Advice needed - Entrepreneurship vs Startup for a medical student

[josh_ting]

Hey guys, there is a question I've been wanting to ask as it has been bogging me for a while now. So I am a medical student and am currently doing web design on the side as I see it as a great way for me to learn about business and also generate cash flow. I had a very interesting conversation with a great friend of mine a few days ago. Basically, the way he sees it, Webdesign and medicine are completely separate and not synergistic. Instead, he thinks that it would be more valuable for me to grow my domain expertise within the medical field, and through the vehicle of a startup (as a co-founder, chief medical officer), solve bigger problems and bring more value to the marketplace; as opposed to a doctor who does a small business on the side. By doing webdesign now, am I taking away time I could be learning, researching about specific and major problems in medicine/ the medical system that could be solved?

What are you guys' thoughts on this?

(Perspectives from doctors? @Iwokeup @churchill19 @fastlanedoll @Absy @Chromozome @Genius01 @Tej)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Hey guys, there is a question I've been wanting to ask as it has been bogging me for a while now. So I am a medical student and am currently doing web design on the side as I see it as a great way for me to learn about business and also generate cash flow. I had a very interesting conversation with a great friend of mine a few days ago. Basically, the way he sees it, Webdesign and medicine are completely separate and not synergistic. Instead, he thinks that it would be more valuable for me to grow my domain expertise within the medical field, and through the vehicle of a startup, solve bigger problems and bring more value to the marketplace; as opposed to a doctor who does a small business on the side. By doing webdesign now, am I taking away time I could be learning, researching about specific and major problems in medicine/ the medical system that could be solved?

What are you guys' thoughts on this?

(Perspectives from doctors? @Iwokeup @churchill19 @fastlanedoll @Absy @Chromozome @Genius01 @Tej)

Stacking web design on top of medical knowledge gives you a high ground. Maybe you can create something to help other medical students, or doctors, hospitals, etc? You’d be better placed than the “average” web designer to do that (and didn’t Pat Flynn start by creating a study site for architect exams because he’d just passed them or something?).

I’m of the belief that the sum of two disciplines is greater than the two parts.

As for creating a startup... I like to think of founder-product fit. Do you as the founder have ideas right this moment? That you can take to market now? If not then maybe keep working and learning till those “ideas” find you.

Who’s to say the startup doesn’t come from the intersection of your web design and medical knowledge anyway?

Do you enjoy the web design on the side? Is it like a relaxing hobby to de-stress from your studies, and one that can bring in some side income and you could grow into a business especial when combined with your medical background?


I’m curious what others think, especially the doctors in here.

 

[Genius01]

Hey guys, there is a question I've been wanting to ask as it has been bogging me for a while now. So I am a medical student and am currently doing web design on the side as I see it as a great way for me to learn about business and also generate cash flow. I had a very interesting conversation with a great friend of mine a few days ago. Basically, the way he sees it, Webdesign and medicine are completely separate and not synergistic. Instead, he thinks that it would be more valuable for me to grow my domain expertise within the medical field, and through the vehicle of a startup (as a co-founder, chief medical officer), solve bigger problems and bring more value to the marketplace; as opposed to a doctor who does a small business on the side. By doing webdesign now, am I taking away time I could be learning, researching about specific and major problems in medicine/ the medical system that could be solved?

What are you guys' thoughts on this?

(Perspectives from doctors? @Iwokeup @churchill19 @fastlanedoll @Absy @Chromozome @Genius01 @Tej)

I personally believe no knowledge is wasted. And no skills gathered are wasted, especially when it relates to entrepreneurship.

I have a colleague (also a doctor) who designs websites and apps as a passion, and has done projects (apps and websites) for other fellow doctors and medical institutions. They go to him because he would very easily understand the intricacies of what they're trying to develop, much better than a regular designer or app developer.
In fact, on his social media profiles, he calls himself "doctor by day, coder by night".
And he's not just a doctor, he's specialized in a highly specialized field of medicine.

And if he decides to take on any entrepreneurial project of his own that requires coding, it will be easier for him to proceed as he can do a good part of it himself without looking for anyone else or depending on someone else.

