On a Tuesday morning in Manila, patients form a line outside a clinic that has not opened yet. Some have been waiting since dawn. A woman clutches her medical records in a plastic folder. A man scrolls through his phone, searching for answers that never seem to come. For millions of Filipinos, this is what healthcare looks like: traffic, waiting, and frustration. Emil Eriksen, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Denmark, watched this scene unfold and saw not inefficiency, but opportunity. “In the Philippines, people don’t lack interest in their health,” he says. “They lack time, privacy, and trust.” His company, &you, was built to change that. Launched in March 2025, it aims to become Southeast Asia’s answer to Hims & Hers by making access to care as effortless as ordering anything else online. The company connects patients to licensed Filipino doctors for private consultations and discreet home delivery of prescribed treatments. “Our goal is to make healthcare feel simple, safe, and human,” Eriksen says. “We want to remove the fear that usually comes with asking for help.” The Reality &you Wants To Replace For decades, Southeast Asia’s healthcare systems have been shaped by scarcity. Hospitals are crowded. Doctors are overworked. Patients often turn to self-medication or online gray markets rather than face public embarrassment in a clinic. Eriksen believes this behavior is rational. “People here are not lazy,” he says. “They just know the system is built to waste their time.” &you was designed around that insight. Instead of forcing people into long processes, it gives them speed, privacy, and clarity. Consultations are handled by verified doctors, and medications are fulfilled through licensed pharmacies that deliver directly to the patient. The tone of the experience feels closer to a trusted consumer brand than a traditional medical provider. A Brand Built On Trust And Culture To bridge the gap between medicine and modern culture, &you brought in Kylie Verzosa, actress, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate, as partner, investor, and brand director. Her task is to make healthcare conversations feel normal in a country where stigma still lingers. “I’ve seen how shame can stop people from getting better,” Verzosa says. “What I love about &you is that it turns care into something positive. It feels approachable, not intimidating.” Under her direction, &you’s campaigns look more like wellness or fashion content than clinical ads. The brand’s messaging focuses on self-improvement and confidence rather than symptoms or fear. The result is a company that feels distinctly Filipino but modern enough to resonate across Southeast Asia. Betting On A $22 Billion Market The ambition behind &you has caught the attention of investors. Everywhere Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm known for early bets on consumer startups, led the company’s pre-seed round earlier this year. “Asia’s consumer health wave is only beginning,” says Scott Hartley, co-founder of Everywhere Ventures. “Markets like the Philippines have all the right ingredients: mobile adoption, affordability, and a population that’s ready for digital care.” Independent investors like Jeremy Cai, founder of Italic, also joined the round. “E-commerce changed how people buy products,” Cai says. “Healthcare will go through the same shift. Once people trust that care can be private and efficient, the growth will be exponential.” Local backer Roland Ros, co-founder of Kumu, sees the company’s strength in its cultural fluency. “What stands out about &you is how Filipino it feels,” he says. “They are not importing an American model. They are building something that fits the way people here actually live.” Industry analysts project Southeast Asia’s telehealth sector to exceed 22 billion dollars by 2030, driven by smartphone adoption, chronic disease, and a generation of consumers who want healthcare that feels modern. Building For Scale, Not Just Hype Eriksen’s vision goes beyond quick consultations. The company plans to expand into diagnostic and chronic care within its first year, while staying true to its promise of discretion and user trust. Privacy is central to the company’s identity. “For our users, privacy is not a nice-to-have,” Eriksen says. “It’s the reason they come to us in the first place.” An unexpected growth area has come from overseas Filipinos who use the platform to book consultations for family members back home. It was never part of the initial roadmap, but Eriksen sees it as proof that trust and convenience can travel across borders faster than physical infrastructure. The Race To A Billion Eriksen’s goal is clear: to make &you Southeast Asia’s first consumer health unicorn within three years. It is not about valuation alone. It is about proving that empathy can scale. “Healthcare in this region is broken at the cultural level,” he says. “If we can make people feel comfortable taking care of themselves again, we will have done more than build a company. We will have started a movement.” He pauses for a moment before adding, “The next great healthcare company will not come from Silicon Valley. It will come from here. From the places where people are ready to believe that care can finally feel like it’s made for them.”

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

This 30-Year-Old Entrepreneur Wants To Build Southeast Asia's Answer To Hims & Hers

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