Online dermatology service raises £220k
ZappedSkin, an online dermatology service, has raised £220,000 from Jenson Funding Partners. The funding will be used by the healthtech start-up to increase its tech and capabilities, with a view to expanding its service to other skin conditions.
ZappedSkin is a Care and Quality Commission registered teledermatology platform, which provides acne sufferers with video and text consultations with UK-trained consultant dermat from the comfort and privacy of their own homes. Medications and tests are delivered to their door, with treatment options including Topical Medication, Oral Antibiotics, and Isotretinoin. All of its services are provided remotely so that patients can speak to a consultant.
Not only does ZappedSkin save patients the difficulty and sometimes unease of attending an in-person consultation but, without the need for a referral from a GP, it also vastly reduces the wait time to see a consultant from what can be months on NHS waitlists, to days - making treatment far more accessible.
Dr Ali Jomaa, co-founder of ZappedSkin, explained: “Without the ability to quickly and easily see a dermatologist, patients often go for months or even years without receiving proper treatment for acne, which can have a huge impact on emotional and mental health as well as the risk of causing permanent scarring. Typically, their treatment journey begins with online research, with resources varying in reliability, before trialling over-the-counter skin care products, which are not sufficient in a lot of cases.
“Our mission at ZappedSkin is to help patients get the correct treatment they need much quicker by making the experts easily available to them. We are with our customers throughout their entire journey to acne recovery, as a place they can go to for support, advice, credible information and the treatment of acne.”
Launched in 2020 with nine dermatologists, ZappedSkin’s remote consultation model was proven during the pandemic. The company has now undertaken nearly 2,000 consultations and doubled its turnover in the first six months from launch. The company has developed a customer base partly due to its skin positivity message resonating with an engaged skincare community on social media.
This investment will be used to fuel the start-ups success through hiring and marketing, as the company expands its acne services to cover the full spectrum of treatment from topical, personalised skin care products, to oral prescription medication, and finally post-Roaccutane aftercare skin maintenance packages via a subscription model.
It will also fund further tech development of the app, which will support the capabilities of the platform as the company expands its service into other conditions, to make skincare treatment accessible, innovative, and personal.
Jeffrey Faustin, chief investment officer at Jenson Funding Partners added: “ZappedSkin has demonstrated a fantastic product-market fit by quickly garnering a large customer base, who were looking for a better way to receive skin care treatment. We are proud to support this team, who are already making a big difference in people’s lives. The platform has a huge amount of potential to expand to other conditions and help even more people with access to the best experts and treatments available.”