When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, the four Hunt siblings — three of whom went to Northeastern University — were reunited at their parents' home in the greater Boston area.
The older brother, Don, had just been laid off from his sales job at General Electric due to the pandemic, while the younger, Darin, had his third and final career partnership at Northeastern for the same reason. Their sister, Cassandra, was about to graduate from Northeastern's College of Arts, Media and Design with a degree in communications, and Dustin, who had attended Northeastern on a baseball scholarship and played for the Houston Astros, was looking for new, exciting opportunities while working for a large cyber security and data backup solutions company in Boston.
Little did the Hunts imagine then that three years later they would all be running a successful startup with 135 employees. The company, OnSpot Dermatologyis a mobile dermatology practice operating in Southwest Florida and the Orlando and Palm Beach areas.
“Covid has been a blessing,” says Cassandra, 27. “Without COVID we wouldn't be here creating this amazing practice and working together. It's certainly amazing what came of it [first idea].”
Don, 31, who, unlike his brothers, went to Trinity College, says he always wanted to start a business. He was interested in an idea shared with them by his father's best friend, Allan Harrington, a dermatologist with a large skin cancer practice in Annapolis, Maryland – to open a first in the US mobile dermatology practice.
Darin, 25, and other brothers were also interested.
They decided to work with Harrington. Don and Darin took the lead in laying the groundwork for the launch in April-May 2020. In June, they launched their company, OnSpot Dermatology. The Hunts raised capital from Premier Capital and an individual investor for their venture.
“We have applied the principles we learned throughout our time at Northeastern to create a medical practice that changes the way people are seen by a physician,” says Darin. “We're redefining what it means to be a medical practice, and we're saving lives while doing it.”
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in the US At least one in five Americans will get skin cancer by age 70, according to the Skin Care Foundation. More than 9,500 people receive this diagnosis every day, but if a skin cancer such as melanoma, for example, is caught early, there 99% chance of survival.
An OnSpot tagline says “15 minutes could save your life,” but getting an appointment with a dermatologist in the US isn't easy. In 2022, the average wait time to see a dermatologist was 34.5 days, according to AMN/Merritt Hawkins. Actual numbers vary widely, from nine days in Philadelphia to 50 days in Boston and 84 days in Portland. The majority of people – 86% – will never see a dermatologist in their lifetime.
The Hunts, who grew up in Andover, considered starting their dermatology business in Massachusetts, but there was much more demand in Florida, especially in large gated communities where people didn't want to leave their homes during the pandemic. The brothers packed their bags, said goodbye to their friends and moved to the Sunshine State.
OnSpot began seeing patients in February 2021, employing two dermatologists, five physician assistants and 25 other team members. The company acquired two $600,000 40-foot mobile clinics with three exam rooms each. They worked from Fort Myers and Sarasota and served patients from Naples to Tampa.
Harrington, who is one of the top Mohs surgeons in the country and the medical director at OnSpot, says he was impressed by the Hunt brothers because of their hardworking nature, intellect and solid work ethic.
Each of the Hunts runs a specific part of the business.
Darin, whose major at Northeastern was computer science with a minor in marketing, is the director of marketing and IT, responsible for both the computer systems within the clinics and the development of the OnSpot brand. Created the company logo, OnSpot website, all marketing materials and truck graphics. It also manages advertising and social media campaigns.
“I love marketing because I can see the direct impact of how I can help the practice itself,” she says.
Cassandra uses what she learned at Northeastern in her role as patient experience manager, overseeing both OnSpot's front desk operations and 13 call center agents.
“I like being in practice because I think it's rewarding no matter what field you're in. You're still saving people's lives,” says Cassandra.
While at Northeastern, Cassandra completed two partnerships with Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams beers) and a financial planning firm, Brown Brothers Harriman.
“Both experiences gave me a completely different perspective on both cultures and work environments,” she says. “The co-ops gave me the opportunities to figure out what I didn't want to do and taught me how to be a professional employee in different work environments.”
She also gained experience in interviewing for jobs that she now uses to recruit her staff.
Dustin, 29, was forced to retire from professional baseball due to injury. He graduated from Northeastern in 2018 with a degree in criminal justice. However, after college he followed in the footsteps of his father and older brother and went into sales.
At OnSpot Dustin leads a six person sales team that reaches out and forges relationships with communities, local governments and corporate partners. This gives the company access to a whole spectrum of people, Harrington says, who haven't seen a dermatologist and who the dermatology community doesn't have access to.
As company president Don oversees the practice on a large scale. He points out that as someone who didn't do co-op, he's noticed how much more prepared his siblings were to enter the real world and start their careers.
Working together can be challenging, the Hunts say, but it's also been a lot of fun. They even hired their mother (their first employee) to handle the company's social media presence.
OnSpot now has eight mobile clinics and goes to more than 55 gated communities, schools, private companies, hotels, Universal Studios and SeaWorld. In their 30 months of operation, OnSpot dermatologists have seen 65,000 patients and found 5,500 skin cancers.
Some stories are completely life-changing, like a 25-year-old cheerleader who stopped into an OnSpot clinic parked at a golf club by chance one rainy day and was diagnosed with melanoma. or a dog owner who was out for a walk and didn't expect to hear “skin cancer” after an impulsive decision to check out the mobile clinic located in their community.
Currently, the co-founders are discussing expanding to states like Arizona, Georgia and Texas.
Alena Kuzub is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email her at a.kuzub@northeastern.edu. Follow her on Twitter @AlenaKuzub.