I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

This is the classic case of building a product that you hope will solve a problem instead of finding a problem first then building a product to solve it. The correct approach would have been to have those conversations with doctors before spending $40k to build the product.

I've made this very mistake myself but I was lucky enough to have enough runway to start over and talk to customers first then pivot the product to something that they actually need.

I call this the "I have an idea for a startup!" issue. You hear it all the time from family/friends. Where they tell you this great idea for a product they had. This is the wrong approach. What you want to say is something like "There is this really interesting problem that everyone in ecommerce is facing right now"

Uh no. He had a problem - how to choose a medicine - and built a product to solve that problem. The issue was that solving the problem isn't something people wish to pay for, not that the problem doesn't exist.

> He had a problem - how to choose a medicine - and built a product to solve that problem.

No, he didn't have a problem.

He proposes that OTC is the target. The reality is, the problem is not very deep here. Without access to prescription medications, you basically have a handful of options that are more of less the same. It's like walking onto a rental car lot. You need to know what category you need, but everything in that category is pretty much the same.

He isn't solving anything for the physician market. His recommendations are very naive and lack the clinical backing to support actual usage. A physician isn't going to buck their go-to's because a random tool suggests something else. This tool needs to provide scientific backing for it's recommendations and why that recommendation is better.