Daniel Lee of HubRx+Pharmacy2U On Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup
Resilience, both in life and in business is so important. The self-belief I mentioned earlier coupled with a strong determination and resilience allows you to keep seeking solutions even when faced with adversity. I went to see a VC once who was so put off by our business model he likened it to Amazon — this was in early 2000 and the comparison was not intended in a positive way.
Startups have such a glamorous reputation. Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Uber, and Airbnb once started as scrappy startups with huge dreams and huge obstacles. Yet we of course know that most startups don’t end up as success stories. What does a founder or a founding team need to know to create a highly successful startup? In this series, called “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup” we are talking to experienced and successful founders and business leaders who can share stories from their experiences about what it takes to create a highly successful startup. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Daniel Lee, CEO of HubRx and the founder of Pharmacy2U and MBA at Durham University Business School.
Daniel is a qualified pharmacist and entrepreneur who started his career working in his family’s independent pharmacy business in Leeds. In 1999 he transformed the UK’s online pharmacy industry by founding Pharmacy2U — a multi-million-pound business that pioneered the use of the electronic transfer of prescriptions to enable medication to be delivered direct to patients.
Over the past 20 years Daniel has been instrumental in re-engineering pharmacy — putting technology and advances in automation at its heart to streamline dispensing services.
In 2019 Daniel left Pharmacy2U and has now returned to his roots within independent pharmacy to launch HubRx, the UK’s first state-of-the-art automated pharmacy hub for community pharmacists. When launched, HubRx will be able to free up prescription dispensary time for upwards of 200 independent community pharmacies from a 40,000 sq. ft. fully automated facility which will have the capacity to automate up to 12m healthcare items per year.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Working as the operations director for my family’s pharmacy company was a real turning point in my career. As a qualified pharmacist I began finding myself feeling not only very frustrated in the role, but also in the perception that fellow healthcare professionals had about community pharmacy. I knew then that I wanted to make a change. To improve how community pharmacy operates and how it is perceived.
In those days a pharmacy degree didn’t include any business modules and I felt very exposed not having that training and grounding. Then an opportunity came up to enroll on a two-year part time MBA at Durham University with sponsorship from the NHS northern region.
My time on the MBA course was a real eye-opener. I was the only pharmacist taking part alongside CEOs of NHS Trusts and other senior managers. It helped me see where pharmacy sat within the healthcare ecosystem, the misconceptions about what pharmacy is and what it isn’t. It gave me the foundations I needed to begin my journey to disrupt the industry.
What was the “Aha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us
Having spent 20 years designing and re-engineering pharmacy as a digital experience I was somewhat shocked at the slow pace of change within traditional community pharmacies. The view that independent pharmacies just exist so patients can pick up their prescription, or buy shampoo, or a toothbrush just isn’t reflective of the clinical services which could be made available. Pharmacists are highly trained to deliver a wide range of clinical services — many of which would help take the pressure off overstretched GP practices and enable patients to faster access to care. But that perception has grown because the reality is dispensing prescription medication is time intensive and it doesn’t leave pharmacists with the bandwidth needed to deliver all the clinical services they could.
How community pharmacy has responded during the Covid-19 pandemic is a perfect example of what is possible. When GP practices couldn’t see patients face-to-face, pharmacists kept their doors open and they’ve played a vital role in the delivery of the largest vaccination programme to date.
My new company, HubRx, is set to enable this change. We’re developing the first state-of-the-art automated pharmacy hub for independent community pharmacists in the UK. When launched, HubRx will be able to free up prescription dispensary time for upwards of 200 independent community pharmacies from a 40,000 sq. ft. fully automated facility which will have the capacity to automate up to 12m healthcare items per year.
Was there somebody in your life who inspired or helped you to start your journey with your business? Can you share a story with us?
The chairman of HubRx is Sean Riddell. I have had the privilege of working with Sean for more than two-decades. Sean was the CEO of EMIS Group, a health tech company providing software to GP’s and across other care settings. We developed the electronic prescription service together and EMIS became an early investor in the company. Sean went on to do an MBO and then listing of EMIS before stepping down. His support, mentoring and expertise have been invaluable in our latest venture together.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Well, for a start we’ll be the first in the UK. We’re pioneering an exciting new chapter for community pharmacy, enabling independent pharmacists to change how they work, utilise their skills and training and allow them to focus on higher margin clinical services –and in turn to help deliver better patient care.
HubRx is a PAAS (Pharmacy as a Service) model and passes through all purchasing gains too. It’s a win, win.
Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Lateral thinking, having belief in myself and not being afraid to take a risk and disrupt.
Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?
I can’t think of any advice that I wish I had never followed, but I can think of one piece I’m really glad I ignored.
When I first set up Pharmacy2U it was illegal to send medicines through the post as the regulations in place were written in 1968 and had no comprehension of new innovative business models. The advice at the time from our professional advisors was that because it was illegal we shouldn’t continue pursing it.
Obviously, we didn’t take that advice because Pharmacy2U was created. But for me, it proves that there will always be obstacles — especially when you’re trying to pioneer new ground — but that they shouldn’t hold you back. Law makers with proper oversight can make changes, always inevitably following the market.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Following our development of the electronic prescription service for the government there was a change in strategy and they created a quango called the National Programme for IT with the intention of developing the platform themselves. In summary, the promised roll-out of our technology was curtailed and our business model was grounded. No amount of lobbying could salvage this and it is one of the risks of working with governments if policy changes. While we waited for the NHS to resolve this we moved into private health technology, but only just survived.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard? What strategies or techniques did you use to help overcome those challenges?
Resilience, both in life and in business is so important. The self-belief I mentioned earlier coupled with a strong determination and resilience allows you to keep seeking solutions even when faced with adversity. I went to see a VC once who was so put off by our business model he likened it to Amazon — this was in early 2000 and the comparison was not intended in a positive way.
Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?
Surround yourself with the best team, empower and reward them. I have always been a big supporter of the senior leadership team having skin in the game. It keeps you grounded. As a founder in a start-up you can’t surround yourself with yes people. Instead, you need those that can both challenge and support you on your journey.
Can you kindly share a few things a founder should look at to determine if fundraising or bootstrapping is the right choice?
It all depends on the choice of the founder and how quickly they want to grow and what level of control, equity and ultimately wealth creation they want to achieve. Bringing in outside investment will also bring access to expertise, networks, future funding, valuable knowhow etc. Bootstrapping will inevitably lead to slower growth. Ultimately it all depends on the detailed business plan which should be underpinning any business.
From your experience or perspective, what are the main factors that distinguish successful startups from unsuccessful ones. What are your “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup”?
Vision
Detailed financial model, business plan and budget
Talent
MI
Great tech
What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
For me the main mistake is that CEO’s and founders don’t understand the true financial aspects of running a business. This is where the MBA helped me. I set out as an entrepreneur to plan, have financial rigor, understand forecasts, cash flows and balance sheets. Once a business has launched being able to create the necessary MI and KPI’s to track your performance is critical to success.
What would you recommend to founders about how to best take care of their physical and mental wellness when starting a company?
I am inspired by nature and would encourage anyone under pressure or building a business to make time and enjoy the outdoors. In healthcare we’re already seeing more social prescribing because something as simple as just going for a walk can have a positive impact.
We are becoming more switched on and addicted to our devices — I can see this with my own family — so we need this time of sanctuary to rebalance ourselves.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
By following me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmlee/ ).
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
