Three young Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi graduates, Mudit Vijayvergiya, 24, Pawan Gupta, 24, and Nipun Goyal, 25, with a team of 25 engineers and doctors have created a LinkedIn of sorts for doctors. Curofy is a simple-to-use mobile app for doctors where they can discuss patient cases with colleagues, make new acquaintances to expand their network, connect with old doctor friends, learn the latest in medical technologies and also apply for jobs.
Pawan and Nipun are Electrical Engineering graduates. While the former worked with Deutsche bank in Mumbai for two years, the latter worked with Rothschild India for two years before joining Curofy. Mudit has a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and worked with Axtria, a pharmaceutical consulting firm for a year after graduating. Initially, the founders mulled on medical tourism as a business model when they started in 2012 but pivoted their model to the current one after leaving their respective jobs last year.
Based out of Gurgaon, it took them three months of development and testing to launch Curofy in the market. Mudit explains, “We realised that for doctors to give holistic treatment to a patient, it is imperative that they are connected to colleagues of different specialties. Curofy envisions being a tool where one patient can be seen by doctors of all specialties at one place by visiting a single doctor.”
A free service, Curofy also aims to introduce jobs on the newsfeed section of their mobile app. In the run up to the launch of their iOS app, Pawan adds, “It will also solve the needs of thousands of PG, MBBS and young doctors applying for jobs across the country”. Within two months of its launch, Curofy was approached by pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and medical equipment manufacturers. This is proof enough of the need for creating a network for doctors which subsequently helps various companies too who spend a lot in reaching out to doctors.
The founders are still figuring out a way to monetise the app although their focus is now on building a high quality engaging network of doctors. Nipun says that Curofy is associated with nearly all major corporate hospitals in Delhi. "There are a few companies outside India like doximity and sermo in US, fugure1 in Canada, dxy in China who are working on the same model but in india, most of the players are focussed on improving the lives of administrators and not doctors. This is Where curofy comes in, " adds Mudit.
Curofy has raised angel funding to the tune of $150,000 to $200,000 from some well known angels and seed funds. Rajul Garg (Sunstone Business School, Global Logic, Pine Labs), Alok Mittal (Jobs Ahead, Canaan), India Quotient, Spice Labs, Dinesh Agarwal (Indiamart), Dr.Shuchin Bajaj (Cygnus Hospitals) and Presha Paragash (Zostel, Sol Primero) being some of them.
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