From Military Doctor to Health Tech Founder: Yang Ling's Journey with 103 MedTech IPO Filing
As one of the first enterprises to settle in the Baidu Developer Entrepreneurship Center, Beijing 103 Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Youhujia; the company has been officially renamed, with its brands including “Youhujia” and “Data Medical Steward”; hereinafter referred to as “103”) has built a one-stop medical testing platform that provides home-based sample collection and delivery to hospital laboratories. By integrating physicians at key stages, the company has established a closed-loop health management system. Since the project’s inception in August 2015, it has served over 1,000 individuals.
Yang Ling, the founder of this project, is an independent woman who radiates youthful vitality and dresses in trendy attire. “Actually, I look quite sharp in a military uniform,” she said with a smile. Having grown up in a military compound, Yang was not only an academic overachiever but also possessed a rebellious spirit that yearned for freedom. As the top scorer in English on the 2000 National College Entrance Examination, she gained admission to the Clinical Medicine program at the Second Military Medical University. After graduation, she worked as a cardiologist at a prestigious Grade 3A hospital. Driven by her love for challenges and dissatisfaction with the status quo, Yang pursued a master’s degree in simultaneous interpretation after three years in clinical practice and served as an interpreter for major diplomatic events. However, she did not stop there. In 2014, she ventured into the internet sector, embarking on a new entrepreneurial journey.
103CEO Yang Ling
Moreover, the core team members of 103 all have deep backgrounds within the state system. Partner Song Wei hails from a field army unit, possessing robust physical and psychological resilience. He once held key positions in the military’s logistical support department. After transferring to civilian work in 2008, he ventured into business, managing an enterprise with annual revenues reaching tens of millions of yuan. He brings extensive frontline sales and team leadership experience, along with solid channel resources. It can be said that their shared military background has enabled them to integrate quickly during the entrepreneurial process, unite as one, and demonstrate exceptional execution capabilities beyond the reach of ordinary teams.
“Most of the doctors on our team have over a decade of clinical experience. The original intention behind launching our home-visit phlebotomy service was that, in hospitals, we witnessed too many patients enduring significant hardship by repeatedly traveling between the hospital and their homes for something as simple as blood testing. We aim to leverage internet-based solutions and standardized processes to decouple medical laboratory testing from the hospital setting and bring it directly to patients’ homes, thereby gradually achieving the ‘decentralization’ of hospitals,” said Yang Ling.
Moreover, Yang Ling stated that current blood testing technologies are highly advanced, enabling early warning for many diseases through blood analysis. From the perspective of health management and disease prevention, the "comprehensive but infrequent" annual checkups currently offered by physical examination centers no longer meet the demand. Human bodies vary significantly and are in a constant state of change; therefore, truly effective health management and disease预警 must be "personalized and continuously monitored." Although some smart hardware claims to offer health data monitoring capabilities, its accuracy cannot compare with that of blood tests. The advantage of large-scale physical examination centers lies in their possession of large equipment, but this is not essential and can be covered by blood testing. For instance, expensive CT scans or MRI examinations are generally unnecessary unless for high-risk populations. Additionally, chest X-rays can be replaced by cancer marker tests and tuberculin tests within blood examinations, achieving similar screening effects for cancer and tuberculosis. By utilizing miniaturized, clinical-grade devices (including ECG, ultrasound, etc.), medical personnel can visit homes to collect samples or data, thereby shifting most auxiliary examinations to be completed at home.
Differential Strategies for Mid-Inspection and Post-Inspection
103’s Offline Service Process: Users can place orders and schedule appointments directly online via the WeChat official account “103 Data Medical Steward” or Baidu Direct Access. Subsequently, the platform will dispatch professional nurses to conduct home visits for questionnaire surveys, physical examinations, and collection of basic personal information, including medical history and family medical history. Based on the user’s actual health condition, a team of physicians will then hold consultations to develop the most suitable and targeted health checkup package.
Home-visit nurses carry a compact medical kit specifically designed for physical examinations. It contains blood sampling consumables and reagents, a GE V-Scan ultrasound device—no larger than a smartphone—and other medical-grade portable equipment such as compact electrocardiogram (ECG) machines. Yang Ling explained that these small devices fully meet diagnostic and treatment standards, so there is no need to worry about their accuracy and reliability. “The same instruments were used in the ICU of the Grade 3A hospital where I previously worked.”
Therefore, the 103 home-based health checkup package includes blood sampling, urinalysis, electrocardiogram (ECG), ultrasound, and physical examination. Collected samples are delivered directly to the clinical laboratories of partner tertiary hospitals, with Peking University Third Hospital and the Air Force General Hospital as the default facilities. However, samples can also be sent to designated tertiary hospitals based on user preferences for testing and report generation. Ultimately, users can access their test results online via mobile devices, along with health analysis reports provided by the 103 expert team.
