In a country like India with its booming middleclass and increased disposable incomes, it may be tempting for start-ups to focus on the segments that are currently able to spend.

But the healthcare sector has to serve both the poor and the rich. So how can an entrepreneurial venture in the space capitalise on both segments of promise as well as those that sorely need to be served? Can there always be a fast-track route to success in this sector? Especially if success commonly means attracting investors and raking in exponential profits.

We’ve seen start-ups across the country serve the corporate segment and larger stakeholders in the healthcare sector.

And although there a few focussed on the semi-urban and rural markets, the pressure of profitability hangs heavy on an entrepreneur’s head with or without an investor on board. The attention the entrepreneur or founding team pays to the basics may mean some slow and steady approach is required for winning in the longer term.

Product focus Among online healthcare retailers, Healthgenie.in places itself among the top two. The company was launched in late 2012 and offers more than 6,000 healthcare products and covering more than 20,000 postcodes across the country. Its parent company, GST Corporation, is a well known dealer and manufacturer of surgical, medical and scientific equipment since 1959. That legacy has mattered as Healthgenie.in’s Founder, Manu Grover, gathered more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare business.

If some forecasts that point to the healthcare industry in India growing to somewhere around $280 million are to be believed, then catering to 700 million people living in India’s rural areas is a path to achieving that growth. Moving from the family business to setting up his own meant that Grover could not ignore the opportunity in smaller towns.

“Our business model is a product-centric one. Fifty per cent of our products are on a repeat subscription model. For us, the key is subscription, because we’re a product catalogue company, which then also means that customer satisfaction is paramount for us,” says Grover.

Leveraging the potential of e-commerce is enabling Healthgenie.in cater to its 130,000 registered members. Between a first conversation with Grover in October 2014 and the second this month, Healthgenie.in has added nearly 30,000 members.

Strong for a longer run In a couple of months, Healthgenie.in will look at becoming a standalone company. As far as products go, it is focussed on Fitness and Nutrition, with more than 1,500 products in that segment. Homecare, sports equipment, baby and beauty products are part of its portfolio. A large percentage of the products is sourced from select manufacturing partners; so small manufacturers get a boost as well.

Grover says, “We’ve had some investor interest. We’ll definitely be looking at a first round of $1 million and a second round of $2 million. The funds will go into team and technology additions but we’ll pour a lot into increasing our stocks.”

It has a healthy number of partnerships with small distributors in Tier-2 and -3 cities. In time, the company will look at catering to a B2B client base, beginning with clinical supplies to catering to larger hospitals and leveraging its parent company’s network.

“As against last year’s ₹3.5 crore, we’re expecting to make about ₹8–9 crore profit by April. We’ll operationally breakeven by then,” Grover reveals.

His target is to grow Healthgenie.in by 10 times once a funding partner is on board.

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