Augmedix has revolutionized healthcare in the United States by delivering ambient medical documentation through the company's Ambient Automation Platform, which is supported by Augmedix Bangladesh. Their scribe operation began in 2016 in Bangladesh. In an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune's Zisan Bin Liaquat, the Chief Financial Officer of Augmedix, Paul Ginocchio, talks about the company's operations here and how being listed in the stock market has been a strategic advantage.
How has your time spent working on Wall Street helped you at Augmedix?
I covered approximately 90 businesses over my 16-year tenure. After 14-15 years, I discovered that the most successful businesses featured proprietary data, subscription business models, and high-return services.
Thus, I searched for companies with comparable business models before quitting Wall Street. Being a part of Augmedix makes me feel fortunate in that regard.
As my second CFO role after leaving Wall Street, I can do a comparative analysis of our company and see where we stand. Augmedix performs really well in the important indicators for both the US and Bangladesh.
How did you take Augmedix public?
With a sizable Total Addressable Market (TAM), about $30 million in current revenue, and a potential revenue opportunity of $1 billion simply from our existing clients, Augmedix had significant opportunity ahead.
A key strategic advantage that helped us establish a strong market leadership position was having access to the public markets. We, therefore, went public in the OTC market two years ago.
We contributed $40 million to Nasdaq as an upgrade.
Due to the stock market sell-off, last year was quite challenging for public firms, especially smaller ones. Fortunately for us, we had a solid performance. Being public had certain advantages for us strategically.
With the rate of revenue growth you have had, how has the company been doing on the stock market?
The companies that make up our inner ecosystem had a decline in the stock market of around 75% last year. Augmedix fared better relatively, losing just about 60%.
With positive financial prospects for the upcoming year, we are optimistic.
How has the company expanded in the US? What impact does that have on Bangladesh?
Hospitals have been reducing some expenditures as a result of pressure from inflation and rising labour costs. Fortunately for Augmedix, we increase doctors' productivity and allow them to see more patients.
Despite hospitals' budget cuts, they have increased their investment in Augmedix. We have continued to see seen great need for our solutions, so our business is currently operating in a very solid market.
Given that hospitals have been reducing spending, where does that put Augmedix?
As a result of being able to see more patients thanks to us, hospitals are in a better financial position than they would be without Augmedix.
From the perspective of a CFO, we provide them with a good return. They gain an extra $2.15 in revenue for every dollar spent on us.
We operate in a market that is mostly untapped, so there is plenty of space for growth for both us and others. We are entering a healthcare system where the only option for documentation is for clinicians to do it themselves.
It's a greenfield market, so It's somewhat easier to not be in a competitive bidding situation.
How important is Bangladesh for Augmedix?
Augmedix Bangladesh is our secret sauce. Over a third of our doctors are served by this fantastic corporate facility that we have here in Dhaka. We have a competitive advantage because we can serve our doctors in an effective setting thanks to the team here in Bangladesh.
While revenue has increased by about 40% over the past year, activities in Bangladesh have grown more significantly, therefore we are adding more employees in this country.
Due to the growing number of doctors on our waiting list, we will be hiring a minimum of 350 more scribes this year. Hopefully, the number will be much more than that.
However, we do review the resumes and pick the best candidates to join our team.
What is the cost of recruiting from here, and how successful are the results?
Based on the outcomes we observe, we can state that we are a desirable employer. We offer our employees very competitive compensation and western-style benefits in a startup environment.
We have operational centers in four countries -- India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the US -- with Bangladesh being the most efficient. We are eager to expand business here because it provides the best financial outcomes.
As employees stay with us for a longer period, the retention rate here in Bangladesh is fairly high, which fosters an excellent environment for business growth.
