This entrepreneur has proven that startups can reinvent themselves if necessary

Starting a business is not easy and the odds of success are always stacked against you. Entrepreneur Chris Riley learned this the hard way when his prescription rebate startup, United States Rx, came close to failure.

Rather than seeing his startup crumble, Chris led it through a transformation into a completely different business model and succeeded beyond expectations. Here is the story of how USA Rx went from the brink of failure to a thriving business in just under two years. This is a great example of why entrepreneurs shouldn’t be afraid to reinvent their startups when the need arises.

A huge market opportunity

Chris started USA Rx in 2012. He started out as a direct mail prescription rebate program, hoping to capture some of what was then a market of 300 billion dollars. It was a good business idea, as prescription discount cards were already a hit with consumers.

But by the end of 2019, it was clear that USA Rx was not reaching its potential market penetration through its original direct mail and medical office distribution model. According to Chris, the situation was grim. “We were struggling to grow our customer base and weren’t getting a lot of traffic to the company’s web portal. We had a thousand monthly visitors to the site in search traffic in the fourth quarter of 2019. We just weren’t noticed in what had quickly become a crowded market. “

Evolve or face extinction

Chris wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. He and his team went to work on a plan to reinvent the business in order to survive.

They decided to completely change focus and pivot from the direct mail discount card program and turn USA Rx into a digital health market. The idea was to become the ‘Medicine Kayak’, showing consumers transparent pricing for online, mail order and retail options. However, as the transformation began, the situation worsened. The COVID-19 pandemic began disrupting the U.S. economy, crippling what remained of USA Rx’s historic business.

Chris explains, “We literally did everything we could to try and kill the company during this time. First there was a global pandemic that caused income to drop 95% in the blink of an eye. partner. It seemed like the whole world was doing everything they could to beat us. “

A light at the end of the tunnel

Chris and his team refused to give up. “Needless to say, it was a very dark time for the business. For me personally, it was a nightmare with little hope or control. The business at the time was in desperate need of funding and funding. new leadership that believed in the pivot on which the team was running. “

As the previous business model collapsed, the company’s revenue accompanied it. “There were months without pay. It was a tough few months. I ended up moving from New York to Florida because of it,†says Chris.

By April 2021, the hard work of the team had started to pay off. A new audience has started to flock to the new digital healthcare marketplace. It now attracts more than 152,000 visitors each month. According to Chris, the company recorded an average of 86% month-over-month revenue growth for each month in the second quarter of 2021, beating any other quarter since the inception of the company.

From struggling startup to investor favorite

As the transformation of the digital health market continues to improve the company’s bottom line and bottom line, its profile among the investment community has started to gain traction. “We have received a new small round of funding for the new USA Rx, and for the very first time we have inbound calls and emails from investors looking to invest in our business. This has never happened. with the old company, â€notes Chris.

The influx of capital allows the company to continue its growth path, or even to launch a whole new product. “We are in fact about to roll out our first direct-to-consumer allergy drug specific health product called Breathe. think we can fit in vertically and win. “

Necessity is the mother of reinvention

Chris’ journey with USA Rx over the past two years reminds us that entrepreneurs cannot be married to their business plans. The reality is that very few startups move from the planning stage to success without some adjustments in between.

This is not as rare as it may seem. Amazon started life as a bookseller. Now he owns e-commerce. American Express delivered the mail before it became the financial services giant we know today. Imagine what the world would be like if companies like these didn’t scale when the market demanded it.

Any startup can reinvent itself if necessary. It might not be easy, and it might not happen overnight, but it’s still an option. “We still have a long way to go, but we have overcome the tough times with a lot of changes and are on the road to future success. This year’s earnings have taken off,†says Chris of USA Rx’s current outlook. .

For a business that was in real danger of collapsing two years ago, it’s a powerful endorsement of how startups can find a way to persevere.