to instantly read 150+ free stories & 250-word summaries of all our stories

Marginal health

Practo and the perils of plenty

It raised too much venture capital, at too high a valuation. Threw too many hats in the health-tech ring whose coda, as we know, isn’t ‘fast fail’. Now down to 900 people, from 2000+ just two years ago, Practo is leaner but is it also wiser as it hits the fund-raising road?

08/10/18

Seema Singh

Practo built India’s largest doctor search and discovery platform and then squandered the lead trying to sell at any cost

Its primary consumer all this while, doctors, don’t accept its value proposition

Practo has pivoted; now it wants to sell to consumers. Health-tech looks more like health commerce

It has thrown money at problems in the past, will it do better this time?

nathan-dumlao-523529-unsplash-1-1920x1071.jpg

Want to read a free 200 word summary?

It’s 8:30 PM. The orthopaedic clinic in north Bengaluru is teeming with patients on Thursday night. Most of them are glued to their phones, the screen glow drowning the dismay of the often hour-long wait-in.

Read the full story. Subscribe now.

Also read our exhaustive coverage about Investigative Reporting, Marketplaces and Future of Retail

Why subscribe? Let us explain.

Already Registered?

Related stories

More stories in /Healthcare & /Reportage

See all in Reportage, Startups & Technology

This story is for subscribers only.
or

Read the full story. Subscribe now.

Also read our exhaustive coverage about Investigative Reporting, Marketplaces and Future of Retail

Why subscribe? Let us explain.

The selected story is available only for paid subscribers. Might want to change your mind!

Subscribe now

Already Registered?

Questions?

What is The Ken?

The Ken is a subscription-driven media site. We write one story a day (weekdays only). These stories have sharp, original insights on technology, business, science and healthcare from India.

Why do I have to sign up to read your stories?

Our stories are not free. Well, some select stories are. But, a significant part of what we write at The Ken is for subscribers only. We put in a lot of effort and resources in writing our stories and believe that you must pay for good journalism.
Hence, our three plans. 1) The annual membership
2) The free sign up
3) The recurring quarterly subscription

On journalism and why you should pay for it, if you haven’t already seen it, here’s a great explainer from John Oliver.

So, one must pay for journalism?

Yes.

How many stories will I get if I take an annual membership?

895+ stories.

And, in the free sign up?

Four stories every month.

Do I get a refund?

We allow you to sample our journalism for free before signing up, and after you do, we stand by its quality. But we do not offer refunds.

I am not getting my daily emails. Do I have to whitelist emails from The Ken?

An added benefit of your subscription (free/paid) are the daily personalised emails. These emails, at times, might end up in your spam/junk folder due to emojis, attachments or images. In case you’re not receiving these emails, it might help to whitelist us. If the problem still persists, write to us at [email protected].

Why am I unable to access the archives?

Full and unrestricted access to our archives is a feature of our annual membership.

My payment is not going through, what can I do?

Please write to us at [email protected] detailing the payment error or queries.

See all FAQs

    See all results for Ken

    No results found for Ken.