Big Ben! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your exciting story with us. I’ve followed your progress with Apptiv for some time now and I’m so excited to share it with our readers. I know it’s still early days, but your story is already super inspiring and packed with valuable advice and guidance for doctors who are dreaming of broadening their horizons beyond the hospital.
Q) Let’s start at the beginning – Who is Ben and how did he find his way into medicine?
A) I had to laugh at this question! “Who is Ben?” I think if I had that totally figured out, my life would be a lot easier.
I grew up in a small, rural town in the Eastern Cape, called Matatiele. While there isn’t all that much to do there, it suited me well as I have always enjoyed being active and outdoors every day. From that love of activity and movement, grew a passion for health and wellness. A passion that, admittedly, has become an obsession that has totally consumed my life.
Once I left school, I completed my certification in personal training and nutrition. After I graduated, I applied to Stellenbosch University to do a BSc in Sport Science which revolutionised how I thought about wellness. While I enjoyed my three years there, I knew that there were key gaps in my understanding of what wellness truly is. Medicine, I felt, was my best bet at having those gaps filled, so I dove into it with all the enthusiasm I could muster, after already studying for five years. It was the best decision I could have made.
Q) There is a common saying – “the best idea is the one acted on.” Explain to us how the idea for Apptiv started to form.
A) The Apptiv app is essentially a by-product of something else that I had been working on for several years. Along with my wife (who is also a medical doctor), fertility specialists and endocrinologists, I’ve been studying how the monthly female hormone cycle affects the body with regards to what type of exercise stimulus best suits each day of the cycle.
I had never seen anyone take the time to try and understand how women may need a different approach to fitness; an approach that allows them to work with their bodies and not against it. After years of work, we mapped out more than six months’ worth of daily exercise programs, which I believe is a revolutionary program for women’s health and fitness. The next question was how to make the program available for women to follow. After contacting multiple app companies, I realised that there simply wasn’t anyone on whom I could rely to sell our program in accordance with our expectations. Realising that this is an issue for a number of other health and fitness professionals, I decided to approach investors with the proposal of creating a platform myself.
Q) Isn’t it interesting how many great ideas arise from people creating solutions to problems they experience themselves. So, what exactly is Apptiv right now?
A) Apptiv is an app-based platform that allows fitness professionals or influencers to sell their programs in a way that protects their income as a priority. Traditionally, a fitness influencer would have to sell their programs by creating an e-book, which can easily be shared with friends after its purchase, to the financial detriment of the creator. Due to this, good programs which could make real differences, never reach the market as it just isn’t worth the seller’s time and effort.
This is a real bummer for society as lifestyle-related diseases are a huge problem globally and the medical approach is skewed towards managing disease, rather than preventing it. COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the effects of lifestyle co-morbidities and the devastating repercussions thereof.
Our vision at Apptiv is to become a platform that is geared at getting more people around the world moving and looking after themselves. Lifestyle diseases have no cure in the medical profession, there is only the treatment of symptoms. This eventually has dire consequences as people are not addressing the core issue – nutrition and fitness. The company’s sole focus now, is on equipping the right people to make the world a healthier place.
Q) Can you point out some of the most prominent moments that helped to elevate Apptiv.
A) One of the best pieces of business advice I ever received was, “If you want to go fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk together.” Initially, I did everything myself. I raised the investment capital, I planned every aspect of the app, I designed the logos. However, after getting some invaluable suggestions and insights from the app developer it quickly became apparent I am not equipped to do everything myself. I cannot emphasise this enough to any entrepreneur: you need to be willing to respect the fact that you may not be the best person for the job. You must be willing to get the right people in the right place for your company to thrive.
I soon realised that Apptiv was too big for just me and went into a 50/50 partnership with the app developer. This was the best step in elevating Apptiv that I have taken. While I am not saying that people should just go around giving away half their companies, I am suggesting that if you hold on too tightly you might strangle your growth. Be humble enough to admit that you can’t always do everything alone.
