how-does-doximity-make-money

How does Doximity make money?

  • Doximity is an online networking platform for medical professionals that was founded in 2010 by Nate Gross, Jeff Tangney, and Shari Buck. Tangney got the idea for Doximity after discovering that communication with patients, administrators, recruiters, and other doctors in the healthcare industry was slow and antiquated.
  • Doximity’s primary source of revenue is the subscription fee it charges brands that want to advertise to its vast healthcare professional audience. These are mostly hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.
  • Doximity also makes money from its healthcare recruitment platform and telehealth solution, which was to some extent developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business Model ElementAnalysisImplicationsExamples
Value PropositionDoximity’s value proposition centers around: – Professional Network: Offering a secure platform for healthcare professionals to connect and collaborate. – Medical Directory: Providing access to a comprehensive directory of medical professionals. – Secure Communication: Enabling HIPAA-compliant communication and sharing of patient information. – Medical News and Updates: Offering access to medical news, research, and updates. – Career Opportunities: Facilitating job searches and career development within healthcare. Doximity empowers healthcare professionals with a dedicated platform for networking, communication, and career advancement.Provides a secure and trusted platform for healthcare professionals to connect and collaborate. Offers access to a vast network of medical professionals and their expertise. Enables secure communication and sharing of patient information, meeting HIPAA compliance. Provides access to essential medical news, research, and updates. Supports career development and job opportunities within the healthcare industry. Attracts healthcare professionals seeking a dedicated networking platform.– Secure platform for healthcare professionals to connect. – Access to a comprehensive directory of medical professionals. – HIPAA-compliant communication and information sharing. – Medical news, research, and updates. – Career development and job opportunities in healthcare.
Customer SegmentsDoximity primarily serves healthcare professionals, including: 1. Physicians: Medical doctors across various specialties. 2. Nurses: Registered nurses and nurse practitioners. 3. Other Healthcare Providers: Dentists, pharmacists, and allied health professionals. 4. Medical Students: Students pursuing medical careers. Doximity caters to a diverse group of healthcare professionals and future practitioners, providing services tailored to their needs.Provides a dedicated platform for healthcare professionals, including physicians and nurses. Supports various healthcare providers and medical students. Offers specialized features and resources to address the needs of diverse healthcare segments. Attracts healthcare professionals seeking a professional network and career opportunities.– Medical doctors across various specialties. – Registered nurses and nurse practitioners. – Dentists, pharmacists, and allied health professionals. – Students pursuing medical careers.
Distribution StrategyDoximity’s distribution strategy includes: – Online Platform: Offering a secure online platform accessible via web and mobile apps. – Partnerships: Collaborating with healthcare institutions, hospitals, and medical associations. – Word of Mouth: Relying on referrals and recommendations within the medical community. – Mobile Apps: Providing mobile apps for easy access and communication. Doximity ensures accessibility through its online platform and mobile apps and extends its reach through strategic partnerships and word of mouth within the medical community.Provides healthcare professionals with easy access to its platform via web and mobile apps. Collaborates with healthcare institutions and associations to expand its user base. Leverages referrals and recommendations within the medical community for growth. Offers mobile apps for convenient communication and access to resources. Ensures multiple avenues for users to discover and engage with Doximity.– Offering a secure online platform accessible via web and mobile apps. – Collaborating with healthcare institutions and medical associations. – Relying on referrals and recommendations within the medical community. – Providing mobile apps for convenient access and communication.
