Marcel Muenster: A dodgy pineapple started him on this mission to keep travellers healthy while on the road.
Q: Describe the business, core products and services in one paragraph
TraveDoc is the online doctor appointment scheduling service for people living and traveling in a new country. Fast, easy and free, TraveDoc lets you choose and schedule an appointment with a great physician, dentist, or specialist who speaks your language. Don’t wait in line, be treated like a VIP, and get back to work or your vacation.
Q: Who are your key customers?
Our key customers are doctors, dentists, and specialists, who pay an annual subscription fee to be listed with our service. Our end users are patients who seek instant access to high-quality doctors who speak their language.
Q: What business are you most likely to be compared to?
In the US, we’re often compared to Uber as we connect patients with highly qualified doctors on demand from their smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Q: What problem are you trying to solve for your customers?
Getting sick when you’re traveling is extremely stressful when you don’t know where to turn for high-quality medical assistance. Travedoc eliminates that stress for travelers by immediately connecting them to the right expertise, in the right language, and in the right location.
Travedoc changes patients’ access to quality healthcare, no matter where they are in the world – it’s a security blanket. However, it is also about changing the patient’s approach to finding healthcare from subjective advice from local people they ask, or friends, to objective medically reviewed advice, from handpicked specialists and physicians, who are first vetted and then invited to join the program. This is what makes Travedoc compelling for both patients and doctors. ![1B47BCA5-1860-420C-B06C-3DCE6F1C2BE0[61]](https://webintravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/1B47BCA5-1860-420C-B06C-3DCE6F1C2BE061.png)
Q: What financial support did you have to launch the business?
Like many start-ups, we bootstrapped the business until we received our first round of angel investment. Following the angel rounds, we achieved positive cash flow that allows us to grow organically. However, we want to accelerate our growth, so we are in discussions with multiple VC firms.
Q: Who validated the idea first – investors or customers?
The validation of the idea came from multiple stakeholders. First, the idea was validated by our early investors, then it was confirmed by media outlets including Forbes, TechCrunch, and The New York Times. During this period, we expanded our global network and used our positive media coverage and customer testimonials to grow the business.
Q: What is the revenue model and strategy for profitability?
TraveDoc’s primary revenue stream is our annual subscriptions. Doctors and dentists pay an annual subscription fee to be listed on our platform. With 85% of providers paying their fee upfront, TraveDoc achieved positive cash flow mid- 2014.
Q: What is the market opportunity? How scalable is this business?
Market research has shown that the overall number of international travellers will grow up to 1.6 billion by 2020. Asia will be the strongest growth market by contributing about 20% to the overall growth. 64% of all travellers develop any kind of health impairment while they’re traveling. 16% of then seek medical care abroad by visiting a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital. This number translates into 200 million patient visits by 2020.
TraveDoc is already available in 11 countries (Brunei, Costa Rica, Ghana, France, Italy, UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, UK). In 2015 alone, TraveDoc will expand to more than 130 markets globally. Country launchers execute the global expansion by developing new and eligible doctors around the world.
Q: Who are the team members and advisors?
Q: Why do you think you are the best people to make this vision happen?
Our team consists of unconventional advanced degree holders, who all have a passion for travel. Furthermore, every team member has encountered the fear- producing experience of having a medical problem abroad. Everyone on the team deeply understands the need TraveDoc is solving.
Q: What’s the motivation behind doing this?
It all began with a moldy pineapple. In 2009 I took a trip to Hong Kong that sowed the seeds of TraveDoc. I developed severe food poisoning by accidentally eating a moldy pineapple and was confined to bed for six out of the ten days of my trip. I asked the concierge for medical help but he was unable to find someone who could speak English or German, and had no direct access to a medical network. I could have just gone to a private clinic, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee quality, and as a physician I’m probably my own worst patient in terms of expectations. After three years of investigating how this problem could be addressed, I created Travedoc in 2012 and launched in Ghana in 2013, when we were first featured in Forbes.
By 2018, our goal is to have 10,000 physicians in our network looking after over one million patients in more than 200 countries. If, by 2018, we are able to fulfill our vision of saving 5% of traveling patients, we will have made our dent in the universe.
