LOS ANGELES – In the heart of the digital age, a new breed of entrepreneur is rewriting the rules of business. Matthew Gallagher, a 41-year-old visionary, has achieved what was once considered a corporate miracle: building a company on track for $1.8 billion in sales with a full-time staff of just two people.
The Rise of Medvi
Launched in September 2024, Gallagher’s startup, Medvi, began as a lean operation focused on telehealth for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. With an initial investment of only $20,000 and a two-month development phase, Gallagher harnessed the power of over a dozen AI tools to replace what would typically require hundreds of employees.
From writing software code to generating marketing media and managing customer service, AI serves as the backbone of Medvi’s infrastructure.
“It’s not an AI company, but I did it with AI,” Gallagher says, highlighting how technology can turbocharge traditional business models like middleman telehealth.
Efficiency Beyond Scale
The financial results are staggering. In 2025, Medvi’s first full year, the company generated $401 million in sales. Today, alongside his only employee—his younger brother, Elliot—Gallagher is scaling the business toward nearly $2 billion in annual revenue.
Medvi’s model boasts a 16.2% net profit margin, significantly outperforming established public competitors like Hims & Hers. This efficiency is driven by:
- AI-Generated Marketing: Using tools like Midjourney and Runway for advertisements.
- Automated Logistics: Partnering with platforms like CareValidate and OpenLoop to handle prescriptions and shipping.
- Intelligent Support: AI bots handle the bulk of customer inquiries, only escalating to humans when absolutely necessary.
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The Challenges of Innovation
The rapid ascent hasn’t been without friction. The company recently faced an FDA warning regarding misleading claims on a marketing site and a pending lawsuit concerning California’s anti-spam laws. Gallagher has since moved to correct these issues, replacing AI shortcuts with verified customer data and professional legal oversight.
A Blueprint for the Future
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once predicted the rise of a “one-person $1 billion company”. While Medvi technically employs two people, it stands as the most prominent proof-of-concept for this new era.
For the modern entrepreneur, Medvi represents a shift from “hiring to solve problems” to “automating to scale.” As Gallagher expands into men’s health, meal deliveries, and hormone therapy, the message to the business world is clear: The size of your payroll no longer limits the size of your dream.
Source: The New York Times