Revenue StreamsDoximity generates revenue through several streams: 1. Advertising: Displaying targeted ads to healthcare professionals. 2. Premium Subscriptions: Offering premium memberships with additional features. 3. Talent Finder: Providing tools for healthcare recruitment and job listings. 4. Telehealth Services: Offering telehealth services for medical professionals. 5. Licensing Data: Licensing access to its medical directory and data. Doximity diversifies its income sources through advertising, premium subscriptions, talent finder services, telehealth, and data licensing.Earns revenue by displaying targeted ads to its healthcare professional user base. Generates income through premium subscriptions with added features. Provides healthcare recruitment tools and charges for job listings. Offers telehealth services to medical professionals. Licenses access to its medical directory and data to other organizations. Diversifies revenue streams for financial sustainability.– Displaying targeted ads to healthcare professionals. – Offering premium subscriptions with additional features. – Providing tools for healthcare recruitment and job listings. – Offering telehealth services for medical professionals. – Licensing access to its medical directory and data.
Marketing StrategyDoximity’s marketing strategy involves: – Professional Associations: Collaborating with medical associations and organizations for promotion. – Digital Advertising: Utilizing online advertising channels to reach healthcare professionals. – Word of Mouth: Relying on recommendations and referrals within the medical community. – Event Participation: Participating in healthcare-related events and conferences. Doximity focuses on partnerships, digital advertising, word of mouth, and event participation to attract and retain healthcare professionals on its platform.Collaborates with medical associations and organizations for promotional efforts. Utilizes online advertising to reach healthcare professionals effectively. Leverages recommendations and referrals within the medical community for user growth. Participates in events and conferences to enhance its presence in the healthcare industry. Implements a multifaceted marketing approach tailored to healthcare professionals.– Collaborating with medical associations and organizations for promotion. – Utilizing online advertising channels to reach healthcare professionals. – Relying on recommendations and referrals within the medical community. – Participating in healthcare-related events and conferences.
Organization StructureDoximity’s organizational structure includes: – CEO and Leadership Team: Led by the CEO responsible for strategic direction. – Product Development: Teams dedicated to platform development and feature enhancement. – Sales and Partnerships: Engaging in partnerships and revenue generation. – Marketing and Community: Focusing on user engagement and marketing efforts. – Customer Support: Providing assistance and support to healthcare professionals. Doximity maintains a structure that supports product development, revenue generation, marketing, and user support.Led by a CEO overseeing strategic direction and decision-making. Emphasizes continuous platform development and feature enhancement. Engages in partnerships and sales initiatives to drive revenue. Focuses on marketing, community building, and user engagement. Offers dedicated customer support to healthcare professionals for satisfaction. Maintains a structure aligned with key business functions.– Led by a CEO responsible for strategic direction. – Teams dedicated to platform development and feature enhancement. – Engaging in partnerships and revenue generation. – Focusing on marketing, community building, and user engagement. – Providing dedicated customer support to healthcare professionals. – Aligning with key business functions.
Competitive AdvantageDoximity’s competitive advantage is derived from: – Niche Focus: Specializing in serving healthcare professionals, creating a dedicated community. – Secure Communication: Offering HIPAA-compliant communication, ensuring privacy and compliance. – Comprehensive Medical Directory: Providing access to an extensive directory of medical professionals. – Revenue Diversification: Generating income from various sources for financial stability. – Strong Partnerships: Collaborating with medical associations and institutions to expand its reach. – Trusted Platform: Building trust within the medical community for secure networking. Doximity’s strengths in niche focus, secure communication, a comprehensive directory, revenue diversification, partnerships, and trust position it as a leader in the healthcare professional networking space.Focuses on serving a specific niche, creating a dedicated community of healthcare professionals. Ensures privacy and compliance with HIPAA-compliant communication. Provides access to a comprehensive directory of medical professionals. Diversifies revenue streams for financial stability and growth. Collaborates with medical associations and institutions to extend its reach. Builds trust within the medical community as a secure networking platform.– Specializing in serving healthcare professionals with a dedicated community. – Offering HIPAA-compliant communication for privacy and compliance. – Providing access to an extensive directory of medical professionals. – Diversifying revenue streams for financial stability and growth. – Collaborating with medical associations and institutions to extend reach. – Building trust within the medical community as a secure networking platform.

