My name is Hammad Nasir, and I am the founder of MedGPT.
Can you provide a short overview of your business and the problem it tries to solve?
MedGPT lets you search for medicines, treatments, and diagnoses. Powered by the innovative ChatGPT API, MedGPT acts as your healthcare assistant, giving you access to a wealth of information on various medications and health conditions. Our intuitive search function lets you quickly and easily find the information you need to stay healthy and informed. Whether you're looking for information on a specific medication or want to learn more about a particular health condition, MedGPT has got you covered.
We understand that the world of medicine can be complex and intimidating, so we've designed our app to be user-friendly and easy to navigate. You don't need to be a medical expert to use our app. Just type in the name of the medication or health condition you're interested in, and our app will do the rest.
What’s your background, and how did you come up with the idea?
I’ve been experimenting with various startup ideas and products for over ten years. I started back in 2013 when I was just 17. Inspired by Mark Zuckerberg, I taught myself how to make Android apps and decided to create something of my own. Before that, I wanted to be a heart surgeon; medicine has always been a part of my life. In my family, my father has always remained at the forefront whenever someone needed any medical assistance or advice, so I have experienced all that and have grown up learning about various diseases, drugs, and their functions, how to read medical reports, etc.
I often get asked about the function of certain drugs by my family members, so I thought, "Why not make an app that helps them with it?" It led to the development of MedGPT, initially named "salt."
How did you get your first customers during the early stage of the business?
I am part of this WhatsApp group where people post about their Product Hunt launches. I asked if people would be interested in such an app that would allow them to search for medicines, treatments, or diagnoses. I got mixed responses and a piece of advice to make an MVP and launch it on Product Hunt, so I did the same.
Here’s how the launch did:
The launch helped me gain some initial traction and early users.
What helped us the most was the name of the app itself. After the crazy success of ChatGPT, people are adding GPT to almost any keyword and searching for it, whether AutoGPT, SiteGPT, or MedGPT. Keeping the name MedGPT did most of the work for us and is still helping gain users daily.
How’s the business doing now?
We have 3.7k users who have searched for medications, treatments, and diagnoses over 19k times now. We are yet to start any monetization.
Presently, what marketing channels are working well to acquire customers?
The marketing is pure organic for now. None of that paid ads, social media campaigns, etc. It's just pure organic growth. People go to the Play Store, search for MedGPT or Medical AI app, and find our app on the top!
MedGPT got featured on ‘There’s an AI for that,’ which also helped.
What has been your biggest achievement as a founder?
Since I started developing apps, my main goal was to make something people find helpful and use daily. With MedGPT, I’ve achieved that goal by God’s grace. This can be counted as my biggest achievement so far!
What has been your biggest challenge since the company's inception?
The biggest challenge I've faced since the company's inception has been maintaining focus and dedication over an extended period of time. Unlike some entrepreneurs who tend to work on one project for many years, I'm more of a "12 startups in 12 months" kind of person. This preference for rapid turnover and new ventures can make it quite difficult for me to stay committed to a single project for an extended duration. One of the key aspects of entrepreneurship is the ability to adapt, pivot, and explore new ideas. However, when you commit to a single project for a longer period, you need to sustain that enthusiasm and drive. It's like a marathon rather than a sprint. Here are some of the challenges and strategies I've encountered and used to address this issue:
1. Maintaining Passion: Keeping the same passion and excitement for one project over an extended period can be challenging. To combat this, I've found it essential to revisit my initial motivation and purpose for the project regularly. Reconnecting with the "why" can reignite my enthusiasm.
2. Avoiding Burnout: The risk of burnout increases when working on a single project for an extended time. To mitigate this, I've learned to incorporate self-care practices and regular breaks into my routine. Maintaining a work-life balance is crucial for long-term sustainability.
3. Setting Milestones: Breaking down the project into smaller, achievable milestones provides a sense of accomplishment. It's much easier to stay focused when seeing progress and celebrating small wins.
4. Staying Adaptable: While dedicated to a single project, I also acknowledge the need to remain adaptable. Sometimes, it's necessary to pivot or adjust the project's direction to keep it fresh and aligned with changing market conditions.
5. Seeking Support: Building a strong support network is vital. Having mentors, advisors, or a team of like-minded individuals who can provide guidance, encouragement, and feedback can help maintain focus and motivation.
6. Reminding Myself of the Long-Term Vision: Sometimes, it's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day details and lose sight of the long-term vision. Regularly revisiting the bigger picture and understanding how this project fits into my overall goals helps me stay motivated.
In summary, while my natural inclination may be to move from one venture to the next rapidly, I've recognized the value of dedicating time and effort to a single project. It's a different kind of challenge, but by implementing these strategies and being mindful of my own tendencies, I've maintained focus on a single venture for a longer duration, ultimately achieving greater depth and impact with my work.
What advice would you give to new entrepreneurs?
The primary advice I'd like to impart is to seize every opportunity to take a shot. Embracing this approach increases your chances of hitting a target that could create a significant impact. By consistently pursuing various opportunities and trying different paths, you broaden your horizons and enhance your likelihood of stumbling upon something truly transformative.
Whether in your personal or professional life, adopting a "take as many shots as possible" mindset can be the key to discovering hidden potentials and achieving remarkable outcomes.
My advice is to wholeheartedly embrace the idea of taking chances and exploring new avenues. It's a reliable method for uncovering opportunities that could lead to substantial and positive changes in your life.
How do you keep yourself motivated?
This is a tough one. It is quite easy to get demotivated when building something from scratch. There are a lot of setbacks and a lot of things that could go wrong.
I employ several strategies to keep myself motivated. Firstly, I set clear and achievable goals. Having a defined purpose gives me a sense of direction and a reason to stay motivated. I also break these goals into smaller, manageable tasks, allowing me to track my progress and celebrate small victories along the way.
Secondly, I draw inspiration from my passion. I ensure that the tasks and projects I'm working on align with my interests and values, as this intrinsic motivation keeps me engaged and enthusiastic.
What are your plans for the next 6-12 months?
Next, we plan to add more features, such as voice search, image search, and personalized profiles. Users could save their chat history & revisit them whenever needed.
We are also looking forward to implementing several monetization strategies.
Where can people get in touch with you?
I can be reached at [email protected] or my Twitter (X?).
