'We Plan to Raise $5-6M in the First Round of External Funding in the Next 3-4 Months' Says Rajesh Mundra, Founder & CEO, Truworth Wellness

Founded in 2010, Truworth Wellness started as a health technology company focusing on Telehealth Solutions for biometric screening and Practice Management Software for Doctors. In 2013, the company pivoted to Corporate Wellness by acquisition of Chi Health, a small company based out of Bengaluru providing online wellness to a few corporates.

It is now an end-to-end provider in the digital health and wellness space in India, Truworth Wellness offers a complete gamut of online and offline products and services such as health risk assessment, biometric screening and diagnostics, nutrition and fitness coaching, chronic disease management (such as for Obesity, Diabetes, Hypertension ,and Dyslipedemia), pregnancy care and management, stress management programs, medical doctor and specialist opinions, fitness bands, glucometers, elder care and home care programs.

Through its web and mobile platform, Truworth Wellness provides all round products and services to its end users right from health assessment to continuous engagement, thereby ensuring good overall health management. This is done by combining conventional wisdom with modern-day medicine, holistic wellness with gamification, and emerging behavioral models with adaptive and predictive technologies to create fulfilling and effective consumer experiences.

In an interaction with BW Disrupt Team, Rajesh Mundra, Founder & CEO, Truworth Wellness shares his entrepreneurial journey and details about the venture.

Brief us about your business model like how did the idea came to start and how does it work?

The idea behind starting a preventive health venture had a lot to do with personal experience coupled with the experiences of a number of other people. In my early 40s, I had put in a request for a high value insurance plan that was rejected due to some unusual parameter found in the health check. That’s when I realized, we Indians are culturally very apprehensive of visiting laboratories and hospitals for general checkups. It drove me to think of a solution - a service where at least a few basic health screenings can be done at home or office.

My knowledge of the IT sector helped me develop a telehealth platform - Truworth Wellness. In the year 2010, we started with an initial capital of Rs.1 crore, self-funded through my other businesses. Our service was integrated with Bluetooth-enabled medical devices and we began partnership with a US-based company that would screen for major chronic diseases such as Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, Arrhythmia, Diabetes, and COPD.

The screening consisted of a paramedical technician conducting a basic health screening and then transferring the data collected from our wireless devices via internet to the Central Monitoring Station where doctors would evaluate the data and suggest secondary level diagnostics to be performed and refer patients to specialists.

This service was launched in Jaipur city at first and received high appreciation. Many individuals with deviated statistics learned of their conditions well in time and this helped them manage their condition more effectively. The company went on to do more than 5000 such screenings. However, a challenge we faced at that time was scaling up in the B2C market, as the cost of customer acquisition was turning out to be very high. In 2013, the company pivoted to the Corporate Wellness sector looking at the opportunities in the space by acquisition of Chi Health, a small company based out of Bangalore providing online wellness to a few corporates. Since then, Truworth has built a strong consumer base of 1.5 million employees pan India, and acquired a clientele of over 100 corporations in the country making it India’s top Workplace Wellness company.

In 2015, we started working on creating a new online platform,‘THE WELLNESS CORNER,‘ that would provide complete end to end wellness engagement solutions to an individual, an employer, and an insurance company as well. The platform will provide diverse range of solutions from Risk Assessment to Coaching, Management, and Product Fulfilment, thereby enabling total health management under one roof rather than through multiple apps and portals.

What are the special key features of your startup?

Truworth Wellness over the years has realized the importance of customer engagement. We utilize a lot of our resources in understanding and developing programs that constantly motivates and engages the customer to outperform their previous results. This is done by combining conventional wisdom with modern-day medicine and holistic wellness with gamification as well as emerging behavioural models with adaptive and predictive technologies to create fulfilling and effective wellness experience for our consumer. Being a technology-driven company we believe in providing all-round services to our clients. Having said that, our product, The Wellness Corner, aspires to be your smart health assistant providing a one-stop outlet for all your health & wellness needs.

The Wellness Corner does exactly this by understanding from your data and help you develop exactly the lifestyle that would keep you healthy. This level of personalization is achieved through analyzing the usage pattern behind our range of features such as smart dashboard, health vital tracking, food and exercise tracking, health risk assessment, and health content. Through this analysis, our system is able to give insights about the improvements you can make in your daily lifestyle. 

When you first sign-up on The Wellness Corner, you are asked to fill out a Health Risk Assessment which gives you a fair idea about your current health and lifestyle risks. This enables you to identify areas in which you would need to make adjustments. The result from the Health Risk Assessment forms the base of The Wellness Corner. Our state-of-the-art recommendation engine recommends wellness plans and condition management programs that can help you improve your health and lifestyle significantly. 

What are the challenges your company facing in running the business?

