Episode XLiv- Dharmil Sheth, co-founder of PharmEasy

Dharmil Sheth is a serial entrepreneur, who has built India’s first health tech unicorn with a valuation of $4 billion – PharmEasy. Prior to PharmEasy, he founded BoxPlay Sports, 91streets and Ekagrata. Dharmil holds an MBA from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.

The foundation of India’s largest medicine delivery platform- PharmEasy dates back to 2015 when Dharmil Sheth started a mobile application where users took a photo of their prescription and PharmEasy delivered their pharmaceutical requirements to their doorstep, at a 20% discount. Today, it is a unicorn with over 17 million active users and is worth $4 billion!

Key takeaways from the episode

  • How did Dharmil’s internships at Techno Gravity Solutions and MakeMyTrip.com help him with his entrepreneurial plunge?
  • What did his first venture BoxPlay Sports provide? How was the idea behind Dharmil’s 2nd venture-91streets born? What were the high and low points that eventually led to shutting down the company?
  • As a founder member, what gave Dharmil the idea to start Ekagrata? What is the vision behind Ekagrata? How does Dharmil balance his time between Ekagrata while building a billion-dollar company?
  • Why did Dharmil & Dhaval start PharmEasy? What were Dharmil’s early years at PharmEasy like? How does Dharmil differentiate PharmEasy’s service from others and ensure longevity despite a competitive market?
  • What were the challenges in building a startup in one of the highest regulated industries in India? How does Dharmil manage that conflict between meeting the regulations and driving growth?
  • What was Dharmil’s experience raising $872M over the years? If he were to define the elevator pitch for PharmEasy now, what would it be?
  • How did the Medlife acquisition impact PharmEasy? What transpired the deal of acquiring a publicly listed company- Thyrocare? Why did Dharmil choose to acquire when he has the bandwidth to build?
  • Where does Dharmil see PharmEasy in the next 5 years?