CHENNAI : Mohit Bajaj, founder of Hospibuy, talks about going the e-way in patient care, the evolving medical technology, and his love for sports “My greatest inspiration has to be the doctors I work with on a daily basis. I do not think doctors in India get the credit they deserve. In their line, medical technology is always evolving and this effectively makes them students all their lives,” says Mohit Bajaj, founder of Hospibuy. The company offers a one-step solution for your clinical needs.
Mohit comes from a family with deep roots in the medical industry. After his Bachelors in biotechnology from Anna University (2000-2004), Soon after, he went on to head the manufacturing and export of various medical devices for his family-run company, SISCO. They were one of the first companies in India to register their medical devices in over fifty countries across the globe. Excerpts:
Tell us about Hospibuy.
While our primary focus is to provide a single window to purchase all their medical requirements for private nursing homes and clinics we now also focus on home-bound patient care. We also have textbooks and stethoscopes that cater to the demands of medical students. Our aim is to enable reputed Indian manufacturers to have an accessible platform and showcase their products without incurring high marketing and sales costs to cater to our targeted market.
How did you come up with this concept?
I have been in the medical field for over fifteen years. On a daily basis, a friend or a coworker calls me desperately looking for medical equipment when their dear ones return home after a stay in the hospital. Due to lack of knowledge, they often have to run around or pay exorbitant amounts to get high-quality medical care at home. This is greatly amplified when it is a geriatric patient or someone in need of palliative care. I always had it on my mind to provide them with a solution which allows you to order what you need without much fuss.
This is a similar case with private nursing home and clinics at the mercy of dealers and other vendors when they require quality medical devices. As their volumes are not large enough, they are ignored by the major players and these higher costs are transferred to the patients. Hospibuy lets these clinics purchase what they want at manufacturer prices with no minimum order quantity.
What works better, online or a physical outlet?
The concept of Hospibuy was envisioned two years back. With licenses and approvals, we launched the site in August 2018. We have just started our website and have 35 manufacturers tied up with us, the number should go up to 100 by the end of the year. Initially, we are targeting an online market, but come January we should open our pick-up stores which will cater to urgent requirements. Our mobile app is on the way along with same-day delivery in select cities. A combination of both online and physical stores is what we intend to do all through the next year.
How do you unwind?
I am an avid badminton player. I enjoy a variety of sports. Sports are a great gateway to take your mind off the daily routine and I cannot advocate it enough. When I am off work, I try to spend as much time as possible with my daughter. Children have a way of making even the most complex situations crystal clear, and sometimes a few hours with her can make me forget about my entire day. My wife and I love to travel; we plan a lot of trips together.
What is your success mantra?
Doctors see a great number of patients and the amount of concentration required to lessen the scope of error is tremendous. If we, as business owners and entrepreneurs can translate that into our own operations it can be a great mantra for success.
Research is the key to any successful business or idea. With the amount of information available to us in the public domain and the ocean of success and failure stories, I believe, it is key to sit down and study as much as you can before you plunge into a new venture. A strong backend team and the ability to change are essential to keep your business going.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
There have been a lot of pharmaceutical start-ups, but we strive to be one that specialises in medical equipment and consumables. The licenses and approvals required for our business are very different and time consuming. But now with that cleared up, I feel we can stand out as one of the first medical companies to offer such a diverse range on a digital platform. The medical devices industry has always been dwarfed by the volume of its pharmaceutical big brother but I see rapid growth in the next few years. there has been a boom in the medical industry for past six to seven years. So far the opportunities and scope for growth has been good in the pharma industry.