Background

Doximity is an online networking platform for medical professionals that was founded in 2010 by Nate Gross, Jeff Tangney, and Shari Buck.

The story of Doximity started in the late 1990s when Tangney was living in New York with colleague Richard Fiedotin.

At the time, the Palm Pilot had just hit the market, and the pair wanted to know whether they could create an app that would enable doctors to access critical information.

Tangney and Fiedotin then took the idea to Stanford University where they met another physician called Tom Lee.

The trio discovered a shared interest in the intersection of healthcare and tech, with the Epocrates app launched in 1998.

But due to the dot-com bubble burst and September 11 attacks, business confidence was low and the company was forced to lay off multiple staff.

After Fiedotin and Lee left the company, Tangney powered on alone for much of the 2000s.

His plans to take the company public were again thwarted by a financial crisis, this time the GFC. Finding that he was no longer enjoying his work, he left Epocrates in 2009.

Tangney’s work was not in vain, however. During his tenure at Epocrates, he spent years learning about the challenges doctors faced in their profession.

Above all, he realized that communication with patients, administrators, recruiters, and other doctors was a constant source of frustration.

Convinced that software was the answer to the antiquated health care industry, Tangney partnered with former Epocrates colleague Shari Buck and doctor turned entrepreneur Nate Gross.

Doximity was unveiled to the public in October 2010 as a private, mobile-centric social network for physicians.

Doximity now comprises around 1.8 million medical professionals in the United States, a number that represents over 80% of all physicians.

The company debuted on the NYSE in June 2021 and ended the week with a market cap of almost $10 billion.

Doximity revenue generation

Doximity operates under the subscription-based business model with various fees applicable to its marketing, telehealth, and recruitment services. Below is a brief look at each.

Marketing solutions

Most company revenue comes from marketing or advertising fees that Doximity charges to interested parties.

Most of these are pharmaceutical companies and hospitals that want to use the platform to market their brands to millions of healthcare professionals.

Ads appear in a user’s news feed in a similar way to those that appear on Facebook and can be targeted according to specialty, geography, hospital affiliation, patient volume, and payor mix, among other attributes.

Marketing solutions accounted for 80% of total revenue in the fiscal year 2021.

Recruitment solutions

Doximity also makes money by collecting a subscription fee from companies that are looking to hire medical professionals from its platform. This is an approach that is also favored by LinkedIn.

Doximity uses artificial intelligence and machine learning so that companies searching for talent can run extremely targeted campaigns across various medical specialties.

Prices for this service depend on the number of messages and job vacancies a company wants to incorporate.

Telehealth solutions

Telehealth solutions were also introduced in 2020, mostly in response to the pandemic and a need for doctors to consult remotely.

There are three choices here:

  1. Dialer Free – a free app for physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
  2. Dialer Pro – for small practices and individual clinicians. Prices start at $19.99 per user per month.
  3. Enterprise – for larger practices, hospitals, and other healthcare systems. Pricing here depends on the size of the health system.

Key Highlights

  • Founding and Background:
    • Doximity is an online networking platform for medical professionals, founded in 2010 by Nate Gross, Jeff Tangney, and Shari Buck.
    • The idea originated from Jeff Tangney’s realization of the slow and outdated communication within the healthcare industry, involving patients, administrators, recruiters, and doctors.
    • Tangney had previous experience with the Epocrates app, which aimed to provide doctors with critical information via mobile devices.
  • Platform Evolution:
    • The journey began with the Epocrates app in the late 1990s.
    • Tangney’s work at Epocrates exposed him to the challenges faced by doctors, particularly in communication.
    • Tangney teamed up with Shari Buck and Nate Gross to create Doximity, officially launched in October 2010 as a private, mobile-centric social network for physicians.
    • The platform’s user base grew to encompass around 1.8 million medical professionals in the United States, representing over 80% of all physicians.
  • Revenue Streams:
    • Doximity operates on a subscription-based business model, generating revenue from various services:a. Marketing Solutions:
      • The primary revenue source is marketing or advertising fees charged to pharmaceutical companies and hospitals.
      • Advertisements are targeted to healthcare professionals based on specialties, geography, hospital affiliations, and more.
      • Marketing solutions accounted for 80% of total revenue in 2021.
      b. Recruitment Solutions:
      • Doximity charges subscription fees from companies seeking to hire medical professionals via the platform.
      • The platform employs AI and machine learning for highly targeted recruitment campaigns across medical specialties.
      c. Telehealth Solutions:
      • Telehealth services were introduced in 2020, partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s demand for remote consultations.
      • Three options are available: Dialer Free, Dialer Pro (starting at $19.99 per user per month), and Enterprise for larger healthcare systems.
  • Market Performance:
    • Doximity went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in June 2021.
    • Following its IPO, the company achieved a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion.

Connected Business Frameworks, Concepts And Tools

Blitzscaling Canvas

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The Blitzscaling business model canvas is a model based on the concept of Blitzscaling, which is a particular process of massive growth under uncertainty, and that prioritizes speed over efficiency and focuses on market domination to create a first-scaler advantage in a scenario of uncertainty.

Business Analysis Framework

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Business analysis is a research discipline that helps driving change within an organization by identifying the key elements and processes that drive value. Business analysis can also be used in Identifying new business opportunities or how to take advantage of existing business opportunities to grow your business in the marketplace.

Digital Marketing Circle

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digital channel is a marketing channel, part of a distribution strategy, helping an organization to reach its potential customers via electronic means. There are several digital marketing channels, usually divided into organic and paid channels. Some organic channels are SEO, SMO, email marketing. And some paid channels comprise SEM, SMM, and display advertising.

