ROI Case File No.238 | 'Asia's Healthtech Startup'

Chapter 1: Beyond Surface Needs—Quest for Invisible Desires

The week after resolving the Nordic Craft craftsmanship-type LEAN case, a consultation arrived from Asia regarding a revolutionary healthtech company's profound challenge. The eighth case in Volume 18, "Reconstruction of Logic and Verification," concerned discovering true desires lurking behind surface customer needs.

"Detective, we're a rapidly growing healthtech company in Asia, but we don't understand what customers truly value, and we're lost in our service development direction. Just responding to surface needs feels limiting."

Dr. Lim Yuhong, co-founder of VitalCare Solutions, visited 221B Baker Street with a contemplative expression. In his hands were highly-rated service evaluations and, in stark contrast, data showing a sense of hitting growth ceilings.

"We're a startup deploying a digital health platform in the Asia-Pacific region. We're succeeding as a medical service, but I sense we're not meeting customers' deeper needs."

VitalCare Solutions' Surface Success: - Established: 2021 (rapidly growing healthtech company) - Users: 3.2 million (region's largest scale) - Service satisfaction: 4.4/5 (highly rated as medical service) - Medical effectiveness: Health indicators improved for 85% of users - Funding raised: Cumulative ¥18 billion (high investor evaluation)

The numbers certainly demonstrated service success. However, Lim's expression mixed deep curiosity with uncertainty.

"The problem is that while our service meets 'medical needs,' it doesn't fully meet users' 'life needs.' I feel there are deeper desires behind surface satisfaction."

Growth Limits Lurking Behind Success: - Usage continuation rate: Year 1 95% → Year 2 68% (leaving despite satisfaction) - Usage frequency: 15 times/month → 6 times/month (usage decreases when medical effects appear) - Payment intention: "Not troubled without it" increased 52% - Emotional attachment: Only 23% answer "indispensable to life" - Expansion services: Interest in new services stagnant

"We're succeeding as a service to 'cure illness,' but we haven't become a service to 'enrich life.' I can't see customers' true desires."

Chapter 2: Jobs Theory Introduction—Hidden Employment Reasons

"Dr. Lim, what hypotheses do you have about why customers use VitalCare's services?"

Holmes inquired quietly.

Lim took out user research data with a perplexed expression.

"As a medical service, we provide disease prevention, early detection, and treatment support. However, looking at user behavior, they seem to seek something beyond medical care."

VitalCare's Current Service Understanding:

Services Provided (Company Perspective): - Health checkups/tests: Regular health checks - Disease prevention: Lifestyle improvement support - Early detection: Risk prediction and warnings by AI - Treatment support: Online consultation with doctors - Data management: Centralized health data management

Assumed Customer Needs (Surface Understanding): - "Want to stay healthy" - "Want to find illness quickly" - "Want to save medical costs" - "Want to easily consult doctors" - "Want to manage health data"

But Puzzling Aspects of Actual User Behavior: - Polarization of those who continue using even after health improvement vs. those who completely leave - Higher usage rate of chat/consultation functions than medical functions - Active sharing and recommendation behavior to family and friends - Increasing tendency for life consultations beyond health - Community function participation rate exceeds medical functions

I noted the disconnect between surface needs and deep behaviors.

"Users might be 'hiring' something else even while they think they're using 'medical services.'"

Lim answered with interest.

"Exactly. There are people who somehow continue even though medical effects have appeared and the service's purpose should have been achieved, and people who somehow quit. There must be reasons beyond medical care."

Signs of True Needs from Deep Interviews:

Continuing User A (55 years old, office worker): "My blood pressure normalized so medically it's no longer necessary, but I somehow continue. Daily recording has become a habit, and it's fun to exchange information with people of similar age."

Continuing User B (42 years old, housewife): "My health checkup numbers improved, but having someone to consult about childcare and family matters is reassuring. It's more like a reliable adult consultant than a doctor."

Leaving User C (35 years old, engineer): "The service was perfect. Health problems were solved too. But that's the end... or rather... when I became healthy there was nothing else to do..."

"Users seem to expect deeper, more social jobs from us behind the surface job of 'health management.'"

