When my twin brother Eli and I first dove into e-commerce, we saw firsthand how dropshipping created a low-risk path to launching a business. We built and scaled multiple online brands successfully, but we also hit the wall with high competition, shrinking margins and the constant battle for customer retention.

The beauty of dropshipping was its accessibility, and minimal upfront investment allowed anyone to build a brand, market products and scale. But as the e-commerce landscape gets more crowded and customer acquisition costs skyrocket, smart entrepreneurs are asking: what’s next?

The answer is telehealth, a revelation we discovered the hard way when we attempted to launch our own direct-to-consumer telehealth brand focused on eyelash enhancement (yeah, it sounds questionable now, but we thought it was brilliant at the time). We quickly found that while telehealth had massive potential, the traditional setup process was a nightmare of compliance hurdles and technical roadblocks. That frustration led us to create Bask Health.

The direct-to-consumer healthcare model is absolutely exploding, on track to surpass $200 billion in market value. And just like e-commerce, telehealth lets entrepreneurs create digital-first, scalable brands that meet modern consumer demands, except with significantly higher retention, better margins and built-in regulatory moats that keep the competition at bay.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking for the next big DTC opportunity with real staying power, here’s why telehealth should be on your radar.

Related: Telemedicine is Laying the Roadmap for Healthcare’s Future

1. Telehealth has built-in recurring revenue

The biggest headache with dropshipping and traditional e-commerce is retention. A customer buys a product, and then they’re gone, maybe forever. This creates a never-ending cycle of chasing new customers, driving up ad spend and slashing your profits.

Telehealth, by contrast, thrives on subscription-based models. Whether it’s ongoing treatments, prescription refills or scheduled virtual visits, telehealth services naturally foster long-term relationships with customers. This translates to higher lifetime value (LTV) per customer and much greater profitability over time.

2. Less competition, higher profit margins

Dropshipping’s low barrier to entry means almost anyone can clone a successful product overnight. This leads to saturated markets, razor-thin margins and constant price wars that drain profitability.

Telehealth operates in a completely different paradigm. Regulations create a natural barrier to entry, preventing new players from flooding the market. This allows early movers to establish strong brand loyalty and pricing power without the intense competition seen in traditional DTC markets. Plus, healthcare services typically carry higher margins than physical products, making it easier to scale profitably while maintaining quality.

Related: How Specialization Leads to Better Pay and Less Competition

3. Consumer demand for digital health is skyrocketing

The pandemic accelerated telehealth adoption at warp speed, but this shift isn’t temporary, it’s the new normal. Consumers now expect convenient, on-demand access to healthcare services and telehealth delivers exactly that.

• 80% of consumers prefer virtual consultations over in-person visits for non-urgent medical needs
• The global telehealth market is projected to grow 25% annually, reaching over $500 billion by 2030
• Digital-first healthcare brands like Hims & Hers, Ro and Nurx have already proven that the DTC telehealth model is highly scalable and profitable

Entrepreneurs who enter the telehealth space now position themselves at the forefront of this explosive growth curve, similar to getting into e-commerce in 2010 before the gold rush.

Related: What is Virtual Primary Care and How Will It Transform Healthcare?

4. Telehealth aligns with e-commerce marketing strategies

If you’ve already mastered DTC branding, performance marketing and conversion funnels, telehealth is a natural extension of those skills. The same playbook that works for dropshipping and e-commerce—influencer marketing, SEO and paid advertising, can be applied directly to telehealth brands.

For example, a telehealth business specializing in skincare treatments can use:

• Content marketing to educate customers on common skin conditions
• Influencer collaborations to showcase accurate patient results
• Paid ads targeting consumers searching for dermatologist-backed treatments

By leveraging your existing digital marketing expertise, you can quickly build trust, acquire customers and scale telehealth brands with proven DTC strategies.

5. Launching a telehealth brand is easier than ever

Historically, telehealth was complex and expensive to set up, requiring partnerships with licensed providers, pharmacies and HIPAA-compliant tech stacks. That’s no longer the case.

We built Bask Health because we personally hit every barrier that prevents entrepreneurs from entering the telehealth space. Our goal was to create a turnkey telehealth infrastructure that removes compliance and operational headaches, making it as easy to launch a telehealth brand as it is to start a Shopify store.

The platform includes:

• Patient intake, builder & scheduling tools
• 30+ pharmacy fulfillment options
• 5+ multi-state licensed providers and group options
• HIPAA-compliant enterprise-grade data security
• Over 100+ out-of-the-box Integrations
• Infinite extendability with our APIs and Developer tools

This means entrepreneurs without a medical background can now enter the telehealth space just as easily as they would launch an e-commerce store — but with greater stability and long-term growth potential.

Related: What Is Next for Telehealth?

The time to enter telehealth is now

The direct-to-consumer market is evolving, and telehealth is leading its next wave. While dropshipping and traditional e-commerce still have their place, telehealth offers entrepreneurs a rare combination of high demand, strong margins and built-in customer retention.

With consumer behavior permanently shifting toward digital healthcare, barriers to entry lowering and massive growth on the horizon, now is the time to capitalize on the telehealth revolution.

If you’re looking for a future-proof business model with high scalability and profitability, telehealth isn’t just an opportunity — it’s the future of direct-to-consumer business. And believe me, after trying both, I’d choose building a telehealth brand over another dropshipping store any day of the week.