I think you have a useful skill, and shouldn't let it waste.

As long as it doesn't detract from your medical school studies.
If you find it's taking too much time and focus away from your medical studies, then you may have to let it lie fallow for while so you get your medical degree, and then pick it up again.

Regarding what your friend says about dropping web design and trying to solve more major problems in medicine, you can't predict what problems you will want to solve until you get to meet those problems.
And you won't know whether web design skills may come in useful in helping solve that problem until you meet them. (It might be that it helps in designing the web portal that will be used in solving the particular problem you want to tackle).

So if I were you, I would keep doing the web design thingy and learning the skills and business lessons therein, as long as it's not detracting from my medical studies.
And then when I meet any problems in medicine I want to solve, at that point I'll decide whether to discard the web design skills I've learnt or not.

TLDR: keep doing your web design thingy and building your entrepreneurial skills as long as it doesn't distract you from your studies.
You never know if it might somehow come in useful for the medical problem you may want to solve till you actually meet the problem.

 

[OneLifeOneChance]

I feel like you will never know what’s going to lie on your path in the future. Right now, you’re learning something and whether that something will help you or not in the way that you want I don’t know. The way I see it is that two things will always in a way be synergistic, but it can either be positive or negative.

You learning web design may be positive – you may find that the ‘bigger problem’ or ‘major problem’ you’re seeking may need to be solved via web design as Genius01 said above.

You learning web design may be negative – you may find that the problem that needs to be solved is nothing related to web design and you’re be like DAMN WHAT A WASTE OF TIME.

But it’s not wasting time at all.

Whether an opportunity lies ahead in future for you that is directly related to web design and medicine, I don’t know but if so, then you can make the decision to take it! (or not) Learning web design may not help you in the way that you want (solving that ‘big’ problem) but it may instead build other skills like discipline and commitment on your wealth journey. Who knows? you may actually find it helps you in other ways that allows you to meet new people, build new connections and networks that make your wealth journey all the worthwhile.

No matter what, just do what you think is right and keep going! Good luck on your journey, I’m sure you’ll be going places!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[josh_ting]

Hey thanks everyone for their valuable input, I have a clearer idea of where I'm going now.

 

[Knugs]

Hey guys, there is a question I've been wanting to ask as it has been bogging me for a while now. So I am a medical student and am currently doing web design on the side as I see it as a great way for me to learn about business and also generate cash flow. I had a very interesting conversation with a great friend of mine a few days ago. Basically, the way he sees it, Webdesign and medicine are completely separate and not synergistic. Instead, he thinks that it would be more valuable for me to grow my domain expertise within the medical field, and through the vehicle of a startup (as a co-founder, chief medical officer), solve bigger problems and bring more value to the marketplace; as opposed to a doctor who does a small business on the side. By doing webdesign now, am I taking away time I could be learning, researching about specific and major problems in medicine/ the medical system that could be solved?

What are you guys' thoughts on this?

(Perspectives from doctors? @Iwokeup @churchill19 @fastlanedoll @Absy @Chromozome @Genius01 @Tej)

feeling upset that I have been left out of the tag
___

You are asking a very interesting question which I also had to face during my startup & career. The responses you have received on here arent wrong but neither is your friend. Let me explain why.

In the startup world you are as a doctor automatically assuming the role of an innovator and/or idea creator because most likely it will be you who has faced the issue and you who will have come up with an solution to this problem. Now, you will need to set up a team of "expertise" which will make-up for your lack of skills to bring this solution to reality. For example:

Lets say you came up with a dermatology Telemedicine startup idea. The Problem: poor access to dermatology services in the outbacks of New Zealand. Solution: Access to dermatology services through Telemedicine. Brilliant idea.

What do you need to execute this idea and make it a viable business?
-Expertise about how healthcare works & regulations & the law surrounding Telemedicine
-Specific contractual law and healthcare law expertise.
-Registered & licensed medical doctor(s), who can diagnose & treat dermatological conditions
-Tech expertise to develop the product
-Design expertise to design the product
-Project management expertise to create a product fit to the target group
-Marketing & Sales expertise to increase awareness and drive revenue
-Business expertise for HR/financing and make it a profitable business.

