Him & Hers continues its significant growth after SPAC merger
Launched in 2017, Him & Hers $HIMS the Telehealth and Suppliments company continues to deliver impressive growth, with subscribers increasing 82% over the year to 710,000 and revenue increasing 94% over the year to $320 million.
Whilst the company is currently loosing approx $20m each quarter, it has $200m cash on the balance sheet which can see it through for at least another 2 years of growth.
What is unique about their business model
Currently servicing the US across all 50 states, they are an online platform that connects users with licensed healthcare professionals. As part of the telehealth experience, your doctor can issue you prescriptions just as you would if visiting in person, and in the case of HIMS, the doctor can recommend products and suppliments that HIMS develops.
The unique element here is the monthly subscriptions for both medical care and prescriptions. Montly costs start at $20 scale depending on your usage.
Forseable issues
Having a doctor you can see in person and one that you can get to know on a personal basis is something invaluable, and a critical part of the healthcare journey that HIMS does not currently cater for. It's unlikely that HIMS would expand into this area if ever, and given the importance of this for patients I see this as a major hurdle to navigate.
These in-person interactions provide the doctor with an important window of opportunity to conduct a more thorough analysis of the patient and ultimately provide better overall care.
Then there's the privacy issues. For this HIMS to go mainstream there needs to be a level of comfort in providing personal details with a doctor and the platform they operate on. I think the only way they can break into the mainstream is to first address the personal connection you have with a doctor, only then will people feel comfortable sharing information with them and the corresponding platform.
It's encouraging to see rapid early growth for HIMS, but in order for it to become a household name it has some critical issues to address, which makes it an even more risky venture when it's loosing $20m a quarter in free cash flow.