Snapsmile's Journey: From the Dragons' Den to Transforming Oral Healthcare
Co-founders Kartik Balasundaram and Myoo Nadesan pitched their startup snapsmile (external link) on Season 18 (external link) of Dragons' Den. They asked for $50K for 20% of their company and received $75k for 20% of their company by Dragon Michelle Romanow. We caught up with Kartik to see where he and his team at snapsmile are now! Kartik was a member of the Biomedical Zone.
It all began when…
I had a horrible toothache. COVID forced me and my CTO Navine to close shop on our startup Scuto, which helped wedding photographers manage bookings. No weddings, no photographers, no Scuto. As we were trying to figure out what to do next, the pain from my toothache, combined with how impossible it was to find a dentist due to COVID restrictions, inspired me to explore the idea of a digital solution in dentistry.
We started with an AI-powered dental assessment tool that we hand-built to help people monitor their oral health. The app was free and required users to upload a few photos of their teeth to get an idea of what was going on in their mouths. We launched the app, snapsmile (external link) on Product Hunt (external link) in 2020 and reached #4 product of the day. Being on the homepage of a site where hundreds of thousands of visitors would see was excellent exposure, and downloads of our app exploded.
We received over 5,000 images on the snapsmile app, and with the help of a local dentist, we began to train our AI model to identify instances of oral health issues. We then saw a path for patient acquisition, helping patients find quality dental care and helping dentists grow their practice. We've now partnered with over 20 dental clinics in the GTA and are quickly expanding across Canada and into the USA. Our goal is to remove the barriers to accessing oral healthcare in Canada.
By late 2020, we had conducted consumer surveys, built a full prototype, and had a big network of real users. We applied to Dragons' Den at the end of that year. They were mostly interested in the product and the traction, which at the time seemed unique to the Canadian market.
Once we were invited to the show, we got to work on our preparation, which included watching hundreds of hours of previous episodes. DMZ taught us that we needed to pitch towards the audience we were talking to, so watching the episodes showed us what we could expect, which Dragons responded well to certain tactics and which didn't. After that, we went through hundreds of possible scenarios and questions that could come up and prepared an answer and rebuttal to any possible objection or question that could come our way.
We were able to network and brainstorm with other brilliant members. It was a great environment for us to share ideas, and we were connected to mentors that made a difference for us.
In the den…
We waited for hours. It was incredibly nerve-wracking. Once we were called to present, we went backstage and tried to spend a few minutes on last-minute preparations, but it wasn't easy to focus. We knew this could be huge, but we didn't know what to expect. Once we got to the stage, there were dozens of cameras swinging around, and we nervously faced the Dragons. Strangely enough, once the cameras started rolling, a calmness came over us, and we went right into our zone. We knew we had something good, and now it was time to make them see it as well. We kept answers short and to the point. We played well off one another, as we had prepared who would be responsible for which questions and talking points. Since we focused on being direct with our answers and not dragging on too much, we got through about 20 questions and were able to clarify a lot of the doubts they expressed.
It's been about two years since the snapsmile episode (external link) was released. Almost immediately after our episode aired, we had our first clients reach out to us. From there, it's kind of been a snowball. To give some comparison, before the show, we spent 8-9 months trying to get a dentist to have a conversation with us, but they didn't want to talk. We now work with nearly 30 clinics, and many of them are coming inbound. Our business model has adapted to demand, and we've created something that is solving a problem for our B2B and B2C clients.
In the end, the deal with Michelle fell flat, which happens more often than you think and can also be a really good thing for entrepreneurs. Our business model evolved, and we weren't able to reach a new deal that made sense for both sides. The exposure and experience alone were enough to give us the resources we needed to make it happen without giving up any capital.
I joined the Biomedical Zone in 2018 right after we won our first entrepreneurship competition for Scuto. The Biomedical Zone had the resources we needed to learn about building something from the ground up. We were able to network and brainstorm with other brilliant members. It was a great environment for us to share ideas, and we were connected to mentors that made a difference for us. The Biomedical Zone helped us properly allocate funds, make strategic hires, and pivot almost seamlessly from Scuto to snapsmile.
I graduated from the BTM program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2019. Being part of the Ted Rogers School of Management ecosystem led me to the Slaight Competition, which was ultimately the first step in getting us off the ground.
For aspiring entrepreneurs…
Know that it's going to take a while. Make sure you're committed before you take the leap because it's not going to come easy, and rarely does it happen quickly. You'll need some runway to incur losses so you can experiment with your assumptions. This is the most exciting part about running a business but it can also be expensive.
Use the resources available to you. Through school, the government, your peers, and mentors. The resources we were exposed to made all the difference in us being able to overcome any hurdles that have come (and continue to come) our way. I'd recommend looking into the Y Combinator education library, which is free, and also listening to podcasts that focus on founders of successful businesses. Masters of Scale by Reid Hoffman is great. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to other founders and entrepreneurs who have built great things. I've found they are responsive and excited to share their journeys and offer guidance to the new guys.
If I could go back in time…
I'd do it all again, but I'd start earlier.