How Formel Skin became profitable despite the crisis and is bringing GLP-1 to Germany
with Dr. Sarah Bechstein, Dermatologist and co-founder of Formel Skin
Summary
Sarah Bechstein always wanted to practise medicine. But in a large practice she was seeing a patient every five minutes, mostly for athlete's foot, and eventually googled what else a dermatologist could do. Through friends from Frankfurt who had moved from investment banking into Berlin startups, she met Flo and Anton. The three founded Formel Skin in December 2019, and in May 2020, just five months later, the product was live: patients fill in a questionnaire, upload photos of their skin, a doctor picks the right formula, and a partner pharmacy makes it and ships it every month.
The founders headed off regulatory pushback before it started: Sarah presented the concept to her former professors and to the German professional association of dermatologists and quickly got their buy-in. Covid and the lockdown then made telemedicine feel normal overnight. In the first year Sarah spoke to almost every patient herself, around 3,500 in her busiest month, and got to know the side effect profile far better than she ever had in practice. Most customers came through influencers such as Diana zur Löwen who openly showed their own skin. Today Formel Skin has around 100 employees, 30 doctors, roughly 45,000 active subscribers and almost two million treatments.
„… dieses Coaching, was so teilweise wie so eine Paartherapie war, war echt gut …““That coaching, which at times was like couples therapy, was really good.”
Growth was funded with venture capital: 1.5 million in the pre-seed from Cherry and Heartcore, 5 million in the seed round with Vorwerk Ventures, and a Series A of more than 30 million led by Singular. Before every pitch the three founders read a manifesto out loud together. After the Series A in December 2021 came the crash: the expansion to Brazil failed because the product was copied one to one, the burn peaked at 800,000 a month, and layoffs followed in 2022. A Series B never came, but Formel Skin became profitable at the end of 2024.
In autumn 2025 Formel Skin was sold to UK-based Manual, a company backed by the same investor, Cherry, that the founders had known for years. Sarah explains why they sold from a position of strength, why shared values and medical standards mattered, and why she is now offering weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro via telemedicine in Germany under the Voy brand. Finally she talks about returning to work eight weeks after her daughter was born, with a live-in nanny, and why there will always be moments when you can't do justice to both your company and your child.
Numbers from the episode
4 more numbers
What the conversation was mostly about
Chapters
- 00:00IntroIntro
- 02:03The path to a telemedicine visionFrom doctor to founder
- 07:21Formel Skin: 2 million treatments in dermatologyTelemedicine & product
- 09:17Regulatory cliffs: five months to launchTelemedicine & product
- 12:06How Covid gave Formel Skin a boostTelemedicine & product
- 13:58Unexpected lessons as a telemedicine doctorTelemedicine & product
- 15:04Skincare or telehealth? The dilemmaMarketing & influencers
- 16:00The influencer hack with Diana zur LöwenMarketing & influencers
- 22:16The culture shock: from the operating room to the laptopFrom doctor to founder
- 25:56What wears founders down the mostFounding team & coaching
- 31:05The most important mindset for scaling successFundraising
- 35:10The biggest growth challenge after the seed roundCrisis & profitability
- 39:00Sarah's biggest lesson in change managementCrisis & profitability
- 43:25The exit: selling from a position of strengthExit & M&A
- 45:00Human values in M&A: why trust mattersExit & M&A
- 46:15How do you negotiate a startup exit?Exit & M&A
- 49:24The new vertical: weight lossWeight loss & GLP-1
- 51:22How the service model for GLP-1 worksWeight loss & GLP-1
- 01:06:13Work-family balanceFounder & mother
Key learnings
- 1
In regulated markets, get the experts on board early
Formel Skin launched within five months, even though doctors, telemedicine and shipping prescription drugs make for a complex regulatory setup. Several lawyers had vetted the model, but pharmacists' or doctors' associations could still have attacked a young startup. So Sarah went to her former professors and to the German professional association of dermatologists, presented the concept and quickly got their buy-in. The team is still in close contact with the association today.
