Physicians are trained to solve complex problems, but most are never taught how to turn a clinical insight into a scalable company.

In this episode of the Startup Physicians Podcast, Dr. Alison Curfman sits down with Startup & Venture Advisor Kim Sharp to talk about the startup playbook physicians don’t learn in medical school.

They discuss what physician founders need before they pitch, build, raise capital, or launch — including financial models, MVPs, data rooms, cap tables, product strategy, advisor networks, and venture readiness.

If you have a healthcare idea but feel overwhelmed by the startup world, this episode will help you understand what it takes to move from idea to launch with more structure, confidence, and support.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Why Physician Founders Matter
01:59 — Meet Kim Sharp
05:33 — Why Physicians Have a Startup Advantage
06:35 — What Doctors Need to Learn Before Building
09:33 — De-Risking Your Idea Before You Launch
13:08 — Why Investors Bet on the Founder
14:24 — Financial Models, MVPs, and Pitch Decks
22:35 — Data Rooms, Cap Tables, and Venture Readiness
26:00 — Building Advisors, Community, and Support
28:35 — Building for Scale vs. Starting Small
32:43 — Strategic Networks and Warm Introductions
35:16 — Preparing for HLTH and Investor Meetings
39:03 — Who the Startup Physicians Incubator Is For
42:14 — How to Apply to the Incubator
43:53 — Why the Incubator Does Not Take Equity
45:32 — Closing Thoughts

Resources

Apply to the Startup Physicians Incubator:

https://startupphysicians.com/incubator

Explore free resources for physician founders:

https://startupphysicians.com/resources

Learn more about Startup Physicians:

https://startupphysicians.com

Connect with Startup Physicians on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-physicians/

Create a venture-ready concept pitch in just 45 minutes! Join our free AI session designed for practicing physicians, where we guide you through the concept-assessment process used in the Startup Physicians Incubator.

Download the guide, open it with Claude, and you'll end up with a one-page pitch ready to share with an advisor, investor, or selection committee.

A self-paced course that gets you ready to start advising startups, with an AI guide that assists you along the way.

In this episode of the Startup Physicians Podcast, host Dr. Alison Curfman sits down with Dr. Joe Pazona, board-certified urologist and founder and CEO of VirtuCare, to explore his unconventional journey from traditional clinical practice to healthcare entrepreneurship.

After experiencing burnout, frustrating healthcare systems, and significant gaps in specialty care, Joe decided to take a different path. He founded VirtuCare to rethink how urology services are delivered through telemedicine, team-based care, and hospital partnerships.

Joe shares the challenges of building a healthcare company without a business background, why physicians need a seat at the table when designing new care models, and how technology can expand patient access without compromising clinical standards.

If you're considering launching a startup, exploring advisory opportunities, or simply looking for ways to make a bigger impact in medicine, this conversation will provide valuable insight into what's possible beyond traditional clinical practice.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction

00:33 Joe Pazona's journey into medicine and urology

02:50 Recognizing opportunities to improve healthcare

03:50 The reality of physician employment and burnout

06:11 When speaking up leads to difficult career decisions

07:33 Finding a new path in Nashville

09:22 How COVID exposed weaknesses in traditional healthcare models

10:42 The idea behind VirtuCare

12:50 From direct-to-consumer telemedicine to a new business model

13:50 Addressing the rural urology access problem

16:20 Rethinking what quality healthcare delivery looks like

18:37 The role of physician leadership in team-based care

22:08 Why doctors need a seat at the table

24:17 Balancing patient continuity with access and scalability

25:16 Exploring different paths into healthcare innovation

26:34 The realities of entrepreneurship and finding your purpose

28:37 Final advice for physicians who want to make a difference

Resources:

Learn more about Startup Physicians:
https://startupphysicians.com

Connect with Startup Physicians on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-physicians/

Learn more about Virtucare: https://myvirtucare.com/

Connect with Virtucare on LinkedIn: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/company/myvirtucare

Create a venture-ready concept pitch in just 45 minutes! Join our free AI session designed for practicing physicians, where we guide you through the concept-assessment process used in the Startup Physicians Incubator.

Download the guide, open it with Claude, and you'll end up with a one-page pitch ready to share with an advisor, investor, or selection committee.

A self-paced course that gets you ready to start advising startups, with an AI guide that assists you along the way.

Description:

Dr. Alison Curfman sits down with Dr. Stephen Garber, a board-certified anesthesiologist with more than 35 years of clinical experience, and Dr. Amar Patel, an orthopedic surgeon, to explore what it looks like when physicians step beyond traditional clinical roles and become active participants in healthcare innovation.

Dr. Garber shares the story of how his experience in anesthesiology and years of seeing airway obstruction, hypoventilation, and airway-management challenges during procedural sedation led him into medical device innovation and his work with the xchange™ System.

Stephen and Amar share practical lessons for physicians who are curious about startups, medical devices, entrepreneurship, advisory roles, and physician leadership. They discuss how to recognize opportunities in everyday clinical frustrations, how to evaluate companies that genuinely want physician input, and how doctors can leverage their clinical expertise outside the traditional healthcare system.

They also get candid about the uncomfortable parts of the journey: learning the language of business, walking into unfamiliar rooms with investors and entrepreneurs, negotiating equity, building relationships, and finding the confidence to contribute as a physician without assuming you have to know everything about the startup world.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: Physicians and healthcare innovation

00:45 – Dr. Stephen Garber’s journey into medical device innovation

02:46 – Why startups need physician leadership, not just physician endorsement

04:03 – Finding opportunities in everyday clinical problems

04:13 – Dr. Amar Patel’s introduction to the xchange™ System

06:23 – The importance of generating early clinical evidence

07:49 – Why physician involvement matters in proving a medical device

08:28 – Balancing clinical practice with innovation

10:44 – Why practicing physicians bring unique insight to product development

11:25 – How physician-to-physician collaboration can create opportunities

12:41 – Finding medical device opportunities at conferences and events

14:17 – Building confidence and learning to negotiate your value

16:06 – Overcoming fear and stepping outside the traditional physician path

17:23 – The “Why didn’t I think of that?” moment in medical innovation

18:27 – The energy and creativity of the startup environment

20:21 – Why physician leadership is critical to safety

21:50 – Breaking out of the traditional healthcare bureaucracy

22:47 – What was hardest about entering the startup world?

23:00 – Learning the business side of healthcare innovation

24:40 – Finding the right opportunity and the right community

25:44 – Why your professional network matters

27:53 – Final advice: Where’s the opportunity?

Resources:

Learn more about Startup Physicians:
https://startupphysicians.com

Connect with Startup Physicians on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-physicians/

Learn more about xchange by Pneuma: https://www.xchangebypneuma.com/

Connect with Pneuma Therapeutics on LinkedIn: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/company/pneuma-therapeutics/