Vishal Vasanji walked into 2020 with big ambitions for Relief Telemed, the health care delivery platform he co-founded with LSU professor James Davis in 2019. But Vasanji could’ve never anticipated just how prosperous this year would prove for his startup.
While most local companies are struggling financially this year, a select few are thriving, having discovered new opportunities in a pandemic market. Take Relief, which began 2020 with zero revenue and is on track to close the year with an estimated $3 million in revenues—double its initial projection.
In the early days of the pandemic, Relief was pitching its telemedicine app to doctor’s offices as a way to stay connected to patients and continue visits under Louisiana’s stay-at-home order. It wasn’t until Vasanji realized the coronavirus was a long-term reality, however, that he noticed significant demand for COVID-19 testing among Relief’s own customers. The company then altered its business strategy, deciding to go all-in on COVID-19 testing.
“We didn’t look at anything else during that time frame, and it’s paid off,” Vasanji says. “It’s never going to be perfect—you just have to put it out there, adapt based on what’s working and what’s not, and make changes.”
As Relief’s CEO, Vasanji believes his startup can serve as a case study of a company that simply listened to what its customers wanted and responded accordingly—a cycle that’s already repeated itself several times in the past six months.
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