Dr. Phil like a "kid in a candy store" @ CES2015
LAS VEGAS -- TV's Dr. Phil Mcgraw made his first visit ever to the wild and wacky tech extravaganza known as the Consumer Electronics Show this week. His reaction?
"Wow, really amazing," he told us, during a live episode of #TalkingTech on the convention floor. "All the wearable tech is just crazy."
Dr. Phil and son Jay Mcgraw came to CES to tout their website and app, Doctor on Demand, which offers video visits with doctors for a flat rate of $40. Jay Mcgraw, the executive producer of the Doctors TV show, came up with the idea and floated it to his dad in his pop's kitchen.
"I swear he's had ADD before he was even born, but it's finally started paying off." Dad was instantly sold on this. Jay convinced him that with "smartphone technology, we truly would have the ability to connect people with a board certified physician within minutes."
The Mcgraws raised $24 million from a variety of sources, including Google and Andreesen Horowitz, and opened for business in late 2013. Doctor on Demand just recently expanded to mental health as well, with video visits for psychologists at $50 for 25 minutes.
Jay Mcgraw is the president of the Mcgraw's production company, Stage 29, which produces Dr. Phil and the Doctors. From the #TalkingTech stage, I asked how the two started working together. Credit Oprah Winfrey.
Winfrey met Phil Mcgraw in 1998 during the "mad cow" trial when a group in Texas sued her for slander. Phil Mcgraw had a company, Courtroom Sciences, that used psychology to conduct mock trials and help people win cases. As part of the team to help her on the case, she also "bonded" with Jay, says the proud dad. "She wouldn't testify without him in the court room."
Phil Mcgraw became a regular on the Winfrey show, before getting his own series in 2002, while Jay Mcgraw went to law school. After he graduated, he joined the family business. "It's worked well for us," says Dr. Phil. "We have different skill sets. It works great for us."
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