First Derm

Watch First Derm launch on stage here.

This interview with First Derm founders Connor Church (left), Alexander Börve (center), and Nick Hu (right) was conducted by the Job Portraits team during the LAUNCH Festival.

Tell us what your company does.

Alexander: We do online dermatology. With First Derm, you can take an image of any skin ailment you might have, send it to us, and we’ll have a dermatologist look at it. Within a couple hours they’ll send you back a summary of possible diagnoses, as well as advice for treatment and whether you should see a doctor in person.

Right now, in the United States the average wait time is 38 days to see a dermatologist.

Why did you choose this problem, and why are you the right team to solve it?

Alexander: I’ve been a researcher in the telemedicine space for the last six years. We’ve found that by sending images to a dermatologist, you can screen away a lot of cases and save people trips to the doctor.

And when people really, really should see a doctor, we can help them know sooner. We’re essentially a triage service. Of the people who use First Derm today, 70% are able to treat themselves just with over­-the-counter medication.

Everyone on the team has something to do with medicine. I'm a doctor, my cofounder Nick studied Global Health at UC Berkeley, and Conor does business development, but he wants to become a doctor.

How has the LAUNCH Festival experience gone so far?

Alexander: We've been exposed to a lot of different people, from investors to customers to people we might work with in the future. We've loved it.

How was it on­ stage?

Alexander: The stage was great. Dermatology is a little different from what you would normally think when you talk tech, so we were able to grab the judges’ attention.

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