The J Curve Insider: The Consumer Brand Doctors Actually Wear

In Brazil, medical education didn’t keep up with the boom in medical schools.

Since 2013, Brazil has gone from 16,000 to over 45,000 new medical graduates per year—making it the second-largest country in number of med schools, behind only India. But there was a problem: students were still cramming for residency exams with textbooks and pre-recorded videos in movie theaters. No digital platforms. No adaptive learning. No personalization.

Medway is changing that.

What started as a scrappy side hustle in 2017 has grown into one of Brazil’s leading B2C medical education platforms, serving thousands of future doctors across the country. Alexandre Remor, Medway’s co-founder and CEO, saw the problem from the inside—as a physician who had gone through the system himself.

To fix it, he and his co-founders built a new kind of learning platform:

• Grassroots-first (before they could afford paid ads)

• Hyper-personalized and gamified, tailored to the residency track

• Scaled through a nationwide network of student ambassadors and influencers

That approach turned out to be sticky. Today, Medway has:

• ~R$100 million BRL in revenue (~ $20 million U.S.)

• 200+ employees

• 500+ proprietary events per year

• A growing competitive edge built on deep integrations, distribution systems, and brand trust—not just educational content

In this Insider, Alexandre shares the playbook behind Medway’s rise—from scrappy, community-first beginnings to a nationwide platform powered by offline scale and AI leverage. We break down how they built a growth engine, slashed content costs by 99%, and turned the brand into a long-term asset doctors proudly wear.

“New players don’t lose because of product—they lose on acquisition. Distribution is our moat.”

Let’s get into it.

BRAZIL’S MEDICAL EDUCATION WAS BUILT FOR ANOTHER ERA

Olga Maslikhova: Before building Medway, you were on the receiving end of Brazil’s medical education system. What was that experience like?

Alexandre Remor: I went through that exact system. I was a customer of the incumbent. I knew the pain. And I saw the growing gap between graduation and readiness for medical residency. It wasn’t just academic—it impacted care quality.

There was basically a monopoly: a 20-year-old company still forcing students to watch pre-recorded lectures in movie theaters. No adaptive learning. No digital access. Meanwhile, Brazil was already producing more doctors per year than the U.S.—and students were overwhelmed. The system hadn’t evolved, and the incumbents weren’t changing. That’s when we saw the opening—and built Medway.

GUERRILLA GTM, THEN SCALE WITH COMMUNITY

OM: So how did you go from a few students to a scaled B2C platform?

AR: Our first strategy was simple: hustle. I personally joined more than 15 Facebook groups a day and shared links to Medway until I got banned—then I created new profiles and started again.

That’s how we started generating traction.

But what really drove growth was community. Not as a branding exercise, but as infrastructure. In the early days, it was student-to-student referrals, Medway founders showing up in group chats, and organic buzz. Over time, that scaled into a full engine—today we have 400+ ambassadors, 100+ influencers, and run over 500 Medway-hosted events per year. And it paid off: more than 50% of all Medway sales now involve an ambassador touchpoint.

We also give students tools they actually use—from branded med cards to practical swag they bring into real-world settings. Every touchpoint is built for trust.

MARKETING IN B2C EDTECH IS A FULL FUNNEL MACHINE

OM: Medway feels like a full-stack marketing machine. Why so much emphasis on it?

AR: Because in B2C, marketing is the sales team.

At the top of the funnel, our professors double as content creators. They lead with personality. Students follow them not just for the material, but because they're relatable and aspirational.

In the middle, we use tools like downloadable resources, CRM workflows, and webinars that actually teach. It's about helping students take the next step.

At the bottom, we still rely on in-person touchpoints--dinners, follow-ups, and hands-on demos. That's what drives conversion.

And we've added B2B partnerships to the mix. We collaborate with companies like Conexa and Caveo that already serve young doctors. It helps us reach them through channels they already trust.

OM: What's your take on founder brand?

AR: I actually pulled back from social for a while. But I'm doubling down again--especially on Instagram. In B2C, you're one message away from the customer. You can't afford to lose that touch.

OM: It's also a missed opportunity. Most founders in Brazil still aren't using Instagram to build trust. That makes it a wide-open lane.

DISCIPLINED SCALE, RISING AMBITION

OM: Where's Medway today in terms of scale?

AR: Over the past 12 months, we crossed R$100 million BRL in revenue--around $20 million U.S. dollars. We're cashflow positive, and the business is growing fast. But honestly, we still see a 10x opportunity ahead of us.

OM: What gives you that conviction?

AR: The core test prep market in Brazil alone still has room to grow--if everything goes right, we see potential to hit $200 million U.S. in revenue just in that segment. But the bigger play is what comes after.

We're not just solving a one-time problem. We're building a brand that's with doctors throughout their entire careers--from med school to residency to specialization. And with AI, we can now expand faster, across languages and borders.

OM: So it's not just about Brazil anymore.

AR: Exactly. Brazil's medical education market is worth ~ $1 billion U.S. today. But we're already starting to see the opportunity to go beyond it--to serve physicians across Latin America and eventually globally. And because we were first, we have the trust, the community, and the infrastructure to go after it.

DEFENSIBILITY ISN'T CONTENT--IT'S TRUST AND DISTRIBUTION

OM: When you think about defensibility--what really protects the business over time?

AR: It's not content. Anyone can generate questions now--especially with AI. The real moat is infrastructure: distribution, trust, and brand.

Most new players underestimate how hard it is to acquire doctors at scale. CAC is brutal. And without credibility in this space, conversion drops off a cliff. We've already built that trust--with hospitals, with students, with practicing physicians.

