The Underdog Physician Podcast

The Underdog Physician
  • 4.4 (13)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

The Underdog Physician podcast is for pre-med students, medical students, residents, and attendings who feel like they’re underdogs. I am a physician practicing in the US, hosting this podcast to be a source of inspiration for those willing to embrace their challenges and beat the odds no matter where they are in their entrepreneurial or academic journey. I will be discussing physician entrepreneurship and sharing the journeys of those who aspired to serve society in unique and creative ways. Listen as I interview amazing physicians who overcame great odds and are now doing amazing work.

  1. 3d ago

    Louis Green on Behavioral Finance, Diversification, and Building a Holistic Retirement Plan

    On the Underdog Physician podcast, host Anish interviews Louis Green, founder of Prestiq Wealth, a wealth advisor with CFA, CFP, and CPWA credentials and prior roles at Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank, PNC, and UBS. Green shares his Brooklyn origins, interest in investing, and his move toward fiduciary, tech-enabled holistic planning at Savvy Advisors, plus his book Five Steps to Retirement Planning and mentoring with Savvy Ladies. He highlights common blind spots for high-income professionals such as short-term, undiversified day-trading behavior and tax implications of short-term gains. He advises doing deeper research or using diversified vehicles like ETFs and focusing on asset allocation. Trends discussed include buffered ETFs for downside hedging, direct indexing for tax-loss harvesting, and renewed attractiveness of fixed income with higher rates. They cover retirement and tax strategies (401(k)/403(b), solo 401(k), deferred comp, mega/backdoor Roth, HSA, donor-advised funds), estate planning basics, entrepreneurship planning and avoiding over-leveraged marketing, team culture, managing volatility by staying invested, and Green’s legacy goal of getting more people to have financial and retirement plans. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:00 Louis Green Origin Story 02:47 Physician Money Blind Spots 04:06 Avoiding Day Trading Traps 05:40 Credentials and Planning Style 07:07 New Allocation Trends 08:57 Buffered ETFs Explained 10:27 Founding Prestiq Wealth 12:08 Aligning Portfolios With Life 14:10 Retirement Accounts and Taxes 17:13 Five Steps Book Takeaways 18:37 Family and Entrepreneur Scenarios 21:31 Building Teams and Culture 23:44 Mentorship and Work Rhythm 26:42 Handling Volatility and Timing 28:45 S&P 500 Run and Cycles 31:30 Legacy and Closing Amazon book: https://www.amazon.com/STEPS-RETIREMENT-PLANNING-Actions-Retirement-ebook/dp/B0DNVK48FW/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=WRMPi&content-id=amzn1.sym.3a079c4e-f938-40c9-a0ed-01ef0e9528e9&pf_rd_p=3a079c4e-f938-40c9-a0ed-01ef0e9528e9&pf_rd_r=145-4756456-8694467&pd_rd_wg=k1Rix&pd_rd_r=cc05f83e-a4e9-430b-b5c1-a8cdf2f1e9eb

    32 min

  2. May 27

    David Norris on Building Affinion Health: AI Inbox Automation, Teams, and Engineered Luck in Healthcare Entrepreneurship

    On the Underdog Physician podcast, serial entrepreneur and investor David Norris—co-founder and CEO of Affinion Health (AI-powered inbox and workflow automation) and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner—shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing passion, perseverance, and team alignment over perfect planning or chasing money. He describes early lessons from building fraud-prevention checkout keypad systems, argues “engineered luck” comes from raising opportunity through great teams, and discusses the emotional realities of exits, including a near-IPO lost to a market crash. Norris explains Affinion’s AI agent triages EHR inbox work (labs, prescription renewals, and upcoming patient messaging), cutting inbox volume 40–50% and freeing about five hours weekly, while avoiding regulatory risk by following provider-defined protocols rather than making clinical decisions. He covers fundraising (a $5M round), competitive strategy (embedding into EHRs, low pricing), investor red flags, mentorship value, intense time-boxed work habits, and a legacy goal of improving patient care by better equipping providers.

