Pilot flies in, ready to shake up men’s health

Men’s healthcare is primed for disruption according to two former executives of mattress giant Koala.

Men’s healthcare is primed for disruption, according to two former executives of mattress giant Koala who have formed Pilot, a tech platform that enables men to take action on some of their most stigmatised health problems.

Pilot is on track to take in $3m in revenue this year, and about 4000 people a day visit the start-up’s website.

They’re numbers that co-founders Tim Doyle and Charlie Gearside say are ­testament to a rapidly growing appetite for telehealth in Australia.

Patients first answer an in-depth questionnaire of about 50 questions, then pay $20 for it to be sent to a GP on the Pilot platform.

A doctor then assesses and asks follow-up questions on the platform, and patients then either subscribe to a treatment plan over several months, which includes a prescription and ongoing support, or if they’re not suitable for telehealth they are directed to their regular GP for in-person care.

Mr Doyle said the company was growing at 50 per cent per month, and there was a parallel between the convenient online interaction he helped build for people buying mattresses and an online platform for young men to interact with doctors, pharmacists and therapists.

“One thing we learned at Koala was people are really looking for convenient ways to interact with products and brands online,” Mr Doyle said.

“Koala sells one mattress, it’s a simple buying experience, and that carries over to Pilot where we have deep experiences around just a few products.”

He added that Pilot was tackling the issue of men being reluctant to visit a GP, particularly for problems such as hair loss or ­erectile dysfunction.

“Young men don’t go and see their GP more than people in any other dynamic,” Mr Gearside said, pointing to statistics showing males aged between 15 and 44 visit their doctor 44 per cent less often than women.

“We’re also seeing this macro trend of patients resorting to ‘Doctor Google’. People are using the internet to get their health information more and more, so it makes sense that people will want to take action at that very ­moment, while they’re on their phone or laptop.

“We want to be there at the right place and the right time to capture those ­patients.”

Mr Gearside said Pilot would never fully replace in-person consultations, but filled an important gap for men who had issues but did not have the time or the will to visit a doctor.

The company now has 12 full-time employees, and has received $3m in funding from Canva and Atlassian backers Blackbird Ventures, ahead of a Series A round next year.