Five Questions for LemonDocs

Finding an end to skin cancer—once and for all—may sound like an ambitious goal. Perhaps even an unreachable one. And even so, skin cancer is, in most cases, easily treatable if found in its earlier stages, right? There’s just one problem: booking an appointment at the dermotologist in Germany is nearly impossible. This is where LemonDocs, a company founded by WHU students Moritz Wobith and Marc Jäger (both MSc 2026) and Thomas Hodits (BSc 2020; MSc 2023), springs into action. Based in Berlin, the team is currently building the country’s most modern dermatology clinics, supported by artificial intelligence to help ease the burden on today’s specialists. LemonDocs spoke with us about how their concept works and what they have learned in starting their own company.

Moritz, through LemonDocs, you and your team are re-envisioning dermatological treatmeant with the help of AI. And you want trips to your clinics to feel different from visiting the kinds of practices we already have here. What are you doing to put patients at ease while also ensuring that they are being medically treated more efficiently?

Anyone who has already been to see a dermatologist knows that it can often be a daunting process, from booking the initial consultation, to seeing the doctor and starting treatment. And dermatological care is very important, something I can personally attest to. When I was a kid, somebody in my family received a skin cancer diagnosis, and by the time they did, it was nearly too late. That has always stuck with me and made me realize from a young age the importance of taking care of your skin and getting it checked. And that’s why, through LemonDocs, we want to make access to dermatological care easier and better. Here’s how it works: Patients upload a picture of their skin concern and quickly receive an assessment from our smart chatbot, which uses AI to offer a starting point. Our doctors are then able to make a diagnosis based on the photos and the chat logs, which serves to accelerate the initial stages and treatment. If desired, and there is a medical reason to do so, the patient can then book an appointment at one of our clinics. Our facilities are modern spaces with bright rooms that provide a warm atmosphere throughout the entire process, from diagnosis to treatment. Our approach saves time, reduces waiting periods, and makes appointments more efficient. And even though our process is highly digital, we still place high importance on personal care, with direct and transparent communication between patient and medical staff always at the core of what we do. We want every patient to leave our facilities with the feeling that they have been medically treated with as much care as possible.

Where did the name “LemonDocs” come from?

Our name is meant to impart a sense of ease and freshness. That’s the exact feeling we want to give our patients. We want them to have a place where dermatological aid is neither complicated nor intimidating. It should be accessible and rooted in trust. That is why we have paid attention to the smallest details, like how we maintain transparent communication during a patient’s treatment, but even down to the refreshments available in the waiting rooms, including the lemon water or the types of coffee we serve.

To get LemonDocs off the ground, you and your team needed comprehensive medical expertise and doctors to tend to the patients in your clinics. Each of you studied at WHU and has earned or is earning your master’s degree in entrepreneurship. It would appear that that has very little to do with medicine. How difficult (or easy) was it to find the right amount of medical support for your project?

Astonishingly, it wasn’t too difficult, as we were able to easily convince people of our business model and the advantages that it would bring. We are seen as a modern and future-focused employer thanks to our attractive services and highly tech-driven orientation. That has helped us reach out to and ultimately win over qualified experts. And beyond that, we offer our doctors something that hospitals or other private practices often cannot: paths for their development. Other work places in the medical field are often defined by rigid hierarchies and limited room to grow. But we are making room for our doctors to do just that, as well as to assume new responsibilities and to pursue new opportunities. This aspect of our model went down particularly well during our initial interviews with the doctors. This approach gives them the chance to develop in their medical profession, but also personally and entrepreneurially.

Could you give any tips for other entrepreneurs? For example, if you had a chance to start all over again, what mistake(s) would you avoid?

People really underestimate the power of the follow-up. Never give up so easily! Anyone awaiting a response after only one email, WhatsApp text, or LinkedIn message is going to end up disappointed. In our experience, following up with people in a consequent and deliberate way majorly increased our chances of receiving a reply. We learned to structure every interaction into a funnel, which helps up to maintain oversight of who contacted whom and when, as well as which part of the process they’re in.

How helpful was WHU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in building your start-up?

In this regard, WHU’s network is unmatched. Four of our six angel investors have ties to WHU themselves. In the end, we got a lot out of it, and the experiences we had and the feedback we received were just as valuable as the capital we secured. Many of the school’s alumni have taken the time to speak with us about our business model, and their assessments have continually helped us improve it. Our community’s openness and willingness to help means we came into contact with the right people quickly—whether that be angel investors, whether we had questions about our strategy, or just needed tips for the day to day as an entrepreneur.

This is where you see the trust that defines WHU’s network. Even just having a general connection to the school lays the groundwork for quicker and more productive discussions. And, lastly, the WHU Entrepreneurship Center strongly helped us as a resource along the way.

Thank you for the chat, and we wish you all the success for the future.

Read other Five Questions for… interviews here.