Big Apple Start-Up Has Docs a Click Away
At first blush, it may seem like a strange and obscure move for heavy-hitting investors Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Being able to book an online appointment to replace a filling or soothe a pulled hammy doesn’t sound very revolutionary, especially when you can only do it in New York City.
But by contributing to the recent $3-million funding of the 12-man start-up ZocDoc, Benioff and Bezos, who alone is worth an estimated $7 billion, are creating a Manifest Destiny of sorts for start-up capital. People want to be involved with other successful people. And considering that economy is sinking faster than a bowling ball in a vat of tapioca, people are looking to savvy, experienced entrepreneurs to lead the way to promising investments.
In addition, you also can’t ignore the fact that the ZocDoc story is hardwired into our daily news rationing with health care being such a polarizing issue in the approaching presidential election. And ZocDoc’s pitch is that they’re an HOV lane to faster, more efficient health care service for providers and patients. It helps that this fast lane is slick and intuitive.
ZocDoc features a straight-forward appointment-setting interface that allows you to choose doctors and dentists by their specialty, check out their mugs to make sure they look healthy, and even consult a five-star rating system to measure their credibility.
ZocDoc currently only allows you to book dentists, primary care physicians, dermatologists and eye specialists in Manhattan and Brooklyn; the website claims it will be adding locations and additional medical services soon. And while the specific amounts of the contributions from the head honchos behind Salesforce and Amazon is unknown, their names and association alone will ensure the online appointment-setter blows up far beyond the Big Apple.