    34 min

  3. May 17

    Dr. Rashika Bansal on Building HALT Clinic: Modern Metabolic Care, GLP-1s, and Physician Entrepreneurship

    On the Underdog Physician podcast, host Anish interviews Dr. Rashika Bansal about her path from India to U.S. training in internal medicine and an NIH endocrinology fellowship that shaped her focus on obesity and metabolism, followed by work at Cleveland Clinic and a move back to the Northeast. She explains why she launched HALT Clinic to deliver more streamlined, closely monitored weight management and metabolic care amid growth of telehealth weight-loss companies, compounded drugs, and social-media misinformation. Dr. Bansal discusses the value of ABOM certification, HALT’s protocols including body composition tracking, CGM-guided nutrition personalization, and lab monitoring, and potential expansion into longevity, stress management, yoga, and peptides. She shares startup lessons on bureaucracy, marketing, delegation, team-building, bootstrapping, and balancing business ethics with medicine, plus work-life integration, exercise habits, supplements, and a legacy goal of improving women’s health and empowering female physician entrepreneurs. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:02 Origin Story and Training 02:50 Mentors and Finding Endocrinology 05:30 Exploring Career Options 07:46 Why Start Halt Clinic 10:11 ABOM and Obesity Expertise 12:10 Halt Protocols and KPIs 14:57 Startup Lessons and Team 17:45 Co-Founder and Early Mistakes 21:12 Scaling Without Losing Quality 22:48 Bootstrapping and Knowing Numbers 25:09 Work Life Integration and Wellness 29:35 Advice Legacy and Closing

    32 min

  4. May 11

    Dr. Minal Shah on Hospital Medicine, Clinical Informatics, and Building a Virtual Care Model

    On the Underdog Physician podcast, hospitalist and host interviews Dr. Minal Shah, medical director of virtual care at CommonSpirit Health’s Mountain region and an informaticist on the CommonSpirit national team. Shah shares how early exposure to medicine led her to Baylor College of Medicine for residency and chief residency, why she chose hospital medicine for its acuity, variety, and shift flexibility, and how a 2021 Stanford AI in Healthcare conference sparked her transition into digital health. She discusses ways to build informatics skills, the importance of physician involvement in tool development, and how AI such as ambient scribes can reduce EHR burden while raising concerns about over-reliance. She outlines virtual hospitalist care models, emphasizes change management and clinician adoption challenges, highlights mentorship, recommends Designing Your Life, and describes her work on large-scale EHR implementation and an ideal interoperable, insight-driven EHR. 00:00 Meet Dr Minal Shah 00:54 Early Path to Medicine 02:38 Why Hospital Medicine 03:57 AI Conference Turning Point 04:53 Building Informatics Skills 07:38 AI and Patient Connection 11:31 Virtual Care Leadership 13:53 What Clinical Informatics Is 18:04 Virtual Hospitalist Models 20:53 Lessons Across Health Systems 23:00 Mentors and Career Design 29:14 Weekly Workflow and Travel 30:24 Legacy and Ideal EHR 33:23 Closing Thanks

    34 min

  5. May 6

    Julio G. Martinez-Clark on BioAccess and Accelerating First-in-Human Clinical Trials Globally

    On the Underdog Physician Podcast, Anish interviews Julio G. Martinez-Clark, CEO of BioAccess, about his path from electrical engineering in Colombia and an MBA in Boston to building a contract research organization focused on medtech first-in-human and early-phase OUS trials. He explains how his brother Pedro’s work revealed major U.S. barriers—IRB delays, FDA uncertainty, investigator access, patient recruitment, and high costs—driving startups overseas, and how BioAccess professionalized trials in Latin America, growing to ~40 employees and expanding to Australia, Eastern Europe, and biopharma. Julio shares how the pandemic forced remote proctoring with OR cameras and iPads, enabling 33 procedures and Zoom-based consent. He discusses why independent hospitals and patient access dynamics speed trials in Latin America, early regulatory confusion in Colombia that led BioAccess to push legal changes, team-building lessons, bootstrapping vs fundraising, launching and rebranding his podcast to Global Trial Accelerators, and his legacy goal of maximizing human impact, including updating Colombia’s clinical research law. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:41 Julio’s Origin Story 02:59 BioAccess Is Born 05:02 Scaling Across Regions 05:43 Pandemic Trial Reinvention 08:42 Why LatAm Moves Faster 12:12 Regulatory Roadblocks 14:26 Building a Winning Team 17:13 Bootstrapping and Funding 19:14 Launching the Podcast 22:37 LinkedIn as Growth Engine 25:17 Life, Travel, Balance 27:29 Legacy and Law Reform 29:53 Closing Thanks

    30 min

  6. Apr 28

    Dolores Hirschmann on Clarity, Scaling Responsibly, and Speaking to Grow Your Business