Compared with traditional physical examinations, another highlight of the post-examination services provided by 103 Health Check is its detailed and accessible interpretation of examination reports. As the general public typically lacks understanding of the obscure medical terminology found in these reports, it is very common for individuals to seek explanations from physician friends regarding various indicators. To address this, 103 Health Check employs proprietary backend management templates combined with personalized, in-depth, and comprehensive interpretations by physicians from affiliated Grade A tertiary hospitals. This approach analyzes potential causes of abnormal indicators and proposes solutions, enabling users to clearly understand their current health status and seize the opportunity to make timely health adjustments. Similar to electronic medical record (EMR) storage practices abroad, the EMRs generated from each customer’s examination data are retained on the 103 Health Check backend health management platform. These records can be accessed at any time via mobile devices, facilitating future hospital visits and clinical consultations.
Currently, home-based services for individual users primarily consist of blood testing. Youhujia’s blood testing services feature flexible combinations and customizable options. Leveraging epidemiological analysis and clinical experience, we have designed a series of user-friendly, “scenario-based testing packages.” Even customers without a medical background can easily identify and select the tests they need. For instance, if a customer experiences increased appetite accompanied by unexplained weight loss, this may indicate a thyroid issue; in such cases, we recommend blood tests to assess whether T3/T4 hormone levels are abnormal.
If physical symptoms are confirmed upon examination and a doctor’s consultation is required, 103 will provide users with a green channel for medical care at Grade A tertiary hospitals. This includes direct registration or arranged appointments for specialist consultations, with confirmed visit times, as well as extended services such as nurse accompaniment and medical guidance.
Yang Ling introduced that in-hospital medical services beyond extended health checkups are accessible through both proprietary channels and partner enterprise platforms. By establishing a trust-based entry point for health management via home-visit nursing and testing services, 103 can refer patients to companies in downstream sectors, such as appointment registration platforms, surgical service platforms, and expert consultation platforms. Although many mobile health companies claim to offer access to highly sought-after specialist appointments, these claims often involve exaggerated marketing, resulting in poor actual user experiences. In contrast, leveraging its unique resources, 103 confidently guarantees that for any condition diagnosed through its included health checkup packages, users will receive treatment from specialists.
Yang Ling and her medical team representatives
Leveraging Internet Thinking to Master C-End Operations
103’s personal blood test packages feature distinctive, plain-language names that are straightforward and easy to understand. Examples include “Go Away, Mr. Tumor—12-Item Common Cancer Screening Package,” “Where Exactly Is the Disarray in Female Endocrine Disorders?—Female Hormone Level Testing Package,” “Acne-Prone Skin Cause Screening Package,” “I’ve Gained Weight,” and “I’ve Recently Lost Weight.” In total, there are 14 such uniquely named health checkup packages, covering personalized items such as common ailments (e.g., headaches and fevers), cancer screening, hormone level assessment, allergen screening, basic health checks for individuals with poor baseline health, comprehensive physical examinations, prenatal genetic testing, preconception health checks, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk screening, abnormal weight management, and skin disease screening. These packages differ significantly from traditional health checkups; no equivalent categories exist in hospitals. They represent innovative offerings developed by 103’s physician team, who professionally analyzed and repackaged individual test items sharing common disease indicators into diverse, practical, and highly appealing bundled services.
Yang Ling stated that the team would continuously develop health checkup services in line with advances in medical research, making real-time adjustments based on market feedback. A key focus for future development is early warning systems for major diseases, with genetic testing being a recently introduced component of these health checkup services. For instance, for pregnant women identified as high-risk through glucose screening, Youhujia offers non-invasive prenatal genetic testing (NIPT) via maternal venous blood sampling as an alternative to amniocentesis, thereby reducing risks and ensuring maternal safety. Similarly, P53 tumor gene risk monitoring for breast cancer enables the early detection of highly prevalent and lethal forms of the disease. In implementing genetic testing programs, 103 adopts a rigorous, professional, and steady approach, basing its practices on methods that have been implemented abroad for many years, clinically validated, and demonstrated to have strong disease relevance.
“Many women want to undergo p53 gene testing but are unsure where to go, as not all tertiary hospitals have the necessary equipment for such tests. To avoid confusion among users, 103 can directly connect them with qualified hospitals or third-party independent testing laboratories,” Yang Ling told VCBeat.
