30 Best Business Leaders of the Year 2019 30 Best Business Leaders of the Year 2019 | Page 53

Using ML/AI and We’re Right on the Track with our
launched booking of doctors’
appointment and lab tests etc. We
are working with all the national
brands like Thyrocare, Metropolis,
Apollo Pharmacy, SRL etc.
Recently, Healthism became the
official health care partner for
Mumbai Police. Healthism-Mumbai
Police co-branded health savings
card was launched by Hon’ble
Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr.
Devendra Fadnavis.
Currently, we provide day-to-
day medical needs to more than
3,50,000 members and by the end
of this financial year, we intend to
acquire about a million members.
Going forward, we are upgrading
to a prepaid card for healthcare
payments in collaboration with
a leading bank. This would allow
us to offer a couple of innovative
enterprise products targeting
healthcare centers. In the long run,
our aim is to become a predictive
healthcare platform using Machine
Learning and AI and we are right
on the track with our execution
plan for the next five years.
There is nothing more
important for a successful
small business than a
well-defined mission and
vision statements. Can
you explain your M&V
statements in brief?
Our vision is to develop
products and services that
would truly impact people’s
lives in a positive way. This
inspires us to take quantum
leaps and not just baby steps.
With the brand Healthism, our
mission is to reach out and impact
the lives of 20 crore Indian’s with
our innovative products and
services, focused on the healthcare
delivery space, within the next five
years with a blend of online and
offline strategies.
What were the biggest
initial hurdles to building
your business and how did
you overcome them?
The first hurdle was getting people
to understand the product and the
benefits it has to offer.
Secondly, we had a tough time
building our team. Initially, we
tried to rope in high fliers they
simply said no because they could
not see the potential of the product.
Then we changed our strategy and
focussed more on the attitude of
the candidates and less on the skill
set and magnitude of experience.
They have been trained in-house
and we find this has worked very
well for us. Our third hurdle was
managing adequate funding.
Initially, we put in our own money
and a few friends and relatives also
chipped in…As first-generation
entrepreneurs we didn’t have much
experience in running or scaling a
business, but we had more than 12
years of work experience where
we had launched products and
also worked in a similar kind of
start-up environment. Thus, we
had a belief that the initial days
would be tough to maintain but not
impossible. Eventually, a couple
of investors who had known us
in a professional capacity came
on board and were followed by a
host of investors who have come
Debasis Samanta, CEO
Debasis Samanta, an
Aspiring Entrepreneur: In
His Own Words
I am a first-generation
entrepreneur with an uncanny
ability to foresee future consumer
trends/market gaps and formulate
solutions that are scalable business
ventures. With a thorough
understanding of technology and
consumer behaviour and a creative
bent of mind, I am more of a hands-
on CEO and prefers to do everything
from ideation to implementation. I
genuinely wish and try to walk-the-
talk and lead from the front.
I have worked with companies like
TDI International, M’cons Group,
Sarah Jahan Initiatives etc. in
sales, new business development,
strategy and planning division
where I have displayed a flair for
sales and distribution and also new
business development.
I am an ardent follower of
developments in technology and
keenly observe cultural and social
transformations. I am currently
running a leading healthcare
aggregator – www.healthism.co.