As the founder and CEO of Phlo, what are the key milestones in your career journey that have led to the success of the company, and how do you plan to continue this growth trajectory?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak; running businesses is in my family. However, after studying Economics and Politics at Glasgow University, I began my career in commercial banking, where I worked on some pharmacy sector deals and was introduced to that sector. But after several years with HSBC in England, I returned to Scotland with a keen desire for new experiences, and to learn more about the world of business.
In 2014, I was offered a place on the prestigious Entrepreneurial Scotland Saltire Fellowship programme, which took me to Babson College in Boston, US, to work towards a fast-track MBA. I became fascinated with some of the digital health and pharmacy companies I was seeing out in the States. Not only were they solving real problems for huge numbers of people, but their businesses were customer-centric, digital-first and brilliantly engineered. These were the pharmacies of the future.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, the pharmacy sector was lagging far behind the rest of the UK’s health sector with regards to innovation and tech adoption. Long waits and bureaucracy were placing a strain on the whole system and impacting outcomes for patients and providers. This was the problem I set out to solve with Phlo, which was launched in 2020, and over the following years my team and I built the company into the UK’s leading provider of direct-to-door medication delivery and B2B digital pharmacy services.
In 2023 we raised our £10 million Series A round, and in April 2024 we raised a £8.5 million growth investment round to unlock the expansion of the business into new areas and product verticals. We’re in the process of evolving Phlo from a digital pharmacy business into a holistic healthcare service, which is an incredibly exciting transition – and growth opportunity – for the business.
Could you share some insights into the challenges you’ve faced in building Phlo into a leading UK digital pharmacy company, and how you’ve overcome them to reach this significant investment milestone?
In the early days of the business, our main challenge was to get prospective customers to leave behind the analogue systems they were used to and to realise the benefits of going digital. When we first launched the Phlo Digital Pharmacy, we were one of the first businesses to offer patients a fully online prescription fulfilment service. This meant we had to win over our users to the advantages of online payment, doorstep delivery, and of being actively in control of their medication management. When it came to our healthcare partners, the hurdle was to convince them that the time to change their decades-old processes was now, and that we were a safe and trusted partner for that journey. However, once we could showcase the successes of our first group of partners, we found it much easier to attract others!
Both fundraising rounds demanded a huge amount of my effort and time, which took me away from the day-to-day running of the business. But I’ve been fortunate to tap into a hugely supportive network of investors in Scotland, who have supported Phlo in a fantastic way over the years.
Almost as soon as we’d completed the 2023 raise, we finalised our acquisition of the UK arm of Truepill, the US-based digital pharmacy unicorn. This was a huge moment for the business, but it came with all the usual challenges of an acquisition – complex legal and regulatory processes, new team members, new brands and new customers who we needed to onboard and integrate quickly.
With the £8.5 million growth investment round, what specific areas of expansion and scaling does Phlo plan to focus on, and how do you envision this investment impacting the company’s future growth?
The Phlo team has never been bigger, or busier, and our scaling and expansion is running at full steam!
Right now, the Phlo ecosystem comprises of the NHS and private medication management service, Phlo Digital Pharmacy, the UK market-leading API-driven digital infrastructure platform for healthcare providers, Phlo Connect, and the newly-launched Phlo Clinic on-demand treatment service. We also operate dedicated women’s healthcare brands which both provide patients with on-demand, regulatory-approved treatments from qualified clinicians.
So, we’re already doing a lot, but this new funding injection allows us to do so much more. We aim to broaden our reach across the UK, making it even easier for patients to access our services. This includes everything from getting prescriptions delivered right to their door to receiving treatments online. We’re particularly excited about rolling out our new weight management programme and further expanding our women’s health services.
We’re also planning to enhance our technology partnerships with both digital and traditional health providers. Plus, we’re continuously working on improving the tech services we offer our existing partners. To support all this growth, we’re scaling up our team across all levels of the company, bringing on board more talent to help drive our vision forward.
In the rapidly evolving HealthTech industry, what industry trends and technological advancements do you foresee shaping the future of digital pharmacy services, and how is Phlo positioned to adapt and innovate in response?
One trend we’ve clearly seen at Phlo is that, even as AI chatbots and automated tech proliferate in the HealthTech sector, there’s still a strong preference for human connections in healthcare. People often value the chance to talk directly with a clinician when they’re dealing with complex or sensitive health issues. This highlights the need to balance tech advancements with human touchpoints.
Secondly, as areas like medical cannabis and weight management continue to grow, ensuring high safety and security standards becomes crucial. It’s all about maintaining patient trust by ensuring that treatments are accessible yet secure, and that controlled medications are managed responsibly and in line with regulatory requirements.
Lastly, with so many options in the digital health market, companies need to really stand out by offering services that are not just fast but also reliable and convenient. This includes providing quick access to the best specialist advice, easy digital prescriptions and speedy medication delivery.
At Phlo, we’re paying close attention to these trends as we evolve the business. We’re expanding our services while maintaining that essential human element in our offerings like Phlo Clinic. We’re committed to delivering safety and security with a robust technological backbone. And by constantly improving our user experience and broadening our services, we’re geared to meet and exceed what our users expect from us in this hugely important industry.
As Phlo expands its operations, what strategies are you implementing to ensure that the company maintains its commitment to customer satisfaction, quality of service and patient care?
The patient experience will always remain at the heart of all of Phlo’s services, as listening to and acting on the feedback of our customers is something that our team is constantly focused on. Our experienced senior team is committed to adopting the best new technologies to improve our user journeys, and to maintain security standards across the business. Importantly, we are a fully accredited NHS Pharmacy that works to NHS information governance standards, and our General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration ensures Phlo complies with UK and EU data privacy legislation.
With Phlo’s ambitious scaling and expansion plans, what advice would you offer to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the HealthTech sector, particularly in the field of digital pharmacy?
Don’t expect success to come quickly or easily – entrepreneurship in this sector requires lots of patience, commitment and hard work! But don’t forget that the relationships you have are very important – or underestimate the value of your network. It’s important to understand that UK healthcare is a complex and slow-moving landscape, and you can’t successfully drive lasting change without collaboration with others and a willingness to work with existing systems – whilst also being a relentless champion for change and innovation.