u/Alternative_Goose852

Built a healthtech startup for Tier-2 India called Token Buddy.

Initial thesis:

Patients would book OP tokens online instead of calling hospitals directly.

What we built over ~1 year:

Android app + website

Hospital onboarding

OP token infrastructure

Meta ads + local promotions

Ground campaigns

Current numbers after launch:

~1,000 downloads

~350 registrations

7 bookings total

3  assisted

4  organic

What we discovered:

People prefer calling hospitals directly because it’s easier and trusted.

Queue/token pain exists only in a few hospitals, not city-wide.

Patients care more about doctor availability uncertainty and consultation waiting than token booking itself.

Hospital operations are highly dynamic. Even doctors often don’t know exact timings.

Promoting inside hospitals didn’t work because patients already came with urgency and don’t want another process.

Trust transfers from hospital → platform, not platform → hospital.

Famous hospitals matter heavily.

Big realization:

We may have tried digitizing a workflow that already works “well enough” offline.

Now I’m trying to understand whether:

This is simply a weak startup idea in Tier-2 healthcare

OR

There’s a stronger wedge hidden around consultation coordination / operational visibility.

Would genuinely appreciate insights from founders who’ve dealt with behavior change in operationally messy markets.

Built a healthtech startup for Tier-2 India called Token Buddy.

Initial thesis:

Patients would book OP tokens online instead of calling hospitals directly.

What we built over ~1 year:

- Android app + website

- Hospital onboarding

- OP token infrastructure

- Meta ads + local promotions

- Ground campaigns

Current numbers after launch:

- ~1,000 downloads

- ~350 registrations

- 7 bookings total

- 3  assisted

- 4  organic

What we discovered:

- People prefer calling hospitals directly because it’s easier and trusted.

- Queue/token pain exists only in a few hospitals, not city-wide.

- Patients care more about doctor availability uncertainty and consultation waiting than token booking itself.

- Hospital operations are highly dynamic. Even doctors often don’t know exact timings.

- Promoting inside hospitals didn’t work because patients already came with urgency and don’t want another process.

- Trust transfers from hospital → platform, not platform → hospital.

- Famous hospitals matter heavily.

Big realization:

We may have tried digitizing a workflow that already works “well enough” offline.

Now I’m trying to understand whether:

1. This is simply a weak startup idea in Tier-2 healthcare

   OR

2. There’s a stronger wedge hidden around consultation coordination / operational visibility.

Would genuinely appreciate insights from founders who’ve dealt with behavior change in operationally messy markets.

Built a healthtech startup for Tier-2 India called Token Buddy.

Initial thesis: Patients would book OP tokens online instead of calling hospitals directly.

What we built over ~1 year:

Android app + website

Hospital onboarding

OP token infrastructure

Meta ads + local promotions

Ground campaigns

Current numbers after launch:

~1,000 downloads

~350 registrations

7 bookings total

3 assisted

4 organic

What we discovered:

People prefer calling hospitals directly because it’s easier and trusted.

Queue/token pain exists only in a few hospitals, not city-wide.

Patients care more about doctor availability uncertainty and consultation waiting than token booking itself.

Hospital operations are highly dynamic. Even doctors often don’t know exact timings.

Promoting inside hospitals didn’t work because patients already came with urgency and don’t want another process.

Trust transfers from hospital → platform, not platform → hospital.

Famous hospitals matter heavily.

Big realization: We may have tried digitizing a workflow that already works “well enough” offline.

Now I’m trying to understand whether:

This is simply a weak startup idea in Tier-2 healthcare OR

There’s a stronger wedge hidden around consultation coordination / operational visibility.

Would genuinely appreciate insights from founders who’ve dealt with behavior change in operationally messy markets.