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A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

nytimes.com

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Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#11

Post by johnbarron »

amelius wrote: post #6

Looks like they are selling GLP-1 prescriptions online, with online consultations. This is borderline illegal.

It seems Nowadays for new businesses, lawsuits, maybe even a stint in prison with a 1 million presidential pardon at the end, is all incorporated into a business cost line, in a VC investment funds planning...

They were already warned by the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#12

Post by BoredPositron »

amelius wrote: post #6

Looks like they are selling GLP-1 prescriptions online, with online consultations. This is borderline illegal.

It has become a bit of a pest in Germany since weed was legalized. Every other method of distribution is either inconvenient, like growing it yourself, or borderline difficult to establish, like the social clubs. Now, you just pay 10 euros, fill out an online form, and receive a prescription. I’m not against legalization, quite the opposite but these empty promises that weed is a "cure" for anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses are dangerous. Advertising it this way without a proper medical examination or proper follow ups is wrong. People are going to get hurt because of it and like this fellow here they started to do other drugs like GLP-1, Viagra and ofc peptides as well.

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#13

Post by johnbarron »

zacharyozer wrote: post #2

Interesting baseline of how much AI can help with the profitability of a business: > By the end of last year, Medvi had reached $401 million in annual sales and amassed 250,000 customers. It produced 16.2 percent in net profit, or $65 million, with spending going to the fees for telehealth platforms, marketing and then software. Hims, by contrast, had a net profit of 5.5 percent last year.

By doing false claims: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#14

Post by netsharc »

an0malous wrote: post #7
amelius wrote: post #6

Looks like they are selling GLP-1 prescriptions online, with online consultations. This is borderline illegal.

Seems like that’s basically what entrepreneurship is now

Isn't it capitalism? Adobe fucks you, Microsoft will "upgrade" your Office^W Copilot 365 license to 25-seats(1) if you don't notice, Tesla promises self-driving but drives you into the back of the trucks (what, you didn't read the disclaimer?), even the "leader of the free world" is now a crypto-huckster selling you bibles with his name on it... and is killing civilians in the Middle East and making profit by saying "Oh I'll stop soon!".

(1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47474827

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#15

Post by hermannj314 »

amelius wrote: post #6

Looks like they are selling GLP-1 prescriptions online, with online consultations. This is borderline illegal.

This was the same criticism levied against AirBnB, Uber, cryptocurrency, prediction markets, sports betting apps, etc.

The border of legal and illegal is a good place to make money and change.

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#16

Post by kleiba »

Amazing - an acquaintance of ours when we lived in Germany a couple of years ago had a similar idea. But she found that telemedicine + prescription drugs (and possibly advertising law) are among the most regulated areas in a country already known for its red tape.

I didn't follow up what became of her startup idea, but there's no way she could have ever gotten it off the ground in just two months, like the guy from the article and his brother. More like two years...

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#17

Post by gedy »

brysonmeunier wrote: post #3
zacharyozer wrote: post #2

Interesting baseline of how much AI can help with the profitability of a business: > By the end of last year, Medvi had reached $401 million in annual sales and amassed 250,000 customers. It produced 16.2 percent in net profit, or $65 million, with spending going to the fees for telehealth platforms, marketing and then software. Hims, by contrast, had a net profit of 5.5 percent last year.

I’d argue this is more of an extreme outlier than a baseline. While it shows the 'ceiling' of what a hyper-lean AI-enabled team can do in a white-hot market (GLP-1s), it’s hard to call $200M+ revenue per employee a 'baseline' for any industry. It’s a remarkable anomaly. A dream of every vibe coder like myself, but not a realistic target for most.

It also relies on many outsourced doctors, correct? In this particular case, this is not a great vibe code business example imho.

Re: A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8B Company

#18

Post by neom »

netsharc wrote: post #14
an0malous wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like that’s basically what entrepreneurship is now

Isn't it capitalism? Adobe fucks you, Microsoft will "upgrade" your Office^W Copilot 365 license to 25-seats(1) if you don't notice, Tesla promises self-driving but drives you into the back of the trucks (what, you didn't read the disclaimer?), even the "leader of the free world" is now a crypto-huckster selling you bibles with his name on it... and is killing civilians in the Middle East and making profit by saying…

Not capitalism in the way many of us capitalists think it should be practiced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_Moral_Sentiments
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