09:17 · Regulatory cliffs: five months to launch - 2
Talk to your customers yourself in the early days
In the first year, patients could book an optional appointment with Sarah at checkout. Instead of Zoom calls, which often failed because of connection problems, she simply phoned almost every patient. With the first cohort she did weekly check-ins and saw exactly at which concentrations peeling and irritation set in. She never got these insights in practice, where she usually saw a patient only once.
12:06 · How Covid gave Formel Skin a boost - 3
Pick creators for their community, not their follower count
The creators who worked best had skin problems themselves, talked about them openly and documented their treatment with before-and-after photos, Diana zur Löwen among them. A big fashion influencer without a skincare community, on the other hand, barely helped Formel Skin. Especially for a product that needs explaining, with doctors, personalisation and telemedicine, creators can explain the offer better than any ad.
16:00 · The influencer hack with Diana zur Löwen - 4
Get a coach for your founding team before things blow up
What wore Sarah down most wasn't business crises but personal conflicts. That's why Flo, Anton and she worked with a coach from day one, which at times felt like couples therapy. It meant they knew each other's limits and trigger points and could clear up misunderstandings. Her advice: bring in the coach before the damage is done.
25:56 · What wears founders down the most - 5
Go into fundraising as a well-rehearsed team
Before every Series A pitch, the three founders read a manifesto out loud together, which said among other things that they would raise 20 million. They ended up with more than 30. In the pitch it was clear who took which question: Sarah everything medical, Flo as CEO finance and vision, Anton product and marketing. Raise when things are going well, and prepare thoroughly.
31:05 · The most important mindset for scaling success - 6
Don't copy your product one to one into a new country
After the Series A, Formel Skin went to Brazil, because its legal structures resemble Germany's and the country has around 200 million people. In hindsight, copying the product one to one was a mistake. Making it work would have taken a lot more money. Sarah's conclusion: Formel Skin could also have scaled further in Germany.
35:10 · The biggest growth challenge after the seed round - 7
Involve your key people in tough decisions
Profitability is a less exciting story than month-on-month growth. To keep the best people after the layoffs, the founders involved their key employees in every decision, including the layoffs themselves, and were transparent from the start. They helped those affected find new jobs. Today former employees even come to the alumni party.
39:00 · Sarah's biggest lesson in change management - 8
Treat M&A as a long-term relationship
Sarah and Flo had known Manual's CEO George for about four years; both companies had the same investor, Cherry, and were in Brazil at the same time. They sold from a position of strength, because Formel Skin was profitable but its room to invest was limited. What mattered most to Sarah were shared values, a similar medical approach and the feeling of working as equals.
43:25 · The exit: selling from a position of strength
Quotes
„Was wir schon gesehen haben, ist ja, dass die Community total wichtig ist. Also es kommt eigentlich überhaupt nicht an auf die Followerzahl.““What we did see is that the community is hugely important. The follower count really doesn't matter at all.”
„… dieses Coaching, was so teilweise wie so eine Paartherapie war, war echt gut …““That coaching, which at times was like couples therapy, was really good.”
„Die Series B kam nicht. Aber die Profitabilität kam.““The Series B never came. But profitability did.”
„… eigentlich das Potenzial, was wir gemeinsam haben, ist so viel größer, als dass wir alleine weitermachen.““The potential we have together is so much bigger than if we carried on alone.”
„Ich glaube, es wird immer Momente geben, indem du deinem Unternehmen nicht gerecht wirst, und es wird Momente geben, indem du deinem Kind irgendwie auch nicht gerecht wirst.““I think there will always be moments when you can't do justice to your company, and there will be moments when you can't do justice to your child either.”
