RealSelf is a healthcare marketplace where consumers research aesthetic treatments and connect with physicians. The website primarily targets plastic surgery, dermatology and minimally-invasive treatments. There are 30,000 registered doctors and practices. The site has more than 2 million reviews and had 94 million visitors in 2017. RealSelf’s website has been compared in the media to Yelp, Avvo, and Trip Advisor due to its emphasis on user-generated content and connecting consumers to businesses through its marketplace.
History
RealSelf was founded in 2006 by Tom Seery, a former executive at Expedia. Seery told Geekwire he noticed a gap in the market where consumers could find quality information about travel-related businesses but minimal, “one-sided marketing” about expensive medical procedures.
RealSelf was initially self-funded by Seery. In 2008, the company raised close to $2 million in funding from angel investors, including Rich Barton. RealSelf was one of Inc. 500's fastest growing private companies from 2012–2015, peaking at #306. Traffic rose 270% from 2013 to 2019.
In 2018, the company raised $40 million in Series C funding from Elephant.
Site content
RealSelf.com is a website where viewers can review treatments and find a plastic surgeon or an aesthetics physician to perform procedures. RealSelf also covers topics in dermatology, dentistry, and even LASIK. The site features reviews, real patient before & after photos, forums, editorial content, consumer questions, and answers. Treatments are rated “Worth It”, “Not Worth It”, with an option to talk about their experience.
Audience
Consumers
Consumers post reviews, photos, and questions in a discussion format, and also post questions to providers. RealSelf also hosts a directory of doctors organized by specialty, the treatment offered, and location. Consumers can contact doctors through the site, who sometimes have special offers available. RealSelf also has an iOS app.
The site has over 2 million reviews of doctors and treatments.
Doctors
RealSelf operates on a commercial model and allows any doctor with a medical license to have a profile. This means physicians that have not trained in plastic surgery can claim a RealSelf profile.
The American Board of Medical Specialties and its member boards are the agencies that award board certification once a doctor has completed a residency for a specialty or fellowship for a sub-specialty. Board certification does not mean the doctor has completed any plastic surgery training.
Doctors publicize their services through their profile, where user- and doctor-generated content is aggregated. Doctors can pay for targeted exposure through ads.
Doctors have access to free dispute resolution when they think a review violates the site guidelines. Doctors cannot pay to alter or remove consumer reviews.
Organization
In addition to founding RealSelf, Seery serves as Executive Chairman. Seery is a frequent speaker at conferences, including meetings of the Aesthetic and Anti-aging Medicine World Congress, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, IMCAS World Congress and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is also on the advisory board of Buerck Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington.
Board members include Andrew Hunt, founder of Warby Parker and Elephant; and Mike Slade of Second Avenue Partners, Judy Verses of Wiley & Sons, Lizette Williams of Facebook.
Business model
RealSelf is a two-sided marketplace that is free for consumers. Registration is required to submit content. Medical professionals are only required to have a medical license to claim a free profile and can self-verify their qualifications and experience. Profiles can be upgraded via a paid membership. Medical professionals cannot achieve "Verified" status without prior payment to RealSelf.com. They may also buy advertising that appears on the site. All professionals on RealSelf must meet participation guidelines before they can be listed. They can only buy ads and post content in specialties where they hold qualifications. RealSelf refer to their doctors as "cosmetic doctors" as they may only have a medical license and are not recognized as plastic surgeons or any type of board-certified surgeon.