Katie is a home-grown entrepreneur with a Bachelor's degree in Fashion and Textiles and an MSc in China Business Studies from PolyU. Her business undertaking, QCURE, is an incubator project of PolyU, and it is now on the list of the Greater Bay Area homeland youth joint action items. In 2016, the project won the Far East Business Leadership Award – Excellence in Health Mobile Application.
Initial Attempt at Entrepreneurship
Katie was first involved in entrepreneurship on the Chinese mainland in 2009. After graduation, she did not join the fashion industry but worked in the Sun Hung Kai Financial Group. With a strong ability in sales, Katie received several promotions and became Assistant Vice President within two years. She noticed that the Chinese market was huge and full of opportunities, and decided to explore it. With neither powerful relationships nor wide business experience, she often got into difficulties. She spent six years learning about the Chinese market through trial and error, including understanding customer demand and the Chinese way of doing business. At its high point, her company had five sales locations in different cities in China and a staff of 100. The question was how to sustain growth and go further.
A Different Perspective
To acquire the academic credentials and a systematic understanding of the country, Katie returned to Hong Kong to study for the MSc in China Business Studies at PolyU. She expanded her knowledge of China in terms of its culture, economy, finance, law, and trade. What has most exceeded her expectation is the self-confidence she has built up and the exposure she has gained. The unconditional support from PolyU and the Faculty of Business, the chance to present her ideas, and the valuable feedback on her proposals are things she could never find in the business world.
What enabled Katie to achieve what she has was the support she received from PolyU, a valuable shelter for a start-up company, especially in this keen market. Without PolyU's support, her company would not have had the chance to approach potential investors and earn their recognition and respect. Through the opportunities created, Katie expanded her knowledge and refreshed her mind. Her vision widened before she could seriously reflect on what she aspired to and lacked with regard to entrepreneurship. The Master's qualification and experience was instrumental in building up confidence, not only in herself but also among her potential investors and partners.
A New Start-up
The idea to set up a medical consultation service originated in mainland China, where Katie observed that the healthcare system was overloaded with service for a population of 1.4 billion. She also noticed how numerous mainlanders longed to make contact with overseas specialists to find treatment options for cancer and other chronic diseases and health conditions.
QCURE, established in 2016, is an online platform offering international medical consultations. It is also a one-stop healthcare marketing agency linking clients to more than 500 doctors, professionals, health services and healthcare service providers in addition to 350 insurance agents. Clients obtain expert advice for free and make appointments on the platform. The full range of services includes inoculations, regular check-ups, genetic testing, family planning, and specialist treatments at reasonable prices. To safeguard the well-being of the users, the company exercises due diligence with all service providers before accepting them as part of the network.
Currently, the company focuses on two areas of service. For patients, it is a platform for medical consultation and booking appointments, including recommendations and referrals. For doctors and healthcare professionals, it helps them with marketing and client relations. Coming soon there will be a provision for healthcare education through courses and videos. Doctors in China and overseas experts have expressed interest in sharing their knowledge and views.
As a Hong Kong-based start-up, QCURE faces various challenges, from high rent and high labour costs to attracting investors and growing the database. Apart from co-working, it trains staff on marketing and IT, and involves mainland companies in website enhancement. The good news is that QCURE is a PolyU-supported incubation project, and prospective collaborators and clients highly value the University and the academics’ commendations and recommendations.
A Promising Future
QCURE has received government recognition for being the first Hong Kong-based international platform for medical appointment service. It is now on the first list of projects under the Greater Bay Area homeland youth joint action, hosted by the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR.
Internationalization is a major objective for the medium- to long-term. QCURE is going to extend its network, especially by recruiting more Chinese doctors in Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan to provide specialist advice and treatment options. It also plans to create a database of healthcare information where doctors can share views and experience, and users can search anytime to have their queries answered.
Chinese people's demand for an overseas healthcare service has been rising and the number of consultations and subscriptions on the platform has been increasing. In the near term, the company is working to secure more funds to enlarge its database and upgrade the appointment and Chatbot system.
QCURE strives to become the largest Chinese-language international healthcare service platform in China by 2019 and the largest in Asia by 2024. The short-term goal in 2019 is to produce 3,000 doctor authorized medical articles and 1,000 doctor videos, to establish its official accounts on 30 Chinese social media platforms for enhanced brand recognition in the Chinese market, and boost monthly visits to 10 million. It is also planning to expand its QCURE healthcare consultants to 1,000.
Advice to Others
In Katie’s view, starting up an innovation and technology business in Hong Kong is not easy. The Hong Kong Science Park and other government sources support mainly scientific research and invention. They are less available for general applications. In China, there is more flexibility and therefore more opportunity. A start-up must know what the market needs, work on business models, make improvements, work hard and improve to show that you can prove what you say. This is the only formula for a start-up to succeed.
