Guillem Serra of mediquo.
Tell us about yourself?
Founder and CEO of MediQuo. Founder of MeetingDoctors. Member of MeetingLawyers. Investor and board member of >30 startups: Singularu, Cuidum, Landbot, Demium, Homyspace, Hannun, Taiga Agile and Penpot, Swipcar, Catevering, Dental Residency, Brickbro, Twenix, The Wild Curl, Shimoku, Spathios, Trialing, Pulpo, Buscoresi , Xpeer, Incapto, Rebag, Impossible Bakers, Rebaila, Dudyfit, MyfloraDNA and Hippy Collective among others. Physician and mathematician with an MBA, IESE Business School. Deep knowledge in the market of eHealth, MedTech and early stage startups. Technical knowledge in the areas of data-mining, signal processing, artificial intelligence and product development.
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
Lots of missconception come in mind: that the startups are not real businesses or that the idea is important, that it is only fit for special person, or that you have to be young to create a startup.
If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?
When I started the second comany (mediQuo). I closed a very important investment deal on the very beginning before having lots of metrics to prove product market fit. I’d rather have less money and test first product market fit before commiting to a theorical business plan that is not real
What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?
nothing special. Probably I always had an obssession to solve problems. This is why I studied medicine and mathematics. Also, something that I always have is a curiosity to learn about new ideas and how the world works.
What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?
Some of my early habits that were very nice when I had them was do sports daily. But I do not do anymore. Something that I am actually doing now is creating meaningfull relationships with people who have similar mindsets as mine. Building a network of professionals, investors and enterpreneurs can help in a lot of things and ease you solitude as founder.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
MediQuo was influenced mainly by whatsapp and the how the medical doctors use it in their daily practice. Also, mediQuo was influenced by other telehealth startups such as doxy.me and doctolib.
Where do you see your business in five years?
I don’t know. I don’t care. I try to focus on what I can do on the next 6 months. It is impossible to know what your company will be or do in five years and can be a source of frustation. You have to be open to understand and adapt to market trends.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?
Healthcare market is a slow, regulated and localised market. It is not a sector that is easy for startups to grow. This is why we can se so few successful startups in digital healthcare.
Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?
I’ve invested in several companies that have been a success and also build other startups that are doing well. But what I would say that my success so far that I am most proud of is to create a team that I love working with and be able to put something new into the market and see that people use it.
How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?
We do both b2c and b2b. For b2c, we have 70% of our costumers who come organically and 30% from paid marketing (Google, FB, IG, etc..). For B2B, the best deals have come thanks to public relations and a good network. I am not much a salesperson.
What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?
First: do not link the success of the company as your own success as a persona. 90% of the startups die and companies life expectancy are less that a human life expectancy. If you do it, you can burn out very easily. Second: start small, test a lot the product market fit, aim for something big.
And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?
I hope that it brings me a meaningful life with lots of problems to solve, new people to meet and help the world be better in a very non impactful, small way.
