Health-related online app – idea validation/ feedback/ co-founder?
Background – I'm a freshly-minted physician and I'm already tired of looking at tragic stories because someone did not know/ forget/ did not care about performing his health screening tests. Most of them are related to cardiovascular and cancerous diseases, but there are others (like mental health ones) that people have not heard about.
I've created an app that might help people keep up – this is what it does right now:
It asks you around 20 questions at the very beginning and then:
- Gives you your current health screening recommendations based on the latest medical guidelines in your country (the US right now)
- Checks whether you performed ones (you have to check that you've done those)
- Reminds you every month if you have not performed the test
- Sends you a follow-up questionnaire to keep up with your changing health state.
It was fun doing this and now I'm wondering whether anyone needs a service like this and if so, whether someone would pay a small monthly fee (like 3/4/5 bucks) for it.
Would anyone be interested in talking about it in details and maybe seeing how this can be monetized while still bringing real value to people? Should this a D2C or B2B business, or maybe the idea is not worth pursuing?
Looking for honest feedback on this one!
My initial reaction is that this is an idea that's worth pursuing further. I feel like it's not an easy product to make money from, but it could save lives, which is a bigger achievement than making a million, right?
I would look for related health apps in the app stores and see if they've gained traction and if so, how? Private healthcare organisations could be interested because they have a financial incentive to encourage people to come in for check ups / treatment. Also if they can offer clients your app, it adds value to their offering. Another possibility would be selling it to a company that needs brand exposure. For any checks that are meant to be performed by oneself, the app should provide instructions and maybe a video. It sounds like you haven't actually tested the app on people yet - make sure you do that and make improvements before you think about charging for it. Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback and your point of view on how to possibly grow it. I've not thought about those ways of trying to get users, and I definitely did not think about selling it to another company looking for brand exposure – this is an interesting idea.
The app already has a landing page, and the video is coming in 3-4 weeks. I'm testing this myself and but I'll give it to my friends and family for tests as well.
I'm going to share the app here as well (in test mode without any charges) – I'm sure I will get some nice info on how to improve it.
Doubtful how many "did not know/ forget/ did not care" types of user you will sign up (as they don't care) but others should benefit from your app broadening their awareness and keeping them on their toes. So maybe you will not make much of a dent in the tragic stories you refer to but I would imagine there is an audience of "do cares" who may be persuaded to use it.
Would you try to offer this directly to consumers or maybe strictly to companies that could sign up multiple employees at once?
Those who do not care would bring the most value for me personally, as even making 1 person go see a doctor and getting the treatment earlier is 100% worth it. I was even considering to make it free but emails/text messages/ WhatsApp messages cost money to send, and probably all of them would be required to work simultaneously for people to notice those mails in the sea of newsletters.
Try different approaches. See which ones work. Can keep more than one channel going. General dissemination could be via twitter/facebook to help raise awareness (twitter could be great for the scheduled reminders). Link up with current players on those channels to reach their audience. Would any charities be interested?
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Interesting angle. Some health insurance companies already give rewards for exercising with a tracking app.
2 days in and I'm already impressed by the community here. It would probably require good networking and people hearing about the app before the approach but still. Thanks for this point!
PS Believe me, oncologists would still win. Far better to treat something in the early stage :)!
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