If Great Clips Can Do It, Why Can't Healthcare? | Dr. Michael Pitt, Q-rounds

What do Domino's, Uber, and Great Clips have in common? They all offer something hospitals don't: knowing when to expect what you're waiting for. In this episode, Erin O'Brien sits down with Dr. Michael Pitt, a pediatric hospitalist, professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and co-founder and CEO of Q-rounds, to hear how a text message while waiting for a haircut sparked the first virtual rounding queue in healthcare.

Mike shares how Q-rounds grew from a $5,000 university grant and a PowerPoint mockup into an EHR-integrated platform used by more than 60,000 families, tripling nurse attendance at rounds and cutting harmful medical errors by nearly 40%. He shares how he had to navigate grief while fundraising, the long 20-meeting hospital sales cycle, learning "entrepreneur speak" as a career academic, and why he once called founding Q-rounds the worst decision he ever made, and now calls it his best.

Whether you're a clinician sitting on an idea or a founder deep in the grind, Mike's advice lands: be married to the problem, not your solution, and celebrate the "fully vested" moments along the way.