Chapter 3: The Reason Customers "Hire"—Discovery of Deep Jobs

⬜️ ChatGPT | Catalyst of Conception

"Understand the role in life context, not surface functions"

🟧 Claude | Alchemist of Narrative

"People don't hire medical care. They hire a life of peace of mind"

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"Discerning the hierarchy of jobs creates true innovation"

The three members began their analysis. Gemini deployed the "Multi-Layer Jobs Theory" framework on the whiteboard.

Multi-Layer Jobs Theory Structure (Differentiation from Case 225): - Surface Job: Surface needs customers recognize - Functional Job: Practical issues actually to be solved - Emotional Job: Emotional and psychological desire fulfillment - Social Job: Needs related to social relationships and identity - Existential Job: Deep desires related to life meaning and existential value

"Dr. Lim, let's analyze the true jobs users are 'hiring' in multiple layers."

Multi-Layer Job Analysis of VitalCare Users:

Surface Job (Needs Customers Verbalize): - "Want to manage health" - "Want to prevent illness" - "Want to save medical costs" - "Want to consult doctors"

Functional Job (Actual Problem-Solving Needs): - Early detection and response to health risks - Lifestyle improvement support - Access to medical information - Acquisition of professional advice

Emotional Job (Psychological and Emotional Needs): - Peace of mind acquisition: "Peace of mind from grasping own health status" - Sense of control: "Realization of managing own health" - Approval desire: "Evaluation of self living healthy lifestyle" - Anxiety reduction: "Peace of mind not worrying alone"

Social Job (Social Relationship and Identity Needs): - Connection desire: "Connection with people with similar concerns" - Role sense: "Want to be responsible being protecting family health" - Belonging sense: "Want to be member of health-conscious community" - Contribution sense: "Want to help someone with own experience"

Existential Job (Life Meaning and Existential Value Needs): - Life quality improvement: "Want to live better life" - Growth realization: "Want to grow through health" - Hope for future: "Want to be certain of healthy, fulfilling future" - Valuable existence: "Want to be healthy, useful existence to someone"

Claude reported an important discovery.

"This is clear. While VitalCare users superficially hire 'medical services,' deeply they hire 'life peace and fulfillment.' Medical care is the means, the true purpose is realizing rich life."

Most Important Discovery: "Hierarchical Structure of Jobs"

Analyzing user leaving/continuing patterns reveals that even if surface jobs are fulfilled, users leave if emotional, social, and existential jobs aren't fulfilled; conversely, they continue if deep jobs are fulfilled even with limited medical effects.

Job Fulfillment Analysis of Continuing vs Leaving Users:

High-Continuing Users (2+ years use): - Surface job fulfillment: 80% (medical effects present) - Functional job fulfillment: 85% (problem solved) - Emotional job fulfillment: 92% (peace of mind, sense of control) - Social job fulfillment: 88% (connection, role sense) - Existential job fulfillment: 90% (life quality, growth realization)

Early-Leaving Users (within 6 months): - Surface job fulfillment: 75% (medical effects present) - Functional job fulfillment: 80% (problem solved) - Emotional job fulfillment: 45% (insufficient peace of mind) - Social job fulfillment: 30% (lack of connection) - Existential job fulfillment: 25% (lack of life meaning)

Critical Discovery: Deep Jobs Are Determinants of Continuation

Little difference in surface and functional job fulfillment between continuing and leaving, but large differences in emotional, social, and existential job fulfillment.

Chapter 4: Service Expansion Strategy—From Medical Care to Life

After conducting detailed multi-layer job analysis and user behavior research, VitalCare's true service domain became clear.

Necessity of Evolution to "Life Support Platform":

Essence of Problem: Medical Service Limits

VitalCare was excellent as a medical service, but lacked functions to provide what users truly seek: "life peace and fulfillment."