As the doctor you typically bring in the medical skill and a lot of cash to the business. Theoretically its possible to outsource almost all of the above and run it as a 1-man business, but you will find that the cost and organisational requirements are far too high and too risky. With the classic startup mentality you reduce cost by sharing equity of the startup to "expertise", which usually works for "free". This expertise is usually also far more invested into making the business succesfull than an outsourced expertise. Classic example to this is developmental services.

If we are talking about "real lean-startup" then you could take on all non-product related jobs in the business. You as the CEO now set up the right team, project manage the design & development, organise financing, Sales, Marketing and make sure everything is fulfilling regulations & law. You also use the service yourself to treat dermatological patients remotely. Its theoretical possible but also a bad idea, because most of the above tasks require a real expertise.

Ideally, you get an experienced entrepreneur who had experience in a startup before, who knows how to raise financing, building a team and doing sales. You get a lead designer who is responsible for product design, project management and marketing design and a CTO who has most tech skills to develop the product. All the rest you could outsource for cash (eg contractual law, consulted law and some marketing). You, as the doctor, are quite involved in close to all of these aspects as the userflow is also patient flow. You are also a usergroup (the doctors) using this service. You also provide this service and create revenue. The team setup itself means that raising 6-7 figures financing backed on a little traction (look, it works) is going to be relatively easy at this point. I found it ridicliously easy to raise money as a doctor, because it has a strong wow-effect to investors. You are also responsible about innovating further and strengthening the USP of the business.

For example an immediate idea would be to provide GPs in rural areas with specialised dermatoscopes so that you can take really good images of skin conditions and examine much better remotely. Therefore, you start selling to other doctors. As a doctor yourself, you might find yourself doing a lot of sales, since its far easier for you than a non-medic to communicate with your colleagues.

So the answer to your question is; it depends on what the business and the second skill is.

The classic TFL entrepreneur is a 1-man army which tries to do everything. Learning a second skill which is important in entrepreneurship can be quite handy both when you are starting out or want to be the 1-man business. But
1) You will never reach the skill to somebody who has devoted most of his time to it
2) If your business grows well, you will have to hire and hand over the job to somebody else pretty fast anyway.
3) you also have other jobs as the doctor in the business (you have limited time).
4) and because of time your hourly wage as a locum is probably far higher than that of a highly professional in that skill; meaning that it most likely is far more efficient to do a shift at your hospital and pay with the money you earned the contractor. Especially when you need more time than the contractor.

In your instance, web design is a simply skill that a lead designer or a CTO can do much better than you.

There are other skills that you could very well take over so that you save yourself some equity, for example: Doctors usually have good communication & social skills and are usually highly intelligent fast learners. A lot of startup fundamentals can be learned in a short time so that you could realistically take on the role of the CEO, set up the team, organise financing and create a business plan (not the paper) that is lean and logical. You can negotiate and do sales as well. And you can as well understand regulations & law.
______

Real life example.
I'm also a doc and saw many issues on a daily basis so that I came up with a tech-idea that could solve this problem. I found a CTO, because I have no idea of product development and a business-grad management consultant, because I honestly thought that I had no idea of business. (they must learn something in these 3 years right?). We outsourced some tech work, all design work and all contractual law work. I ran project management and together with the business guy we did financing. We were funded by the EU (140,000) and received a pre-seed investment deal (50,000) before COVID put us on ice (we were doing a seed round).

Retrospectively I honestly can tell you that I didnt need the business-grad management consultant as our CEO. Why? because the same as it was for me, start up was also completely new to him. We both learned as we went on but it was wasted equity in that sense that he really didnt bring in any expertise. In many ways, having multiple founder and decision makers complicates things. If I was to do it again, I would build a heavily focused product developement team, because the experiences taught me how to do most entrepreneurial work. Sales, marketing, project management, financing, HR etc.
_____
Ultimately, I believe that doctors should take an organisational role next to their medical expertise, because all other skills belong to expert-groups. The doctor is by default usually a highly intellectual, socialble and well communicated person that can quite succesfully take on the role of an CEO in the startup.