Q) I understand you are in the process of integrating Apptiv with schools in the Western Cape. Can you provide some details on the role that Apptiv will play and how you see it enhancing the dynamics of school sport?
A) Yes, we are currently implementing Apptiv into a very prominent school in the Western Cape and will be approaching other schools once we are happy with how things are running there. We are looking to facilitate not only improvements in sport, but also in the understanding that children have around why movement and looking after their health is so important. In this way, we aim to fight the lifestyle disease pandemic by raising awareness of the importance of health and fitness from a very young age.
Q) Many doctors dream of starting a “side-hustle”, but fear that a lack of business knowledge will prevent them from making a success of anything outside of medicine. Can you speak a bit about how you overcame certain obstacles that you encountered because you are a doctor? More importantly perhaps, opportunities and breaks you were granted specifically because you are one?
A) This was 100% true for me when I decided to go full time into my “side hustle”. I alluded to this earlier, but the lack of business knowledge is a total non-issue if you are willing to include the right people. Humility is going to be your best friend if you are looking to make financial gain out of something that you don’t know a lot about. Seek the help and opinion of knowledgeable people at every possible opportunity. Obstacles are part of the process, but there are people out there who have overcome similar, if not the same, obstacles themselves. Seek these people out, if it costs you money to do so, spend the money gladly, it will cost a lot less than making big financial mistakes.
Being a medical doctor certainly has its perks in that I have found people are (for the most part) willing to take me seriously when I have something to say. However, I don’t think that you can rely on your medical qualifications for a smooth road in business. Something I focus on when doing business is to not speak too highly of my qualifications and why my opinions are important. Rather, I try and make other people feel important and make it clear that their opinions are valued. This has resulted in others being very willing to help me and go above and beyond for me when they didn’t have to. This would certainly not have been the case if I had taken the, “I’m the doctor here” approach. My advice on the matter is, outside of the hospital you are just a regular human. Don’t ever let your qualifications make you think otherwise.
Q) Another big decision you made was to not complete your community service in 2021. Do you plan to still complete this at some point? Do you believe it is possible to start a business whilst practising as a doctor?
A) I would love to do my community service and thereafter get back into the medical field in some capacity. I’m just not entirely sure when that may be. I have nothing but respect for doctors and what they sacrifice and I’m thankful to be a part of that group of individuals. One thing I will say is that I have gone from medicine being my entire identity, to it being totally removed from my life. Going back, I will be very careful to not allow medicine to become my sole identity again.
One of my mentors once told me, “Never stick with a mistake just because of how long it took you to make it.” If you are unhappy in the profession you have chosen, it is totally within your power to change it. If a doctor wants to start a side hustle for fun or to make a few extra bucks, then he/she can absolutely do it while still practising.
However, most business opportunities don’t present themselves in an operating theatre at 2:00 in the morning. To truly grow a business, I think you must have the free time required to notice opportunities and to allow your mind the space to construct creative solutions. This is very difficult to do if you are sleep deprived and not looking after your mental health, which is often a reality for doctors. Being well-slept, well-nourished and having exercised multiple times in a week allows you access to neural pathways which are otherwise locked away. You get to see things from a different perspective when your headspace isn’t totally dominated by medicine. However, this is my personal opinion, and I am sure some people can have incredible success at a side hustle while still being a doctor. This just isn’t a possibility for me.
Q) Finally, tell me, is Apptiv readily available for everyday consumers? How can people get hold of you or get in touch with Apptiv?
A) Apptiv is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and is currently being used by people all over South Africa, the UK and Scotland.
We love when people get in touch with us to discuss what we do and how it might benefit them. If anyone would like to chat they can e-mail me at ben@apptivapp.com. I really do appreciate all interactions and look forward to helping in any way that we can.
Ben, thanks again for sharing your story. I’m certain that this is only the beginning of your success. We’ll be sure to follow your story as a prime example of the potential success that awaits when doctors broaden their horizons.
