our solutions and products now when we talk about them. Their feedback is what helped us shape our products and services.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
I am a medical doctor, with experience working in market intelligence and healthcare technology companies. However, the previous ideas I had worked on weren’t in the health niche.
I used to be a co-founder of a creative design agency, that worked majorly with fashion and other creative businesses. I ran that for some years along with my co-founder and eventually left because my co-founder and I had a different definition of what the future and vision of the agency looked like.
I had worked on and built different ideas since then, a social media platform, a social question-and-answer website, a job board as a service, and an agency focused on small and medium businesses. All of these failed either due to a lack of users, proper monetization, or a lack of sufficient insight/expertise in the sector.
One common factor in all these failed ideas was that none of them were unique to me. I settled on launching Bleverdesign after answering the “why me and why now” question.
I came up with the Bleverdesign idea by just writing down different ideas and evaluating my strengths/weaknesses. I also asked what the unique insight I had about the idea was and why I was the best person to build the solution. I canceled out the evident ideas I couldn't build., I also tried not to go for ideas because I felt they were cool. It is very easy to fall into the trap of building an idea just because it is cool.
Most of the problems Bleverdesign is solving are problems that I encountered as a medical doctor both in and out of practice. Some problems include the sheer amount of time it takes to find details and requirements about practicing in another country as a healthcare practitioner or the problem you might encounter as a healthcare provider when you are seeking to get some basic data on healthcare firms or understand how healthcare structure in the different country works.
Some of our consumer-facing products are addressing weight problems such as obesity and anorexia including conditions in between. We came up with a platform solution such as Heltjob to help healthcare practitioners understand how to navigate practicing in their dream countries and explore more opportunities.
We are also building CSBMed, a knowledge base and intelligence solution for healthcare companies. We have more consumer-facing products like BDBMI, that can help anyone check their body mass index, know their weight categories, and get both weight and nutritional tips solutions tailored specifically to their desired outcome.
To be sure that I am not the only one who experiences these problems and to avoid building solutions in a vacuum, I spoke with some healthcare providers and prospective product users to understand if what we are solving matters to them. Our solutions and products directly tackle these problems. I didn’t have any money when I decided that we would focus on building solutions for the healthcare niche. I was able to get to this point because I articulated and embodied my mission for Bleverdesign.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
Don’t avoid building ideas because they are boring. An idea might be boring but viable, while some ideas may be excellent but not viable.
I tried building different ideas before eventually finding a niche that I could focus on. For example, I tried building a professional social media; where people could share a picture of themselves at work, doing work-related activities, or at conferences, the app gained a little bit of traction but growth stagnated. Also, people's expectations of what asocial media should be like were quite high, which led to constant churn.
I also tried building a job board platform where healthcare companies and organizations could hire for non-clinical positions. I still believe this is a good idea but bad timing has a lot to do with why it didn’t pick up, I built it when a lot of companies were laying off employees, so a lot of employees were registering, but it was difficult to get employers to use the platform. The few out of the 1000s of employers that replied by cold message were looking to cut down spending.
With the job board failing, I needed to pivot quickly. I had always been aware that most healthcare practitioners look for alternative countries, cities, or states they would like to practice due to either personal or career reasons. This is where the concept of Heltjob came from.
I also noticed that different countries had different healthcare systems when I was selling my job board services to some healthcare startups, and organizations. Due to this reason, it is very easy to provide make uninformed decisions, because you ain’t armed with enough information about how a country's healthcare system works. A solution that works for the healthcare problem country A is facing might not work for country B. So similar problems, but solutions must be approached differently. This was the major reason we built CSBMed.
We want people to take their health more seriously, and at the same meet them where they are. Basic apps such as our BMI calculator BDBMI make this possible, you don’t need to visit the clinic to know things like your weight category or have an understanding of why your lifestyle might be putting your health at risk.
We built our website using Carrd, and the backend is Airtable, Tallyform, and Notion. Because we operate as both an agency and a product studio, we must articulate our vision and mission well.
Even though, we provide services for healthcare providers, delivering excellent healthcare services to the patients is still the end goal. We build products for providers and patients having this truth in mind.
Describe the process of launching the business.
We just launched very recently, and one thing that worked for us was social media. We posted our products in healthcare groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Another strategy that is currently working for us is creating free digital products such as pdf dedicated to helping healthcare providers run their practice better.
For our consumer-facing products such as BDBMI, our price is quite on the competitive end, however, still falls within the range of our competitors. We can’t charge prices that are too low, that will put us out of business fast because we are bootstrapped company. We can’t charge prices that are too high because we are trying to help people stay healthy, we shouldn’t drive them toward poverty.
For our business services, BD Agency and products, such as CSBMed and Heltjob. We charge based on the value delivered. We looked at our competitors' prices to have a possible understanding. I believe, however, that bootstrapped companies should start with high prices, it’s always easier to drop your price than to increase it. Another factor is as a bootstrapped company you can't compete with VC-backed companies based on price. They can take the loss, a bootstrapped company cannot.
The greatest challenge was finding the right marketing channel. We thought cold emailing and posting on Twitter would work. We tried it but it didn’t work. However, posting on LinkedIn did work for us.
We are a bootstrapped and self-funded company. Due to our company's business model, it will be difficult raising money from investors. Although, we are not close to the idea of fundraising. Most times VCs are more interested in companies solving a single problem, they are also less interested in investing in services companies. They believe it’s difficult to 10x their investment in a specific period. Bleverdesign runs an agency and product studio.VCs rarely invest in such companies.