Service Expansion Directions Corresponding to Deep Jobs:

Strengthening Emotional Job Response: - Personal Wellbeing Coach: Life consultations beyond health - Mindfulness Support: Provision of mental peace of mind - Lifestyle Planning: Life design support - Emotional Support: Being emotional support

Strengthening Social Job Response: - Peer Support Community: Connections with same generation and circumstances - Family Healthcare: Family-wide health management support - Expert Network: Direct connections with specialists - Social Impact: Participation opportunities in social contribution activities

Strengthening Existential Job Response: - Life Purpose Finding: Life purpose discovery support - Personal Growth Program: Continuous self-growth support - Legacy Building: Value succession support to next generation - Meaning Creation: Support finding meaning in daily life

Comparison with Successful Case Companies:

Life Support Type Company (US Company A) Success Factors: - Service scope: Medical + overall life support - Continuation rate: 85% (deep job response) - Customer value: Recognition as "life partner" - Business scale: 5x market size of single medical service

Comparison with VitalCare's Current State: - Service scope: Medical only - Continuation rate: 68% (surface job centered) - Customer value: Recognition as "medical tool" - Growth limits: Medical market constraints

Quantitative Analysis of Market Opportunity: - Medical service market: ¥80 billion (VitalCare's current target market) - Life support market: ¥420 billion (target market after expansion) - Potential revenue: 5x market opportunity - Competitive situation: Few competitors in life support domain (blue ocean)

Chapter 5: The Detective's JTBD Diagnosis—Core of Customer Value

Holmes compiled the comprehensive analysis.

"Dr. Lim, the essence of multi-layer jobs theory is 'discovering true value in customers' entire lives.' By understanding not just surface functional needs but emotional, social, and existential deep needs and designing services responding to them, true customer value can be created."

Multi-Layer Job Response Strategy: From "Medical Service" to "Life Support Platform"

Basic Policy of Strategy: Life-Centric Wellness Platform

Phase 1: Systematic Response to Deep Jobs (6 months)

Emotional Job Response Services: - VitalMind: Mental wellness and emotional support - LifeCoach AI: Life consultation and decision-making support - Mindfulness Plus: Meditation, relaxation, mental stability - Personal Sanctuary: Space provision where each person feels secure

Social Job Response Services: - VitalCommunity: Community platform by generation and interest - Family Care Network: Family-wide health and happiness support - Expert Connect: Direct consultation with specialists in various fields - Social Impact Hub: Participation platform for social contribution activities

Existential Job Response Services: - Life Purpose Explorer: Life purpose and value discovery support - Growth Journey: Continuous self-growth program - Legacy Builder: Next generation succession support of knowledge and experience - Meaning Maker: Coaching to find meaning in daily life

Phase 2: Integrated Platform Construction (4 months)

Holistic Life Support: - Integrated Dashboard: Comprehensive management of health, emotion, social, growth - Personalization: Customization according to individual deep jobs - Life Stage Response: Service optimization according to age and situation - Continuous Relationship Building: Value provision as lifelong partner

Synergy Through Service Integration: - Medical data × Emotional data: Deeper health understanding - Individual needs × Community insights: Collective intelligence utilization - Current situation × Life goals: Long-term value provision - Professional support × Peer support: Multi-layered support structure

Phase 3: Ecosystem Expansion (Continuous)

Partnership Strategy: - Medical institutions: Strengthened collaboration with conventional medicine - Educational institutions: Lifelong learning and growth support - Companies: Workplace wellness and career support - Local communities: Community health and social contribution

Expected Effects: - Continuation rate: 68% → 88% (deep job response effect) - Customer lifetime value: 3x improvement (service scope expansion) - Market size: ¥80 billion → ¥420 billion (5x expansion) - Brand recognition: "Medical app" → "Life partner"

Investment Plan: - Service expansion development: ¥3.5 billion - Platform construction: ¥1.5 billion per year - Expected revenue: ¥25 billion per year (market expansion effect) - Investment recovery period: 6 months

"What's important is understanding true value in customers' entire lives. Jobs theory is a discovery tool that infinitely expands service possibilities."

Chapter 6: Birth of Life Support Platform—Realization of True Value

18 months later, a report arrived from VitalCare Solutions.