About the guest
Dr. Sarah Bechstein
Dr. Sarah Bechstein is a dermatologist from a family of doctors. She studied in Heidelberg and worked in Frankfurt, Zurich and at Berlin's Charité before ending up in a large practice seeing a patient every five minutes. In December 2019 she co-founded Formel Skin with Flo and Anton: telemedicine treatment for blemishes, acne and perioral dermatitis with prescription formulas made individually by partner pharmacies and delivered as a subscription. Formel Skin raised three venture rounds, became profitable after layoffs and has been part of UK-based Manual since autumn 2025. Together with Manual, Sarah is now bringing the weight loss telehealth service Voy to Germany.
FAQ
What is Formel Skin?
Formel Skin offers telemedicine treatment for blemishes, acne and perioral dermatitis. Patients fill in a questionnaire and upload photos of their skin, a doctor picks the right prescription formula, and a partner pharmacy makes it individually and ships it every month. Formel Skin's own cosmetic products come on top. The subscription costs 50 euros a month; according to Sarah, Formel Skin has around 45,000 active subscribers and almost two million treatments.
How was Formel Skin funded?
Formel Skin raised venture capital: 1.5 million in the pre-seed from Cherry and Heartcore, about a year later 5 million with Vorwerk Ventures and the existing investors, and finally a Series A of more than 30 million led by France's Singular, with Heal Capital as co-investor. A Series B never happened after the market downturn in 2022.
How did Formel Skin become profitable?
After the Series A the burn peaked at 800,000 a month, and the expansion to Brazil didn't work out. In 2022 the founders cut the burn sharply, stopped Brazil and made layoffs. Because Formel Skin is a subscription business with loyal customers, the company could still carry itself, and it became profitable at the end of 2024.
Why did Formel Skin sell to Manual?
Manual is a UK telehealth company that started in 2019 with hair loss treatments for men. Both companies share the same investor, Cherry, and the founders had known each other for years. Formel Skin was profitable but no longer growing fast and had limited funds to invest. Together, Sarah and Flo see far more potential: Formel Skin contributes its skincare know-how and its setup for the German market.
How does weight loss treatment with Voy work?
Under the Voy brand, the team offers weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro via telemedicine in Germany. Patients upload a full-body photo, doctors check that it matches the stated BMI and only prescribe within the approved indication: a BMI of 27 or more with a related condition, or a BMI of 30 or more. During treatment patients can contact their doctor at any time, for example about nausea or feeling full. In a Manual study of 50,000 patients, people with digital support lost almost 4.7 percentage points more weight on average.
How does Sarah Bechstein combine her company and her child?
Sarah's daughter was born at the end of March 2025, and she was back at work after eight weeks. Because her husband lives in Düsseldorf, she has had a live-in nanny from the start. She leaves the office at half past five, does the evening routine without her phone, works from home on Wednesdays and Fridays, and blocks out important moments such as her daughter's physiotherapy.
Mentioned in this episode
- ManualCompanyUK telehealth company that acquired Formel Skin in 2025.
- VoyCompanyManual's weight loss telehealth service that Sarah is now helping launch in Germany.
- Cherry VenturesCompanyFormel Skin's pre-seed investor and also an investor in Manual.
- HeartcoreCompanySecond investor in the 1.5 million pre-seed round.
- Vorwerk VenturesCompanyJoined in the 5 million seed round.
- SingularCompanyFrench VC that led the Series A.
- Heal CapitalCompanyCo-investor in the Series A.
- Diana zur LöwenPersonCreator who was one of the first influencers to have her skin treated by Formel Skin.
- Berufsverband der Deutschen DermatologenCompanySarah got the association's buy-in for the telemedicine concept before launch.
- Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO)CompanyEntrepreneur network whose accelerator programme helped Sarah learn the ropes as a founder.
- WegovyProductGLP-1 weight loss drug Sarah used to treat her uncle.
- MounjaroProductWeight loss drug Feliks tried himself.
- LupinTV showNetflix series that gave Sarah's dog its name.