But what makes it really defensible is that we're not just solving one moment--we're building across the entire career arc. From medical school to residency to specialization. That long-term relationship is what locks in retention and makes the platform sticky. It's not just a prep tool--it's infrastructure for how doctors learn and grow.

THE AI TURNING POINT

OM: AI's impact on education is so real right now. What has it changed for you?

AR: Everything. Before AI, content was our biggest bottleneck--financially and operationally. We had 30 doctors in-house and over 200 freelance medical writers. Each new question bank or course update required weeks of human effort, medical review, formatting, and QA.

Now, the vast majority of our content is generated using Claude. And it’s not just rough drafts—we’re producing high-quality, publish-ready material at scale. The shift fundamentally changed the economics of the business, saving millions and unlocking speed we didn’t think was possible. It's clinically accurate, context-aware, and faster than anything we've seen before. That shift alone saved us more than R$3 million BRL this year. It fundamentally changed the economics of the business.

OM: With that kind of efficiency in place, how do you think about what's possible going forward?

AR: It's completely reshaped how we think about scale. That level of efficiency gave us the speed--and confidence--to build something beyond Brazil. We're now working on what we call the "Duolingo for doctors": mobile-first, AI-native, lightweight, and gamified. It's our first global-ready product.

We can personalize content by specialty, learning goal, and time available--all without needing a massive team. That kind of leverage only became possible because AI compressed both cost and production cycles.

THE SHIFT THAT MADE EDTECH INEVITABLE

OM: Edtech didn't explode in Brazil overnight. What actually moved the needle?

AR: It was slow at first. The category wasn't obvious. But three things made adoption inevitable.

First, the pandemic. Just like remote work, remote learning suddenly became normal--even expected. That forced people to try new tools.

Second, the rise of adaptive learning and gamification. Nobody wakes up excited to study. But if you give them a clear path to progress and small wins along the way, the habit forms. That shift in design made engagement sustainable.

And third, Brazil is a mobile-native country. Smartphone penetration is one of the highest in the world, and that helped edtech scale. That said, our core users--those studying 27+ hours a week--still prefer desktop. It's a better environment for focus and long-form retention.

CULTURE, CAPITAL, AND LESSONS FROM THE HYPE CYCLE

OM: What's one thing you learned the hard way after raising venture capital?

AR: Money amplifies everything--the good and the bad. If you don't have a clear use of proceeds, you'll burn through it without real ROI. We hired fast and realized later we had drifted from our culture. At one point, I didn't like going to the office because I didn't relate to the team. That was a red flag. We course-corrected, got leaner, and re-centered on values.

OM: How do you think about culture now?

AR: Culture is non-negotiable. Autonomy has to be earned. And as founders, we have to protect the bar. The moment you lower it, everything else starts to slip.

OM: You raised during the peak SoftBank hype cycle. What's your take on how founders should approach fundraising now?

AR: Most founders still think they're playing the VC game. But investors are portfolio managers. For us, it's our only bet. You can't let the hype set your direction.

OM: So how should founders think about capital in this kind of market?

AR: Treat it with precision. Don't raise just because you can. If you don't know how every dollar compounds, you'll burn through it--and be left with nothing to show.

RAPID FIRE

OM: What's one book every entrepreneur should read?

AR: Atlas Shrugged. It's my favorite book ever. It's more about philosophy than business, but it really shaped how I see entrepreneurship--about being the main player in your life, the one moving the world.

OM: What's one thing you wish you'd done differently when it comes to fundraising or scaling your team?

AR: Having a clear use of proceeds. We raised without one--and spent more than we needed in areas without a clear ROI.

OM: What's one underrated skill every founder should develop but most overlook?

AR: Persuasion. You use it every day--with customers, investors, employees.

OM: One word that best describes your leadership style?

AR: Resilience.

OM: What's the most valuable business lesson you've learned the hard way--besides use of proceeds?

AR: Fire fast. If you want a team of A players, you can't tolerate B players. Not even for a second.

OM: If you weren't building Medway, what problem would you be tackling?

AR: Something in healthcare. Probably helping emergency departments with AI--improving protocols, decisions. Doctors are still at the center of the equation for me.

OM: What's harder--building a product or building a team?

AR: Building a team.

OM: If Medway could acquire one company to accelerate growth, what kind would it be?

AR: A company with a strong brand and community among doctors. That would amplify everything we're building.

OM: What's your favorite metric to track at Medway?

AR: NPS. It tells us what customers value and how the brand is perceived.

OM: Final one--favorite restaurant in São Paulo?

AR: Sushi Nami. Great Japanese spot. All-you-can-eat sushi. Love it.

TAKEAWAYS

✓ Distribution beats content. With AI collapsing content costs, the real defensibility is infrastructure--events, ambassadors, offline touchpoints. Medway scaled trust, not just impressions.

✓ Marketing is the sales team. In consumer edtech, performance marketing isn't enough. Medway scaled by building a full-stack funnel--from professors as influencers to CRM to community dinners.

✓ Autonomy is earned, not gifted. Founders must design orgs where ownership flows from performance--not entitlement.

✓ AI flipped the cost structure. What once took hundreds of freelancers, Medway now does with Claude. Most of the content is AI-generated--and instantly publishable. The shift saved millions and unlocked global scale.

 P.S. If this issue was valuable to you please share it with a founder who needs to hear it. Let’s build LATAM’s next tech leaders—together.

🎙 The J Curve is where LATAM’s boldest founders & investors come to talk real strategy, opportunity and leadership. Follow us for deep dives on the most exciting markets in tech.