Results of Business Transformation Through Multi-Layer Job Response:

Dramatic Business Scale Expansion: - Annual sales: ¥8.5 billion → ¥28 billion (3.3x growth) - Users: 3.2 million → 5.8 million (continuation rate improvement + new acquisition) - Customer lifetime value: Average ¥26,000 → Average ¥85,000 (3.3x improvement) - Market valuation: ¥18 billion → ¥65 billion (heightened growth expectations)

Success of Deep Job Response:

Emotional Job Fulfillment Rate Improvement: - Peace of mind: 45% → 87% (VitalMind and LifeCoach AI effects) - Sense of control: 60% → 89% (comprehensive management dashboard effect) - Approval desire: 50% → 82% (community internal evaluation system) - Anxiety reduction: 55% → 91% (24-hour support structure)

Social Job Fulfillment Rate Improvement: - Connection realization: 30% → 78% (VitalCommunity participation effect) - Role sense: 40% → 85% (Family Care Network effect) - Belonging sense: 35% → 80% (specialized community participation) - Contribution sense: 25% → 74% (Social Impact Hub activities)

Existential Job Fulfillment Rate Improvement: - Life quality improvement: 35% → 83% (Life Purpose Explorer effect) - Growth realization: 40% → 86% (Growth Journey participation) - Hope for future: 45% → 89% (long-term life design support) - Valuable existence sense: 25% → 79% (Legacy Builder activities)

Service Usage Pattern Changes:

Dramatic Improvement in Usage Continuation Rate: - 1-year continuation rate: 68% → 91% (deep job response effect) - 2-year continuation rate: 45% → 82% (life partner transformation) - Usage frequency: 6 times/month → 18 times/month (wide service utilization) - Emotional attachment: "Indispensable to life" 95% (previously 23%)

Success of New Services: - VitalMind usage rate: 72% of new users use - VitalCommunity participation rate: 85% (community formation success) - Life Purpose Explorer: 68% "discover life direction" - Social Impact Hub: Monthly 150,000 hours of social contribution activities

Customer Voice Changes:

Continuing User D (48 years old, office worker): "I thought it was a health management app before, but now it's a life partner. I can consult not just health but career, family relationships, future dreams. I didn't know such a service existed."

New User E (35 years old, entrepreneur): "I started for medical purposes, but met business owners of same generation in the community and got business hints. I became healthy and incidentally my life became richer."

Family User F (52 years old, housewife): "The whole family uses it. Not just health management but childcare consultation, marital relations, parent care. They comprehensively support family happiness."

Industry Impact: - Healthtech industry: "Life support" becoming new trend - Investors: "Deep job response" as investment judgment criteria - Competitors: Started researching and imitating VitalCare model - Academia: Research subject as "multi-layer jobs theory"

Sustainable Growth Foundation: - Lifelong relationship with customers: Position established as "life partner" - Ecosystem expansion: Deepening collaboration with medical, education, companies, communities - Data accumulation: Continuing value creation through individual life data - Innovation creation: New service development from deep needs

The letter from Lim contained deep emotion and new sense of mission:

"Through multi-layer jobs theory introduction, we were able to evolve from 'medical service provider' to 'life support partner.' What was most important was understanding not what customers superficially seek but what they truly need in their entire lives. Medical care was the means, the true purpose was realizing rich, meaningful life. Now 580,000 users rely on us not just for health but for their entire lives. I'm convinced that jobs theory is not just a customer analysis method, but a philosophy for understanding human deep desires and creating true value."

Detective's Perspective—Deepening Human Understanding

That night, I deeply contemplated the essence of understanding customers' true needs.

The VitalCare case showed the important truth that sustainable value creation is impossible by just responding to surface customer needs. The reasons people "hire" products and services are multi-layered and complex, with emotional, social, and existential deep desires becoming the foundation of long-term relationships.

The true value of jobs theory lies not just in the "harmony of functional and emotional value" dealt with in Case 225, but in "discovering multi-layered value in entire life" as in this case. By understanding customers' life context and finding the true meaning of services within it, infinite value creation possibilities open.

In the context of Volume 18, "Reconstruction of Logic and Verification," VitalCare's transformation provided important implications. Not just logical service design, but understanding human deep psychology and life meaning becomes the foundation of truly sustainable business success.

"True value creation is contributing to human dignity and happiness"

The next case will also deal with exploring deeper human understanding and value creation beyond surface problem solving.

"Customers don't buy products. They hire better lives. Understanding that deep desire opens the door to true value creation."—From the detective's notes