Im a doctor who founded a tech company

[SimpleContacts]

Hi future doctors! Im a doctor (ophthalmology attending 5 years out, 3 years of which were in academics) that started a tech company in the telemedicine space. I felt that when i was a medical student and resident and fellow there was very little structured information on entrepreneurship, practice building, and telemedicine - all of which are very relevant today in the real world. Curious to know what medical students are interested in learning about:

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[libertyyne]

Are there any books you reccomend.
What are some of the common pitfalls you have encountered trying to start companies.
Isn't it difficult to get pulled back into medicine considering income for working fulltime as a physican tends to dwarf anything you would initially be pulling in as an entrepreneur.
How many times did you fail at starting a company?
How much start up capital did you need ?
How long do you estimate before you will be profitable?
What is your end goal / strategy?

 

[SimpleContacts]

1) books - letting go by david hawkings and mindset by carol dweck
2) losing money, but also being a little bit comfortable with it, but not so comfortable that you keep chasing an idea that doesnt work
3) i did BOTH until i had a project that succeeded so I could continue to have income
4) 3
5) for one company 200K, for another company 1K, for another bank loan with a monthly repayment of 3 K a month
6) profitable for one, 1 year for one, 3 months for another
7) I plan to grow one myself, plan to sell one, plan to give out shares for another but still be the majority shareholder.

 

[popopopop]

How much prior tech knowledge did you needed before going into telemedicine?

 

[SimpleContacts]

i would say i was fairly educated, and i had taken some of the courses that treehouse had offered but I dont think i needed it, i learned a lot along the way

 

[libertyyne]

What skills do you think medical students or residents can cultivate that can help start companies?
Do you do market research for the ideas you have before trying to start companies?
When do you feel comfortable in taking an idea to the next level and creating a company?

 

[7331poas]

What do doctors bring to a company in the technology space?

 

[SimpleContacts]

What do doctors bring to a company in the technology space?

If the company is in the healthcare space then so much!
Tech companies need to understand how the flow of a patient visit works - and what are the minimum necessary requirements for safely diagnosing a problem and then safely dispensing a solution.