One major challenge that we face on a regular basis is about overcoming the traditional perceptions towards individual wellness. Although our younger audience is open to using technology to improve their overall health, the majority of middle-aged and senior consumers are hesitant to incorporate this change into their lifestyle. When it comes to our own health, we tend to think we know the best and hence taking advice from your smartphone seems a bit strange. Breaking this barrier has been a challenge so far as it involves educating and onboarding every user about the benefits of using technology to improve their lifestyle. However, over time with an increasing technology penetration as well as our diverse range of solution for all segments of consumers, we expect this challenge to be almost non-existent.

Funding status and monetization model?

Funding

Truworth Wellness has invested in an excess of USD 2 million primarily raised from promoters, friends, and family through a combination of debt and equity. We are looking to raise USD 10 million in two rounds of funding for expanding the team and infrastructure, investment in marketing, branding, technology, and working capital needs.

Truworth will be rapidly expanding its corporate wellness business in India along with launching in the Middle East and Asia Pacific markets. We will also be entering the retail B2C market in the beginning of 2017. We are currently having a revenue rate of Rs. 48 lakh per month and we expect to hit a revenue of more than Rs. 20 crore in the next financial year post our fundraising. 

Monetization Model 

The company has a dual business model of subscription to its Wellness Plans designed for Health-Conscious Consumers, Corporate Employers, and Insurance Companies. Truworth will also soon be having an online store for sale of allied products and services like Fitness Bands, Glucometers, Gym and Spa packages, Healthy Meals, Health Checks, and Prescription Refills for patients living with chronic diseases.

The company has been growing at a stable growth rate of 40% annual in terms of revenue Year on Year beginning 2014. This year we have signed up 20 new corporate clients with an additional user base of 45,000 employees and this year we have generated total revenues of 3 crs during the first half of FY 2016.

Apart from this, in the B2C space, Truworth has more than 20,000 users of Diabetes Management solution using Truworth glucometes and strips. Truworth reaches to these customers through online sales and through channel markets. Truworth has a technical partnership with Fora Care, a Swiss company for the glucometers and strips manufactured at their Taiwan Location under the Truworth brand.

The core objective of Truworth Wellness is to become an integrated digital health and wellness company in preventive health care and chronic disease management, thereby providing a comprehensive wellness ecosystem catering to individuals, employers, as well as insurance providers.

What is the market size and opportunity?

As per a recent study by the Stanford Research Institute International, the global wellness industry represents a market of nearly USD 2 trillion as opposed to the Indian Wellness Industry, which is a USD 9.8 billion market; accounting therefore, for less than 2% of the global wellness industry. It is believed that with the active involvement of the government and private participants, the wellness industry in India can create a visible impact on a global scale. India is the home to globally acknowledged holistic wellness practices such as Yoga and Ayurveda – therefore, with an effective investment from all the stakeholders, India could create a great impact globally in terms of health & wellness practices.

By 2015, wellness services alone were expected to have the potential to generate three million job opportunities. However, it is critical for the government and private participants to simultaneously invest in education infrastructure and quality standards to provide further impetus to the industry. The overall wellness market in India is estimated at INR 490 billion and wellness services alone comprise 40% of this market.

We at Truworth Wellness are privileged to service esteemed global companies like Microsoft, HP, DELL, MSD, Deustche Bank, Wipro, Infosys, Biocon, Godrej, and many more. Truworth Wellness is now on its journey to becoming the top digital health and wellness company of India with global footprints.

What have been the biggest learnings so far?

The biggest learning so far has been that an extremely competitive market requires service that meets the demand of each and every customer’s need. We cannot just focus on employees with chronic diseases; that way we will miss out on a huge chunk of population that is already healthy and is looking for solutions focusing on preventive wellness.Therefore, we have ensured that we provide end-to-end health & wellness solutions to the consumers.

Truworth Wellness offers a complete gamut of online and offline products and services such as health risk assessment, biometric screening and diagnostics, nutrition and fitness coaching, chronic disease management (such as for Obesity, Diabetes, Hypertension ,and Dyslipedemia), pregnancy care and management, stress management programs, medical doctor and specialist opinions, fitness bands, glucometers, elder care and homecare programs. Along with these, our platform also has in-built rewards and recognition system that lets users stay healthy in a fun and rewarding way.

What are your future and expansion plans?

Truworth Wellness will be rapidly expanding its corporate wellness business in India and soon will be launching it in the Middle East and Asia Pacific markets.

We plan to raise USD 5-6 million in the first round of external funding from VCs/ PEs/Strategic Partners and hope to close this round in the next 3-4 months. We plan to utilise the raised funds in expanding the team and infrastructure, marketing, branding, technology improvements, and working capital.We will also be entering the retail B2C market in the beginning of 2017.

What are the traction details?

The company has been growing at a stable growth rate of 40% annual in terms of revenue Year on Year beginning 2014.

The growth in total number of clients –