Liu Di's Meier: From Rare Disease Community to Chunyu Doctor and Beyond – A Strategic Evolution in China's Aesthetic Medical Tech Sector

According to Bi Lei, Vice President of Chunyu Yisheng, Liu Di is one of the former Chunyu employees who went on to start their own businesses with a particularly clear grasp of business logic.

Hailing from a family of physicians, Liu Di has been immersed in the medical field since childhood and possesses extensive knowledge of doctors and healthcare. After spending four years in traditional media and two years in internet media, he attempted to launch a rare disease community similar to PatientsLikeMe; however, the project later encountered challenges in commercialization. Domestic initiatives with similar models, such as “Binghuan Rwo” (Patients Like Me) and “Kan Chufang” (View Prescription), have largely faced comparable circumstances.

Later, Liu Di joined Chunyu Doctor, a mobile health internet startup, where he initially served as Product Director and later took charge of marketing and business resource development in the Marketing Department.

Through frequent interactions with doctors and patients, Liu Di discovered that among the more than 20 departments in the broader healthcare sector, only a few—such as plastic surgery, dentistry, and andrology—had doctors who were relatively cooperative in discussing partnerships. In other departments, where physicians faced neither patient shortages nor performance pressures, it was considerably more difficult to persuade them to join Chunyu.

According to data from VCBeat’s Internet Healthcare Research Institute, Chunyu Yisheng had approximately 20,000 registered physicians on its platform from its inception in 2011 through September 2014, yet fewer than 4,000 of them were truly active. These figures underscore the considerable challenges faced by Liu Di’s department.

Liu Di told VCBeat that, based on his experience at Chunyu Doctor, “only a few specialties have reached a high level of market maturity; after several rounds of negotiations, only a handful of departments, such as plastic surgery, demonstrated strong interest in collaboration.”

Cosmetic surgery is a typical “traffic-hungry” industry with substantial market potential. Liu Di admitted that physicians in this field are most in need of patient volume, prompting plastic surgery hospitals to spare no expense and invest heavily in customer acquisition. Moreover, Baidu’s pay-per-click advertising is relatively costly, with each click ranging from 20 to 300 yuan.

On the other end lies the vast consumer demand for beauty, yet access to quality medical resources remains scarce due to intense competition. According to an annual report by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, China ranked third globally in the total number of cosmetic surgical procedures in 2011, with 1.05 million operations performed throughout the year, trailing only the United States and Brazil. Hu Faxiang, Vice President of Asia Pacific at Thomas Morgan Investment Fund, stated, “By 2015, the total output value of China’s healthcare industry will reach RMB 5 trillion, of which RMB 200 billion will be generated by the cosmetic and plastic surgery market.”

Liu Di told VCBeat, “The severe information asymmetry in the cosmetic surgery industry means that the most influential voice within hospitals is not that of the service providers, but rather the marketing departments, which prioritize commercial sales while neglecting the quality of care itself. This is precisely the problem that the internet can address: by bringing transparency to the process.”

Second Venture: Building a Professional Aesthetic Surgery Community
In August 2013, Liu Di embarked on his second internet venture: Wanmei Clinic.
This entrepreneurial venture continues to adopt a community-based model, but shifts its focus from rare diseases to cosmetic and plastic surgery. Liu Di told VCBeat, “We have access to high-quality physician resources. Although many institutions currently offer cosmetic and plastic surgery services in the market, the most specialized cosmetic and plastic surgeons in China remain within the plastic surgery departments of large tertiary hospitals. What we are doing is tapping into this pool of expertise to help users obtain the most professional cosmetic and plastic surgery services. To date, more than 3,000 plastic surgeons from 80 first- and second-tier cities across China have joined the Gengmei platform.”

Regarding the model for physician service delivery, Liu Di also has his own considerations. Given that doctors in China’s public hospitals are extremely busy and often respond to patient inquiries during fragmented pockets of time, Gengmei places significant emphasis on developing its user-generated content (UGC) community. This allows users to share their cosmetic surgery experiences, providing direct references for other users, who can then identify trustworthy physicians. This approach not only enriches the app’s content but also enhances credibility and user stickiness. Furthermore, as a third-party service platform, Gengmei adheres to the principle of neutrality, maintaining a policy of not removing negative case reports.

This Dianping-like model, which enables transparent access to physician resources and medical services, offers the most intuitive means of evaluation.

“Perfect Clinic” Rebranded as “Gengmei”: Making Beauty Simpler

After the launch of Perfect Clinic, as the platform’s user base continued to grow, the team’s analysis of user inquiries revealed that the community could support broader discussions on women’s issues, rather than being limited to medical aesthetics knowledge. Liu Di and her team also aimed to provide users with greater freedom, enabling new explorations in more diversified areas of consumer healthcare. This meant that Perfect Clinic would no longer focus solely on cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine.

Furthermore, although Liu Di launched a pure mobile internet project, he was inevitably frequently asked questions such as, “Where is your clinic?” Consequently, the de-emphasis of the “clinic” concept in the product was gradually placed on the agenda. Liu Di stated, “We aim to make Gengmei simple.”

Ultimately, in September 2014, Wanmei Clinic strategically rebranded as “Gengmei.”

It is not uncommon for startups to change their names, which often signals a strategic pivot or refocusing of their product direction. Examples include Kan Chufang’s launch of Xingren Yisheng (Almond Doctor) and Boyibang’s rebranding to Weitang (MicroSugar). After Wanmei Zhenzuo (Perfect Clinic) rebranded as Gengmei, user engagement rose significantly, with post volumes and browsing times reaching new highs. High-quality content can be featured as pinned “essential” posts and rewarded with points. Moreover, Gengmei has been attracting authorities in dentistry, weight loss, skincare, and other fields to join its platform.

Regarding reflections on the revenue model, Liu Di stated that several models could be explored in the future, with sales commissions serving as the primary source. However, at this stage, the top priority remains cultivating the community and user base, with precedence given to ensuring a superior user experience.

On Gengmei, in addition to sourcing resources and engaging in community sharing and exchanges, users can also complete online appointments, online payments, and follow-up rehabilitation care. Gengmei transfers the payment to the hospital only after the user has completed the offline service, expressed satisfaction, and confirmed the service. This third-party escrow mechanism has been highly acclaimed by users. As Gengmei’s online offerings continue to expand, its collaboration with hospitals has been fully streamlined, ensuring a seamless and convenient operational process. Gengmei is striving to build its own O2O e-commerce model and has achieved impressive results, with weekly sales surpassing RMB 2 million and a growth rate of 50%.

To date, Gengmei has been online for nearly a year and a half. It has attracted more than 3,000 plastic surgeons from 80 regions, amassed over one million users, achieved a daily active user rate of 5%–10%, and generated monthly sales exceeding RMB 10 million, thereby solidifying its position as the undisputed industry leader.

Gengmei, which secured millions of dollars in Series A financing from Sequoia Capital, boasts a highly promising outlook within the “she-economy.” The company’s team has grown to 50 members, and its Series B fundraising is progressing smoothly. For an internet-based consumer healthcare startup, Gengmei has achieved remarkable growth. VCBeat wishes Gengmei continued success in its journey ahead.

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