Inside Aesthetics Ep 221 The Challenges of Building & Financing Clinical Software | Dr Askari Townshend
Episode 221 hosts Dr Askari Townshend (Cosmetic Physician & an entrepreneur from London, UK)
Like all cosmetic injectors, Askari needed a clinical management software to run his practice and database. But he couldn't find anything suitable for his needs. And so he embarked on building his own CRM system called 'Collums'. This proved very successful and future developments were planned to take Collums to the USA and other markets.
But just three weeks ago out of nowhere, agreed funding for future investment in the software was pulled, leaving the future of Collums on a knife edge.
00:00 Introduction 01:54 Dr Askari Townshend 03:19 Karri's career journey 05:16 Columns funding shock 09:44 What Columns actually is 11:56 Building the software 14:01 Why other CRMs fail 16:30 Pricing and perceived value 26:58 Using software to compete 31:33 Retention over acquisition 37:20 Columns marketing automation 41:23 Onboarding With Discovery 42:39 Prioritizing Real Needs 43:31 Targeted Messaging That Helps 45:28 Avoiding Opt Outs 47:10 Automation Rules Done Right 48:05 SMS Fees And Hidden Costs 50:04 Training Time To Competence 51:43 Data Quality And Setup 54:11 Business Acumen And Metrics 57:32 Consultancy And Planning Gap 61:50 Building Product Without Bloat 64:28 Why Features Take Time 68:53 Funding Pulled New Strategy 73:06 Runway Investors Expansion 76:38 Founder Advice And Humility 80:09 Community Wrap And Outro