Four Entry Points for Healthcare Entrepreneurship Amid Reform Trends and Internet Attributes: Insights from VB-Think Tank Nanjing Session

Compiled by Yan Jingjing

On November 11, the VCBeat Thinkers’ Salon (Nanjing Stop), co-hosted by VCBeat and Chuangye University, was held at the Nanjing Zijin (Jiangning) Special Community for Technological Entrepreneurship. Investors such as Qi Fei from Legend Capital, Xu Li from Lianchuang Yingke, and Mao Junlu from Ping An Ventures, along with entrepreneurs including Zhang Zuo from Yiliu Zhushou, participated in the event. More than 100 attendees were present. Below is a summary of the highlights from the guests’ speeches.

Legend Capital, Qi Fei

1. Looking back from ten years in the future, we may define today’s internet healthcare as a pioneer in healthcare reform.
2. China’s demographic structure is undergoing significant transformation. Looking further ahead to 2050, individuals aged 60 and above will account for 25% of the total population, meaning one in every four people will be an “older adult.” Currently, the government has projected that the healthcare market will reach RMB 8 trillion by 2020, and this market is expected to expand even further in the future. Whether engaging in healthcare investment or launching healthcare startups, we are essentially making efforts today to secure our own future.
3. Cultural shifts are also linked to changes in age structure. As the post-90s and post-00s generations came of age, they were born into an environment saturated with the internet. Regarding the internet healthcare ventures many of you are pursuing today, I believe that in ten years, the term “internet healthcare” may no longer exist, as all healthcare will be intertwined with the internet.
4. Given the specialized nature of healthcare and the challenges in cultivating medical talent, medical services will inevitably become increasingly expensive in the future. Of course, this rising cost will be addressed through corresponding solutions, reflecting a trend of consumption upgrading.
5. Healthcare entrepreneurship is the most policy-dependent sector. Since the issuance of “Document No. 40,” China’s healthcare system reform has entered a golden age, encompassing initiatives such as tiered diagnosis and treatment and the restructuring of public hospitals.
6. Healthcare is fundamentally a service industry, and like all service industries, it will not ultimately be replaced by the internet; what matters most is the enhancement of efficiency.

Lianke Chuangying, Xu Li

1. The healthcare industry is characterized by long project cycles and difficulties in securing financing, among other challenges. Consequently, the number of successful ventures is extremely small. Therefore, if we intend to launch a startup, our primary objective must be to become survivors; we must devise our own strategies to ensure survival.
2. One attribute of the internet is intelligence. Even individuals like myself, without a medical background, can engage in discussions about the healthcare industry and entrepreneurship. A significant reason for this is my close attention to VCBeat, whose coverage and analysis have substantially shortened my learning curve in this sector. Furthermore, we now observe that young entrepreneurs, including college students and those born in the 1990s, can catch up with or even surpass professionals with ten or twenty years of work or entrepreneurial experience in a very short period. This is achieved by fully leveraging the intelligence of the internet, as they absorb and utilize online knowledge more effectively.
3. Another attribute of the internet is human nature. The internet aggregates all aspects of human nature. Entrepreneurs who design a sound business model and manage a company must persuade their investors and founding team members; accomplishing all these tasks requires deep insights into human nature, and the internet can provide significant assistance in this regard.
4. How should entrepreneurs select projects? In reality, there are two key parameters: vision and capability. What you can do is leverage the internet and existing resources—including venture capital firms and think tanks such as VCBeat—to adopt an approach of small, rapid steps and continuous trial-and-error. The intersection of vision and capability represents the optimal entry point for your entrepreneurial venture.
5. Future Low-Hanging Fruit for EntrepreneurshipFirst, consider the two ends of the value chain extension. Sometimes it is easier to think in terms of extending toward both ends. Since gaining entry into Tier-3 Grade-A hospitals is extremely difficult, ask yourself: what lies at either end of this spectrum? For example, after a hospital confirms a diagnosis for a sprained ankle, the subsequent care often shifts to rehabilitation hospitals. Is this segment potentially easier to penetrate?Second, think from the perspective of more niche segments. Within the healthcare sector, education is a major driver; talent is the scarcest resource in this industry, and education addresses how to cultivate such talent. Another opportunity lies in small products. For instance, companies manufacturing safety helmets for sports may not realize that this market has remained unchanged for 50 years, with no one investing significant effort into innovation.Finally, consider cross-industry integration. For example, combining rehabilitation services with running groups. Running groups themselves generate limited revenue; most of the money is captured by rehabilitation providers. If you wait passively for users within the hospital, you may find customer acquisition exceedingly difficult. However, once you step outside and engage proactively, you will discover a vast user base.
Ping An Ventures, Mao Junlu

1. The classification method adopted also determines the starting point of our methodology for viewing this industry. We can categorize internet healthcare into four major entry points, primarily including in-hospital and out-of-hospital scenarios, online and offline channels, as well as data-driven access points.
2. There are many excellent companies approaching entrepreneurship from different perspectives. Some lean toward applying internet-centric strategies, with their core essence rooted in the internet, while others approach it from a healthcare perspective. We are more eager to identify these highlights and support companies that can effectively translate them into practical implementation.
3. The operational model must align with the structural characteristics of the industry’s entry point. In China’s healthcare sector, the industrial landscape varies significantly across different segments, ranging from highly fragmented to highly concentrated. Consequently, business models designed for different entry points impose distinct requirements. We have observed that while some companies targeting highly concentrated sectors have achieved substantial scale, it is often easier for companies addressing fragmented industries to succeed by adopting an internet-based matchmaking approach.
4. I recommend seeking more B2B2C opportunities rather than pursuing direct-to-consumer (B2C) models; leveraging intermediaries remains a viable strategy with untapped potential.
5. It is essential to strike a balance between professionalism and service quality. Many healthcare initiatives tend to overemphasize clinical expertise at the expense of service experience. From the perspective of healthcare delivery—and particularly from the patient’s standpoint—service quality is indispensable. The success or failure of many projects hinges more on how effectively their commercial attributes are integrated.
6. The grand health platform is the ideal for all entrepreneurs. While scaling up is certainly desirable if feasible, a more pragmatic approach is to leverage one’s own strengths to establish a leading competitive barrier in a specific niche sector.