Most of the money spent so far went to the builders and domain names. I design and build all the websites myself. I also work with 2 developers to build some of the app products. I also have another talent handling sales and marketing for the Bleverdesign agency. They all work part-time, and we agreed on some form of revenue sharing as means of payment. With the developers building Bleverdesign products, we agreed on them getting some percentage of the gross revenue generated by these products. This agreement is also open to review after some years.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
A growth strategy that has helped us drive traffic is offering value for free. For example, we create weekly pdf content specifically for healthcare providers detailing how they can leverage marketing and branding in growing their healthcare practice. We give this content away for free, and they can access it on our website.
You need to build and get your hands dirty. That’s the only way you learn.
The healthcare niche is a very trust-driven industry, you can’t jump directly into sales, or you will be met with objections which will be due largely to a lack of trust in your services and products.
We also leverage social media a lot, not just for posting, but also by joining groups and being active in these groups. We create free educational materials such as pdfs targeted at helping healthcare providers successfully run their practices. We also leverage social media in promoting Bleverdesign products; just by posting about relatable health situations whilst still finding ways to educate our target audience on the benefits of living healthy.
For most of Bleverdesign products, we removed the first-line usage barrier, take for example, we have a free tier for our BDBMI app. It’s free to access, and users can use the app to calculate their body mass index, get their results, and find their category.
None of these are easy to do when you are bootstrapping a business, but it’s either you run an ad, do SEO, or offer something valuable via content marketing. We chose content.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
We launched and started focusing on the healthcare niche recently. It took me multiple ideas, launches, trials, and errors to eventually find the right niche to build for. We also had to fine-tune our model and determine our target customers and the best go-to-market strategies to use. We are still very early stage, although we have started seeing engagement with our products and services.
We are fully focused on solving and building for the healthcare niche. We don’t plan on going wider, we plan on going deeper. We want to deliver on our mission of improving the quality of healthcare and healthcare delivery via digital technology solutions. This way, our audience can associate us with our mission.
I want our target audience to think about ‘Designing a healthier and happier world’ when they see the Bleverdesign brand and logo. We want people to live healthier, happier, and longer.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Yes, I have learned a lot. It is incredibly hard to build a business, and it’s even harder to make people part with their money, especially if what you are offering isn’t valuable to them.
People can figure out if you are the right person to solve their problem, you can fool them once but not twice. So make sure you are solving a problem that is uniquely you and building what people want. A problem only you have a unique insight into or a problem only you can solve due to your set of skills.
Also, don’t avoid building ideas because they are boring. An idea might be boring but viable, while some ideas may be excellent but not viable. I wish I had figured all these out earlier. Some ideas are also just incredibly hard to monetize. You can easily find this out by doing sector or industry research.
Building out my ideas got easier when I wrote down my strengths and weaknesses, and I started playing to my strengths whilst looking for talents to complement my weaknesses. I write everything down.
A hard lesson I learned is that you can’t build for an industry or a sector you know nothing about. Also, when building a tech business or startup, you can’t just outsource your work without understanding what tech entails. You can’t afford to be ignorant, you will lose money and time.
The helpful habits I have developed are writing things down, asking questions before taking decisions, and doing only the things that align with the company mission.
The fact is that you need a lot of stamina and consistency when building a business. You will probably get multiple things wrong before you get a thing right. It’s always multiple losses and single huge wins. So you need a lot of stamina to be a honey badger that refuses to die or give up. This has nothing to do with your skill set but has everything to do with faith and belief in yourself.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Websites: Carrd
Database: Airtable
Productivity: Todoist and Notion
Newsletter: Beehiiv
Email: Zoho
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
I listen to the My First Million (MFM) podcast, where they talk about niche tech entrepreneurs that are building profitable businesses. No faux, they say it the way it is, and they also ask their guests insightful questions. I also listen to All-In, Indie Bites, Indie Hackers, UpFlip, and Earn Your Leisure (EYL). MFM and EYL are my favorites.
The book that inspired me to start building tech businesses is Capitalism Without Capital by Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake., It helped me to understand how to think about tech, the economy, and finances long term. Other books that inspired me include Empire State of Mind by Zack O’Malley Greenburg, and Amazon Unbound by Bradstone.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting?
If you get it right the first time, you are extremely lucky. It takes a lot of batting for you to hit the right ideas. So, ship more and ship faster. It sounds generic, but the truth is that every mistake and failure drives you toward success.
Also, it’s important you shut out the noises, so you won't drown easily in the pool of ideas that you forget to launch any. Find your tribe and join them, they’ve probably gone through what you are currently experiencing, and you can relate with them easily.
A lot of people don't get it the first time, and you need to have an insane amount of work ethic. You need to work hard, not just think hard or optimize for working smart only. You probably won’t have a work-life balance until you make a significant amount of income. You just need to grind it out, and none of it is palatable, but it’s always incredibly rewarding.
I can't talk about other people's mistakes, but I can talk about mine. The greatest mistake I made was choosing to build cool ideas just for the beauty and hype of it, without knowing what I was truly getting into. Also, listening to everything and everyone. The person with the right answer is you. So listen to yourself more.
If you opt to have a co-founder, choose them wisely. Your first set of hires or employees is incredibly important; they will determine the company's work ethics and culture. So, hire right.
Lastly, even though listening to podcasts or reading can be enlightening and inspiring. It all means nothing if you don’t take action. You need to build and get your hands dirty. That’s the only way you learn.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
We are currently in search of a podcast host and someone interested in hosting the Bleverdesign youtube channel.
Anyone interested should get in touch here.
Where can we go to learn more?
Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or LinkedIn, I reply to all messages. Thank you.
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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