PRACTO: Transitioning healthcare services in India

Practo Technologies Private Limited established by two engineers from NIT, Suratkal in the year 2008, Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal. Shashank’s father had been asked to undergo a knee replacement surgery. He was looking for second opinion from a doctor in the US. Unfortunately, he could not share medical records with the doctor because they were not available in a digital format. That is how the company came into existence. The engineering duo consistently along with robust team creates technology to support healthcare industry. For Practo founders, life seems to be in a full circle in 2015 on several fronts like serving consumer health needs, raising $120 million in the year, and four acquisitions. Today, with all acquisitions they are trying to complete neat jigsaw puzzle. Mr. Shashank categorically explained that Practo is not an ecommerce company rather a service market place. On the other side, various new start-ups are there like Ziffy.com, Lybrate and MedAngels.com increasing competition. To retain leadership they are not leaving any stone un-turn, recently they have come up with TV commercials along with various online promotions. The various campaigns that Practo has run so far focus on the funny side of an otherwise grim situation and the ease of use. The case is useful for management graduates both U.G. and P.G specializing with marketing. Case may be used for internet marketing, branding strategy, understanding competition and revenue models and their sustainability particularly for start-ups of similar nature.