DigiQure E-Clinic is a telemedicine technology-based health center opened in small towns and districts. These clinics have trained healthcare workers (called caregivers) who digitally connect patients with reputable doctors in towns. They provide patients with digital prescriptions, medicines, lab tests, and other facilities.
More About DigiQure
DigiQure offers a subscription to their patients called Saksham card. This card costs just INR 1 per day and provides free consultations to patients.
DigiQure currently has 7 E-Clinics and 2 Mobile Clinics in Madhya Pradesh. They are connected with over 50+ doctors and treated more than 4000 patients. They were planning to launch more E-Clinics in Mizoram when they appeared on the Shark Tank India episode.
Their vision is to provide healthcare to all the rural areas of India so that preventable health conditions wouldn’t cause a single death.
Akanksh hails from a small village in Madhya Pradesh, where he has experienced health-related issues closely. When Akanksh was 7 years old, he played with their housemaid’s daughter, who was the same age. Once, Akanksh went to spend holidays with his grandparents.
When he returned, he found out that the housemaid’s daughter didn’t come with her as she used to. Turned out, the poor little girl died due to diarrhoea because her mother couldn’t afford to take her to the town.
Akanksh was good in his studies. He cleared an all-India exam to secure a position at NIT Bhopal. He pursued B.Tech in Electronics and Communications there. He then cracked the BHEL exam in the government PSU sector and got posted in Bangalore.
He couldn’t forget that poor girl’s death and wanted to influence the lives of millions of people. Akanksh left his job and decided to pursue something big with two of his college mates, Ankur and Saket.
Saket pursued MS in the US after finishing B.Tech with NIT, Bhopal. And he has also worked in health tech for 3-4 years. Ankur worked for 5 years in MNCs in the IT sector.
All three of them left their jobs and dedicated themselves full-time to DigiQure.
DigiQure Shark Tank Pitch and Updates
Akanksh Tandon (Co-founder) and Soumen Banarjee (Project Head) appeared on Shark Tank India Season 2 Episode 31 seeking INR 40 lakh for 4% equity at a valuation of INR 10 crore.
Ankur holds 55% equity in the company. Akanksh and Saket hold 30% and 15% stakes, respectively. All three of them invested INR 60 lakhs in the business. And they currently have 1800 subscriptions.
They don’t take commissions from doctors. Instead, they ask for free consultations for patients. However, they do charge INR 1.5-2 lakhs for other facilities, like marketing and camping activities. And they get 50%-60% commission on lab tests.
Saksham card subscription was started in January 2022 and generated INR 12.2 lakhs by the time DigiQure appeared on the Shark Tank India episode.
Their total revenue in July was INR 4 lakhs. They received 2 lakhs from the hospital, 90,000 from Saksham cards, 60,000 from medicines, 40,000 from lab tests, and 10,000 consultation fees.
Their rents are cheap in villages, around INR 5000-6000. A caregiver costs around INR 10,000-12,000. And their one-time CapEx is around INR 2 lakhs. The income of their most mature outlet is INR 80,000 monthly.
The biggest challenge they were facing was awareness and trust-building.
Aman believed it was a difficult task operationally. And they have two options.
- A business
- A support service
He felt it could be an excellent support service but could not make money. And for that reason, he was out.
Although Aman was out, their pitch was going well. However, things went in a different direction when Vineeta asked about how much money they were burning each month. Akanksh mentioned another company called IOTA that takes on other projects. That company’s revenue is INR 5 lakhs per month, and equity distribution is the same as DigiQure.
Anupam wanted to know what they were doing to build trust as he saw that was the only way to make this business successful. Akanksh replied that they are holding camps in local communities and talking with village heads creating awareness. The number of patients increased 8 times in their clinics.
Namita and Vineeta made a conditional offer to them. Namita asked Akanksh to merge both companies. They liked the cause and were betting on Akanksh because he himself came from a small village. They offered them INR 40 lakhs for 20% equity at a valuation of INR.
Peyush also felt it was hard to make money in that business. He felt their business need good investment and time. He also made a conditional offer where the condition was the same to merge the IT business with DigiQure. He offered them INR 1 crore for 25% equity at a valuation of INR 4 crore. He also added that he wanted to be the only shark in that.
Namita Peyush War of Words
Namita countered with a revised offer. She also said that DigiQure shouldn’t offload 25% equity at this stage. This didn’t go well with Peyush.
He told Namita she asked 20% for INR 40 lakhs. So how come they shouldn’t give 25% equity? Namita responded they would need more investors when they would scale. She proposed a revised offer of INR 40 lakhs for 15% equity at a valuation of INR 2.67 crore.
Anupam was impressed with the transparency and sincerity of Akanksh. He also made a conditional offer. His first condition was to merge the IT firm and keep taking on projects. The second condition was not to set up more clinics unless they achieved product-market fit.
His third condition was to name the business Geeta (the name of Akanksh’s childhood friend who died). He offered INR 1 crore for 10% equity at a valuation of INR 10 crore.
They countered Namita and Vineeta’s offer and asked INR 40 lakh for 10% equity at a valuation of INR 4 crore. Anupam didn’t like this deal and said they couldn’t understand the business.
Peyush said they did a big mistake by choosing that deal.
| Company Name | DigiQure E-Clinic |
| Founders | Ankur Chaurasia Saket Asati & Akanksh Tandon |
| Headquarters | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
| Founded Year | 2018 |
| Business | Tele-health software |
| Profitability | Business is not profitable |
| Shark Tank Episode | Season 2 – Episode 31 |
| Asked For | INR 40 lakh for a 4% equity |
| Deal | INR 40 lakh for a 10% equity |
| Sharks Invested | Namita |
| Valuation Given | INR 4 crore |
| Website | Visit Here |
DigiQure got a deal of INR 40 lakhs for 10% equity at a valuation of INR 4 crore on Shark Tank India season 2.
Frequently Asked Questions About DigiQure
After their appearance on Shark Tank India Season 2, people were trying to find more information about DigiQure. Here are some of the frequently asked questions about them.
1. Who Are The Founders of DigiQure?
Ankur Chaurasia Saket Asati & Akanksh Tandon are the founders of DigiQure.
2. Is DigiQure profitable?
DigiQure is not profitable.
3. Why other Sharks did not invest in DigiQure?
Aman felt the business was difficult to operate and not investible. Vineeta got out of the deal because Namita lowered the equity in the final deal. Pitchers didn’t take the offers of Peyush and Anupam.
4. What happened to DigiQure after Shark Tank?
DigiQure got a deal from shark Namita Thapar of INR 40 lakhs for 10% equity at a valuation of INR 4 crore. After pitchers left, Peyush said they had literally killed their business by partnering with a medical firm. He said it was the worst decision of their lives, and he felt sad for them. We are following DigiQure and will quickly share with you as soon as there is an update.
