Pristyn Care's Co-founder Garima Sawhney On Pursuing Medicine And Business Simultaneously The Gurugram-based startup today offers surgery care to patients through advanced medical technology and recovery measures

Treating patients is my passion. Making them disease free is my goal. 'Serve to masses' is something which my father taught me… reads the LinkedIn profile of Dr. Garima Sawhney, co-founder, Pristyn Care.

Sawhney continues to follow her father's teachings even through her business venture, Pristyn Care. "I'm the first doctor in my family. Like most Indian parents, my parents also wanted their child to be either an engineer or a doctor. So, I did my MBBS and after that, coming from a non-doctor family, the best specialty I could think of was gynecology. According to my father, it was a ladies' business and it would succeed. So, that's how I became a gynecologist," she says smilingly.

During her college time, she thought that after completing her studies, she would have her own patient base. But, she soon realized that in the practical world, starting her own practice was not easy. So, she started working with many hospitals, until she could start her own clinic. And, when she did that and when patients started showing trust in her, she understood the patient gaps that exist in healthcare.

"Taking patient feedback, whether it was at the corporate hospitals, or at my own practice, helped. I learned the pain points. They said that when they had to undergo a surgery, they needed doctors' time and guidance every step of the way. But, what happens is that when a patient is going for surgery, we forget to tell them about very small things and those are the things which bring them fear," she says.

To solve the same, she and her friends from the healthcare industry, Vaibhav Kapoor and Harsimarbir Singh, founded Pristyn Care in 2018. The Gurugram-based startup today offers surgery care to patients through advanced medical technology and recovery measures. It deals with elective surgeries, that is, non-emergency surgeries. "Whatever is the type of surgery, whether elective or emergency, it comes with a lot of stress, a lot of fear, not just for the patient, even for the patient's family. We are building trust in elective surgeries under different specialities," she says.

This healthtech unicorn is now present across 42 cities and has so far treated approximately 1.5 million plus patients. It has partnered with close to 800 hospitals, has around 200 plus clinics throughout the country and a team of close to 700 plus doctors. In June last year, the startup also acquired Ratan Tata-backed healthcare startup Lybrate to provide primary healthcare services to its patients.

Talking about gender disparity in healthcare, she says, "This is a global problem right now, across industries. But, I think I have been a lucky one. I have known the two co-founders for more than 15 years now. I have never faced any discrimination. In fact, it has never been a male versus female thing for me. It was about choosing working partners whom I trust. And, throughout my journey, it was about proving to myself that I could do well, since I come from a non-doctor family."

Her message to young women who are aspiring to be entrepreneurs is: "If you feel that your idea is something which will solve a problem for the masses, then just keep pursuing it. Don't stop."

FACTSHEET

• Number of women employed by your organization: 25%-30% of total employees
• Total employees:1800
• Launch year of the company: 2018
• Funding stage: Series E (Valuation 1.4 billion )