CHENNAI: Healthi, a Bengaluru-based health-tech website, helps its users with smart and conventional methods to monitor their health regularly. Most Indians find it time consuming to visit their general physician for a health check-up. This website is here to save them time. It chalks out a personalised plan for its customers to keep prevent lifestyle diseases like diabetics, and heart-related complications.
Friends and founders, Krishna Ulagaratchagan and Rekuram Varadharaj, decided to launch the website in 2014 because they wanted to make a difference in the Indian healthcare system. “I used to run markets for a medical company in around 50 countries. Once when I went for a health check-up, I was confused by the numbers in my reports. The doctors did not even give a proper explanation for the figures on the reports,” says Krishna, co-founder. Annoyed by the experience, he decided to launch a website where recommendations will be made in accordance with the user’s lifestyle for both prevention and cure. The launch was preceded by a year-long research in its analytical model.
Healthi also a technology and research-based prevention website, which drew its motto from the adage — prevention is better than cure. It combines the user’s medical history, test reports, and their lifestyle to predict their current health status. It has a network of 400 plus test centres and clinics. “We use technology and research to provide a simple report which will be void of medical jargon. It will also recommend the users to lead a relatively healthier life without entirely altering the current lifestyles,” he adds.
Talking about the challenges, Krishna says that, initially, it was difficult for them to source the data. Since in India, both doctors and patients do not keep records of their medical history. “The biggest challenge was to source patient’s consecutive medical reports as most of them think it is not necessary to visit doctors regularly. They are also not comfortable to talk about their medical history,” adds Krishna. Another major hurdle was to store such huge data and deliver both an affordable and valuable experience.
It was only after January 2018, they looked for investors to fund their start-up.
“It is always important to find investors who are well aware of the potential markets of the respective field and are well-versed in its analytics,” he says. It has raised funds of $3.1 million led by Montane Ventures, a VC office anchored by the Piramal family office in its first round of funding.Healthi has a team of 30 members, who cater to the healthcare needs of more than 200 corporates across India. They used to visit the corporate offices to motivate the employees to follow routine health check-ups. For individuals, the website offers customised personal packages. The company claims to have carried more than 10 lakh tests and has over 95 per cent of satisfied customers.
Why choose healthi?
TEST SMART
Recommendations for every test you need, and not one you don’t
ANALYSE SMART
Personalised reports that understand you, and that you understand
PREVENT SMART
Personalised plans and tips for lifestyle that you can live with
In a Nutshell
● Healthi was started by two friends in 2014
● The website chalks out a personalised plan to prevent lifestyle diseases
● They raised $3.1 million in their first round of funding
● They are on a target to sign about 1.4 million users
by 2018