Democratizing Dermatology with AI - SkinCheck

Our latest episode features Dani Marques, co-founder and CEO of SkinCheck, who moved from São Paulo, Brazil to Tulsa, Oklahoma at 16, built Oklahoma's first student-run venture fund, and is now reimagining how Americans access dermatology care.

Nearly 10,000 Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer every day, yet patients routinely wait three to four months to see a dermatologist. For melanoma, which can double in size weekly, that wait is more than an inconvenience.

SkinCheck's platform addresses this gap through two tools: a mobile Skin Health Companion for tracking pigmented lesions and chronic conditions, and SkinCheck Connect, a digital dermatology consultation service delivering a board-certified evaluation within 24 to 48 hours, complete with an official ICD-10 code that incentivizes brick-and-mortar clinics to fast-track in-person follow-up.

In just their first few months of commercial launch, the team served over 100 patients and identified 18 potential skin cancers, most confirmed by pathology. All of this without spending a dollar on marketing, growing organically to over 220,000 users worldwide.

A standout part of this episode is SkinCheck's approach to AI bias: over 93% of existing skin image data represents light skin tones, so the team developed a patented domain adaptation technique to ensure accuracy across all Fitzpatrick types, with a Brazil partnership providing diverse training data in exchange for free AI access.

Dani's advice to healthcare entrepreneurs: become obsessed with the problem, align incentives across patients, providers, and payers, and get skin in the game as early as possible.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in digital health, AI diagnostics, or building mission-driven healthcare startups that tackle systemic access gaps.