From Orthopedic Surgeon to VR Startup Founder with Dr. Danny Goel
Episode Description
Orthopedic surgeon and physician founder Dr. Danny Goel went from identifying gaps in surgical training to co-founding PrecisionOS, a virtual reality and AI-powered platform designed to help surgeons practice skills and judgment in a risk-free environment.
In this conversation, Danny joins Dr. Alison Curfman to talk about what that path looked like: starting with no intention of building a company, finding technical co-founders outside of medicine, validating the idea with other physicians, raising early capital, learning the business side of healthcare, and deciding to remain in clinical practice while building.
They also discuss why staying close to clinical practice can strengthen a physician founder, how advisors can shape an early company, and why physicians should pressure-test their ideas instead of keeping them hidden until they feel perfect.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:58 The transition from surgical training to independent practice
03:20 Building a risk-free environment for surgical training
05:07 Why timing matters in medical simulation
07:48 Building from a problem inside clinical practice
09:17 Why physician founders can stay in medicine
11:31 How the company started
13:15 Finding technical co-founders outside of medicine
15:41 Raising early capital and validating the problem
18:27 Learning the business side of healthcare
20:17 Why physicians do not need an MBA to start
22:07 The value of advisors for early-stage founders
23:37 Pressure-testing a startup idea
25:42 Why physicians should not be afraid to share their ideas
29:06 Creating impact beyond individual patient care
30:16 A first step for physicians with startup ideas
Resources
Explore the Concept Pitch Builder and other free resources for physician founders:
https://startupphysicians.com/resources
Learn more about PrecisionOS:
Learn more about Startup Physicians:
Connect with Startup Physicians on LinkedIn:
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