Hobnobbing with Alex Templeton from Qure

So, what do Qure do?

Qure is the easy-to-use app that delivers a doctor to your door within 2 hours. Qure offers an affordable solution at those times of pressure, when you or your children need to be seen immediately by a doctor, but you can't face the hours waiting in A and E, or traipsing to the GP surgery (if you can even get an appointment!). What's more, the service is also 24/7, so offers a much-needed option during the night.

What’s behind the business idea?

Every great idea starts with a pressing problem. Co-founders Charlie and Alex had both, as new fathers, found that accessing healthcare for their families was either time-consuming and frustrating, or the alternative was prohibitively expensive.

Charlie’s struggle to get timely treatment for his young son, who had 3 separate minor conditions, will be familiar to many. His local GP surgery’s answerphone informed him there were no appointments that day and, when he finally managed to speak to a real person, he couldn’t get him seen for nearly two weeks. Charlie considered an online consultation, but didn’t feel comfortable about putting his young son in front of a screen, while going to see a private GP was both inconvenient and expensive. With only one condition seen per 9 minute appointment, it took what felt like forever to have all his son’s needs seen to.

Was it hard becoming a business owner?

There are obviously hurdles to get over when starting up a new venture, but we've learnt to ride out the lows - as the highs are just around the corner!

How did you recruit your employees?

A mix of our own contacts and online networks.

Was there a breakthrough moment?

No defining moment but plenty of highs. Having consistently wonderful feedback from both patients and doctors is definitely the most rewarding experience to date - the feedback has been way beyond our expectations in terms of positivity!

How is the company doing?

The future is looking bright! We have reached 5000 app downloads in just 4 months of operation, as well as 400 registered doctors on the platform. We have also just done a round of crowdfunding so 2018 is looking very promising!

Do you have any regrets?

No regrets as such, but our biggest mistake would be wanting to run before we can walk- we've learnt that a solid foundation is fundamental to progress and longevity.

What makes you stand out from your competitors?

On demand private primary care services fall in to three broad categories: telehealth providers, visiting services and bricks-and-mortar drop-in clinics. We decided to focus on physical for a variety of reasons, as we believe, based on conversations with doctors, that there is still no replacement for a physical face-to-face consultation.
We see GPDQ as our main competitor. They have been around for more than two years and only use GPs. They are also expensive and charge £120 per 25 minutes on weekdays, £150 on weekends and £200 on bank holidays.

How is Qure different?

24/7 FACE-TO-FACE.

PRACTITIONER SUPPLY: As well as GP’s, we also use appropriately-qualified GP Registrars (GPR’s), Hospital Doctors & Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP’s).

INSURANCE: We have our own bespoke product that covers our practitioners indemnity.

VALUE: The above allows us to offer appointments at prices that are up to 40% cheaper than our closest competitor.

FLEXIBILITY: Our practitioners are free to choose when they work & for how long.

What is your definition of a positive customer experience?

An easy-to-use service that allows patients to receive prompt and comfortable medical help when they need it, so that they can return back to full health as soon as physically possible.

You’re currently reaching out for investors, what do you plan to do when you have raised this funding?

We believe that there is a real opportunity for rapid growth in a market with few established competitors. This investment will allow us to capitalise on this by building consumer awareness, as well as bring our development capabilities in-house, which will allow us to focus on improving our product every day

If you could help a business now with a single piece of advice, what would it be?

Success doesn't happen overnight - you have to learn from your mistakes to make progress!

Finally,  what are your favourite biscuit?!

Hobnobs of course....! The chocolate variety!

Kareema