[Mz]

What you describe is absolutely the wrong way to start a business

It seems to me that what I am describing is exactly what (at least some) disruptive businesses -- like AirBnB -- do: Redefine the problem in order to find a white space because the thing they are doing did not exist until they did it, so there isn't really any competition.

[exelius]

Right; but that doesn't work in health care because of the regulatory environment (which in this case, is absolutely necessary). It's not like the hotel business where if you have a bad experience, Airbnb can just solve the problem with money. There is a long history of misleading health claims on products that has existed for almost all of human history; so any product you claim improves the health of the user has to be backed up by data.

"Redefining the problem" is marketing speak for finding a way to trick consumers into using your business model. It's fine in the case of something like Uber where you're short-circuiting a bunch of disparate and protectionist taxi laws, but federal regulatory agencies are rarely fooled by such tactics, and aren't shy about labeling you and your company as scam artists while sending a federal prosecutor at you if you try.

Basically, if you're gonna fuck with the government, make sure you fuck with municipal and state governments. The feds don't take crap, and will steamroll you if you threaten to circumvent their jurisdiction or deceive them in any way. This happens to hundreds of companies a year (just look at Theranos and 23andme for some high-profile examples), so they're definitely not bluffing.