In building its Everything Store empire, Amazon started with one product: books.
Ro — a $1.5B digital health powerhouse that offers a telehealth platform from doctor appointments to pharmaceuticals delivery — was also founded with only one (slightly different) product: erectile dysfunction drugs.
Since its 2017 launch, Ro has added generic drug delivery for women’s health (Rory), smoking cessation (Zero), and weight loss (Plenity).
… Ro received the single biggest funding round, $200m in July, according to Pitchbook data cited by Forbes.
Ro recently took some of that sweet dinero and acquired Workpath, a software platform that facilitates in-home visits.
Workpath started as a fleet of phlebotomists (people who draw blood) but pivoted once the startup realized its real secret sauce was its in-home scheduling and dispatch technology.
In fact, one of Ro’s direct competitors — Hims (profiled by Trends) — has plans to go public via a SPAC. Unlike other telehealth players, these businesses are “cash pay” and don’t accept insurance per Forbes.
Workpath brings a potential moat to Ro’s digital health business, coming with 16 employees and the experience of booking 100k in-person visits, a tougher logistical challenge than shipping pills.
The new revenue stream can’t happen fast enough for Ro, especially as Big Dick Bezos Amazon just added a new product to its Everything Store: a pharmacy.