In addition to individual users, corporate group health checkups are currently the core business of 103. Unlike the major independent examination oligopolies, 103’s advantages lie in three areas: first, it has carved out a niche by targeting small enterprise clients; second, its pricing is affordable; and third, it offers a superior user experience. Growth-stage enterprises and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) generally do not arrange regular health checkups for their employees due to cost considerations, with only large corporations typically providing such benefits. Consequently, there is a significant market gap in health checkup services for small businesses. 103 has effectively filled this industry void by leveraging its advantage of controllable costs.
Taking the collaboration with Baidu and Tsinghua University’s startup incubators as an example, during the early stages of a startup when the employee count is typically under 30, One-Three (Yi-Ling-San) can dispatch just two nurses to conduct on-site health examinations for all staff in a single visit. With each examination averaging 10 minutes per person, the entire process takes less than two hours. The basic corporate health checkup package costs only RMB 160 per person and includes physical examinations, electrocardiograms (ECG), 22-item complete blood count (CBC), 26-item urinalysis, and blood biochemistry markers. This offering is more comprehensive than the blood tests provided by general health checkup centers, making it highly popular among enterprises. Furthermore, due to the positive user experience, many employees voluntarily purchase additional checkup packages for their children or parents, driving secondary market penetration and brand marketing, thereby enhancing One-Three’s brand awareness and influence organically. Since launching its corporate services last October, One-Three has served over 50 companies. It aims to complete 200,000 corporate health examinations in Beijing by next September, building a substantial seed user base, from which it will subsequently develop a broader range of health management products centered around its core users.
Yang Ling stated that due to the high market development costs for consumer-facing (C-end) users, which also include home-visit expenses, it is difficult for a startup to cover these costs in its early stages. Therefore, 103 will focus on developing business-facing (B-end) clients over the next year or so. However, efforts to cultivate the C-end market will continue to intensify, with ongoing operational engagement to enhance brand penetration. Building personal brands for young doctors to attract attention and followers is one of 103’s C-end marketing strategies. 103 has selected prominent medical influencers on Weibo with more than 100,000 followers; these doctors possess strong self-expression skills and capabilities, coupled with solid professional expertise, resulting in significant popularity.
103’s online operations team in Guangzhou focuses on cultivating, incubating, and promoting high-profile “key opinion leader” (KOL) physicians, with whom it has signed exclusive agreements. The substantial follower bases these physicians accumulate can later be converted into loyal customers of 103. Yang Ling noted that one of the platform’s contracted physicians serves as a brand ambassador and is frequently invited to appear on television programs and at major forums and conferences. His online lectures are packaged, content-managed, and digitally marketed by the 103 team, resulting in exponential growth in his follower count. These expert resources are then directly leveraged to benefit followers and clients; for instance, health check-up clients can connect with experts for paid consultations.
Unlocking Infinite Possibilities for Physicians’ Independent Practice
Furthermore, Yang Ling explained that 103’s home-based health checkup service effectively brings screening services directly to customers. This approach not only drives patient traffic to hospital examination centers but also significantly reduces hospitals’ laboratory testing costs. Therefore, the relationship with hospitals is one of mutually beneficial cooperation rather than competitive conflict. Having worked in a hospital for three years, Yang Ling is well-versed in hospital laboratory systems. “Hospital blood testing itself is not profitable, and reagent costs are high; thus, larger sample volumes yield greater cost efficiency. By acquiring customers at the front end for hospitals and sharing the resulting revenue, 103 can also generate additional income for hospitals.”
Currently, Yiling San’s services cover all Grade 3A hospitals in Beijing, with established channel partnerships with the clinical laboratories of all these institutions. The company has contracted a team of over 100 experts, all holding titles of attending physician or above. Furthermore, unlike health checkup centers where technicians primarily perform operations, every step of Yiling San’s testing process is carried out by doctors and nurses from Grade 3A hospitals who possess extensive medical backgrounds. To date, the dedicated advisory team includes five general practitioners, three cardiologists, ten specialists in various other fields, and one hundred nurses (both full-time and part-time).
Youhujia maintains rigorous qualification reviews for part-time nurses, strictly excluding those without nursing licenses from the platform. After thorough screening, approximately 100 professionally registered nurses were selected from over 200 candidates at major hospitals, establishing a substantial reserve pool.
Yang Ling stated that since multi-site practice for physicians is an inevitable trend, the long-term strategy of 103 is to pave the way and build a platform for the future independent practice of physicians currently within the public healthcare system. Once the infrastructure encompassing laboratory services and nursing care is fully established, coupled with the continuous accumulation of patient data, recruited physicians will be able to provide precise treatment for patients aligned with their specialties, while patients can quickly identify the most suitable physicians. This will establish a bridge of free and seamless interaction between both doctors and patients.
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