North Star Metric

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A north star metric (NSM) is any metric a company focuses on to achieve growth. A north star metric is usually a key component of an effective growth hacking strategy, as it simplifies the whole strategy, making it simpler to execute at high speed. Usually, when picking up a North Start Metric, it’s critical to avoid vanity metrics (those who do not really impact the business) and instead find a metric that really matters for the business growth.

Virtuous Cycle

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The virtuous cycle is a positive loop or a set of positive loops that trigger a non-linear growth. Indeed, in the context of digital platforms, virtuous cycles – also defined as flywheel models – help companies capture more market shares by accelerating growth. The classic example is Amazon’s lower prices driving more consumers, driving more sellers, thus improving variety and convenience, thus accelerating growth.

Freemium Business Model

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The freemium – unless the whole organization is aligned around it – is a growth strategy rather than a business model. A free service is provided to a majority of users, while a small percentage of those users convert into paying customers through the sales funnel. Free users will help spread the brand through word of mouth.

Growth Matrix

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In the FourWeekMBA growth matrix, you can apply growth for existing customers by tackling the same problems (gain mode). Or by tackling existing problems, for new customers (expand mode). Or by tackling new problems for existing customers (extend mode). Or perhaps by tackling whole new problems for new customers (reinvent mode).

Asymmetric Business Models

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In an asymmetric business model, the organization doesn’t monetize the user directly, but it leverages the data users provide coupled with technology, thus have a key customer pay to sustain the core asset. For example, Google makes money by leveraging users’ data, combined with its algorithms sold to advertisers for visibility.

Attention Merchant Business Model

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In an asymmetric business model, the organization doesn’t monetize the user directly, but it leverages the data users provide coupled with technology, thus having a key customer pay to sustain the core asset. For example, Google makes money by leveraging users’ data, combined with its algorithms sold to advertisers for visibility. This is how attention merchants make monetize their business models.

Marketplace Business Models

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A marketplace is a platform where buyers and sellers interact and transact. The platform acts as a marketplace that will generate revenues in fees from one or all the parties involved in the transaction. Usually, marketplaces can be classified in several ways, like those selling services vs. products or those connecting buyers and sellers at B2B, B2C, or C2C level. And those marketplaces connecting two core players, or more.

Wholesale Business Model

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The wholesale model is a selling model where wholesalers sell their products in bulk to a retailer at a discounted price. The retailer then on-sells the products to consumers at a higher price. In the wholesale model, a wholesaler sells products in bulk to retail outlets for onward sale. Occasionally, the wholesaler sells direct to the consumer, with supermarket giant Costco the most obvious example.

Retail Business Model

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A retail business model follows a direct-to-consumer approach, also called B2C, where the company sells directly to final customers a processed/finished product. This implies a business model that is mostly local-based, it carries higher margins, but also higher costs and distribution risks.

B2B2C

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A B2B2C is a particular kind of business model where a company, rather than accessing the consumer market directly, it does that via another business. Yet the final consumers will recognize the brand or the service provided by the B2B2C. The company offering the service might gain direct access to consumers over time.

Crowdsourcing Business Model

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The term “crowdsourcing” was first coined by Wired Magazine editor Jeff Howe in a 2006 article titled Rise of Crowdsourcing. Though the practice has existed in some form or another for centuries, it rose to prominence when eCommerce, social media, and smartphone culture began to emerge. Crowdsourcing is the act of obtaining knowledge, goods, services, or opinions from a group of people. These people submit information via social media, smartphone apps, or dedicated crowdsourcing platforms.

Open-Core Business Model

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While the term has been coined by Andrew Lampitt, open-core is an evolution of open-source. Where a core part of the software/platform is offered for free, while on top of it are built premium features or add-ons, which get monetized by the corporation who developed the software/platform. An example of the GitLab open core model, where the hosted service is free and open, while the software is closed.

Open Source vs. Freemium

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Open source is licensed and usually developed and maintained by a community of independent developers. While the freemium is developed in-house. Thus the freemium give the company that developed it, full control over its distribution. In an open-source model, the for-profit company has to distribute its premium version per its open-source licensing model.

Freeterprise Business Model

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A freeterprise is a combination of free and enterprise where free professional accounts are driven into the funnel through the free product. As the opportunity is identified the company assigns the free account to a salesperson within the organization (inside sales or fields sales) to convert that into a B2B/enterprise account.

Franchising Business Model

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In a franchained business model (a short-term chain, long-term franchise) model, the company deliberately launched its operations by keeping tight ownership on the main assets, while those are established, thus choosing a chain model. Once operations are running and established, the company divests its ownership and opts instead for a franchising model.

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