RealSelf Secures $40M Funding to Accelerate Global Expansion of Leading Aesthetic Treatment Platform
Image from the RealSelf website
VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that RealSelf, a globally renowned medical aesthetics community, secured $40 million in funding last April. The round was led by venture capital firm Elephant, with participation from Capital World Investors.
According to available information, Elephant was founded by Andy Hunt, co-founder of the vertical e-commerce eyewear retailer Warby Parker. With the first round of substantial external funding secured, Andy Hunt will also join RealSelf’s board of directors. Leveraging this new capital, RealSelf plans to expand localized versions of its website to more countries worldwide.
$750,000 cold start, currently serving 94 million users
RealSelf was founded in 2006 by Tom Seery and is headquartered in Seattle, USA. As a community platform for sharing experiences in medical aesthetics, RealSelf’s website features content such as introductions to various procedures ranked by user popularity, in-depth user reviews, profiles and recommendations of specialists across different fields, and educational resources on fundamental concepts in aesthetic medicine.
The well-known U.S. tech blog Business Insider has likened it to a hybrid of Yelp and Facebook, helping people gain a better understanding of cosmetic surgery.
The majority of RealSelf users are women, but one-third of its traffic comes from men. Earlier in April, the company appointed a new Chief Marketing Officer—former Amazon executive Tanja Omeze.
Tom Seery is the founder of RealSelf. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College and master’s degrees from the University of Washington and Drexel University, respectively. Tom has nearly a decade of experience in online sales of consumer goods. Prior to founding RealSelf, he worked at Expedia.
In April 2007, RealSelf completed a $750,000 angel round of financing; in June 2008, it raised $1.2 million in its Series A funding round.
Tom Seery, CEO of RealSelf, stated, “As the company expands internationally, with 40% of its traffic currently originating from outside the United States, we have established a comprehensive product ecosystem after more than a decade of development. Although we are not short on capital, now is the window of opportunity to invest and accelerate growth.”
RealSelf boasts over 2 million reviews and 20,000 registered physicians on its platform, helping users gain insights into treatments such as Botox, Invisalign orthodontics, and breast implants. In 2017, RealSelf served 94 million users across 100 countries, with an average of 10 million unique monthly visitors.
The company currently has 200 employees, achieved a 209% revenue growth from 2014 to 2017, and has remained profitable for years. In 2015, RealSelf officially disclosed its latest annual revenue figure of $19.9 million.
Charging Physicians for Profit to Kick Off Global Expansion
“Sharing medical aesthetics knowledge and engaging in discussions on social media has become a common form of doctor-patient communication,” said Rich Barton, an early investor in RealSelf and co-founder of companies such as Expedia and Zillow. “RealSelf is leading the way in building the aesthetics marketplace. Tom and his team have built an incredible niche business with a modest amount of seed funding. This financing round, led by Elephant, will accelerate RealSelf’s global expansion.”
Tom Seery believes that the current trend in medical aesthetics is seeing more and more people paying for minimally invasive, non-surgical treatments. “RealSelf initially focused on plastic surgery, but the rise of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures such as Botox, fillers, lasers, and microneedling has expanded the platform’s reach and enhanced its value.”
Elephant founder Andy Hunt stated in a press release, “Historically, we have invested in companies that provide consumer transparency in complex markets. RealSelf is the leading platform in the medical aesthetics sector, empowering consumers to access detailed information, share their stories, and make better, safer, and more personalized aesthetic decisions.”
In 2008, RealSelf listed 150 treatment categories on its website; this number has now surged to 450, with Tom Seery estimating the medical aesthetics market size at $30 billion.
RealSelf generates revenue by charging physicians for targeted exposure, similar to the subscription-based advertising products used by companies such as Zillow and Avvo.
“We help doctors and clinics achieve a very high return on investment through our platform,” said Tom Seery. “By enhancing transparency, we can strengthen engagement and stickiness with consumers, facilitate smoother communication, and help them make satisfying decisions.”
Regarding competitors, Tom Seery believes that RealSelf has no direct rivals; instead, it shares some business overlap with platforms such as Yelp, Google, and Instagram.
References:
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/12-years-realself-raises-40m-hit-gas-take-cosmetic-treatment-review-platform-global/
https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/20/realself-a-community-for-cosmetic-treatments-raises-40-million/
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