Traditionally, the beauty and wellness industry – medical spas, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, weight loss clinics, ob/gyns and so on – has relied on in-person consultations and customized marketing campaigns to drive business. But the pandemic changed the equation. Now, there is an expectation that these companies will have a presence on major digital channels.
However, not every practice has the skills and experience to build such a presence – and that’s where companies like RepeatMD come into play. Founded in 2021, RepeatMD provides turnkey software solutions to operators in the beauty and wellness sector.
“RepeatMD buyers are small and medium-sized businesses that want to generate a new revenue stream for their practices,” Phil Setter, founder and CEO of ReadMD, told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Our platform allows practitioners to sell their treatments around the clock and enhances the patient purchasing experience through the mobile app.
Sitter, a repeat entrepreneur, bootstrapped RepeatMD profitably until late 2022, when the startup closed its seed round. He funded the iteration in part with proceeds from VIPinsiders, a Houston-based food and beverage loyalty and rewards program (Sitter grew up from Houston), and a restaurant Sitter owns, the Houston-based brunch and brunch restaurant EggHaus Gourmet.
As Sitter noted, RepeatMD builds apps for beauty and wellness companies — apps that allow customers to sign up and pay for monthly memberships for recurring practices and treatments. Through integration with Affirm, customers can pay for services in monthly installments if they choose.
Like many loyalty programs, RepeatMD apps also “nudge” customers by sending them notifications with discount offers. Sitter describes these experiences as “Starbucks Rewards”-style experiences.
“The goal is to be a Shopify for the medical industry, helping medical practices sell more of their elective procedures,” Seiter said. “We are investing in algorithmic solutions to simplify the patient onboarding process and enhance the purchasing experience for patients, making it easier for patients to discover treatments that fit their goals.”
It seems to be a successful strategy for RepeatMD. The company claims to now serve more than 3,500 practices and 700,000 users, and RepeatMD’s software-as-a-service revenue has increased 130% over the past year, according to Sitter.
This aroused the interest of investors. RepeatMD announced today that it has raised $40 million in a funding round led by Centana Growth Partners and Full In Partners with participation from Proof and Mercury Fund, along with a $10 million loan from Silicon Valley Bank. (Seiter says the loan was obtained “on favorable terms.”)
Setter says the new capital, which brings RepeatMD’s total funds to $56 million, will be used to grow the startup’s partner network, build out the RepeatMD platform and expand the company’s team of about 130 employees to more than 150 by the end of the year. .
“RepeatMD has seen tremendous acceleration of its product over the past 12 months as practices look for new ways to generate revenue,” he added. “We are generating new revenue for practices and the rewards program solves the patient retention problem.”