    In this episode, we interview Dolores Hirschmann, a fractional CMO, TEDx organizer, and founder of Masters in Clarity, about her unconventional path from Buenos Aires to building and scaling businesses in the U.S. She recounts early ventures, directing an early online learning platform for a nonprofit, launching a clothing company with low-income women in Argentina, and running an afterschool language program partnered with Rosetta Stone. Dolores shares lessons from rapid growth while working with Grant Cardone’s 10X community, emphasizing sustainable scaling, strong teams, SOPs, and executing consistent marketing rather than chasing trends. She explains Masters in Clarity’s approach to building marketing systems, back-office processes, and signature talks to drive leads and conversions, and defines clarity as prioritizing and taking action to reveal next steps. She discusses TEDx events, finding mentors, strategic partnerships for funding, her four-day workweek, and her legacy goal of helping small businesses grow and become transferable or sellable. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:53 Dolores Origin Story 01:36 Early Digital Marketing 02:12 First Online Learning 03:35 Manifesting the Future 05:26 First Ventures and Lessons 08:27 Scaling with Grant Cardone 10:25 Masters in Clarity Explained 12:33 What Clarity Means 15:16 Fractional CMO Framework 16:39 Building a Loyal Team 17:55 Underrated Growth Levers 18:48 Funding and Partnerships 20:25 Inside TEDx Organizing 21:58 Setbacks and Reinvention 23:46 Mentors and Top Events 25:28 Work Life Balance 26:28 Advice Legacy and Wrap

    28 min

  7. Apr 20

    Dr. Tarul Kode: Building at the Intersection of Biotech, Philanthropy, and Patient Impact

    In this Underdog Physician podcast episode, PharmD and healthcare executive Dr. Tarul Kode shares her career path from an accelerated pharmacy doctorate at the University of the Pacific to over 20 years in managed care and PBMs, including 15 years at MedImpact in clinical executive and account leadership roles. After completing a Harvard global healthcare leadership program, she pivoted into startups as chief of staff to a virtual primary care CEO, then navigated layoffs when the company failed to raise a Series A amid personal challenges. She built a consulting practice and expanded advisory work with Techstars and Remedy. Tarul describes her venture capital education, joining Loud Collective as a venture partner raising a $175M healthcare fund with partners including Persephoni Bio, while discussing funding fit, scalable growth, responsible AI, inclusion barriers, mentorship, parenting, and a service-driven legacy. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:02 Origin Story and Pharmacy Path 02:20 Managed Care and PBM Career 03:49 Leadership Coaching and Harvard 04:58 Leap Into Startups 05:51 Startup Culture Fit 06:56 Advising Clinicians in Startups 08:24 Setbacks and Resilience 09:36 Consulting and Advisory Launchpad 10:57 Calibrate Lessons and Integrity 11:47 Entering Venture Capital 12:34 Loud Collective Thesis 13:45 Board Work and Co-Founder Role 14:59 How VCs Evaluate Startups 17:22 Funding Fit and Diligence 18:22 AI and Responsible Scaling 19:14 Barriers as Woman of Color 22:51 2025 BLOC BLOC100 Most Impactful Women of Color and Allies in biopharma, healthcare, and life sciences. 24:29 Mentorship and Executive Presence 27:37 Mindset for Uncertainty 30:01 Work Life Balance as Single Parent 31:31 Legacy and Closing

    34 min

  8. Apr 12

    Clint Harris: From Cardiac Medical Sales to Self-Storage Syndications and Time Freedom

    On the Underdog Physician Podcast, Clint Harris describes moving from 16 years in cardiac device medical sales—implanting pacemakers and defibrillators with heavy call, travel, and burnout—to building a real estate career focused on time, location, and financial independence. After starting with single-family and small multifamily, he scaled beach short-term rentals to 14 units, then realized the model still left him “on call,” leading him to build a property management company and pivot to passive strategies. He explains how syndication lets busy professionals contribute capital while operators provide time and experience, and details Nomad Capital’s approach of converting vacant big-box retail (e.g., a Kmart bought for $1.5M with $2.5M rehab, later appraising at $9M) into climate-controlled self-storage across the Southeast, now totaling $150M AUM with goals of $500M in five years and $1B in ten. Clint outlines why he prefers storage (sticky tenants, month-to-month pricing, fewer operational headaches), the long lease-up timeline risk, industry consolidation, the importance of location and feasibility studies, team-building principles, and his personal focus on family time and building a legacy centered on character and purpose rather than money. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:55 From Pre Med to Cardiac Sales 01:57 Why Real Estate Became Plan B 03:18 Airbnb Success and Burnout 05:17 Buying Back Time with Partners 06:16 First Kmart Storage Conversion 06:50 Syndication Explained for Docs 08:27 Leaving Medical Sales for Nomad 10:59 Why Self Storage Wins for Him 14:53 Value Add Model and Tax Benefits 16:23 Demand Drivers and Customer Trends 18:15 Risks and Economic Headwinds 19:46 Where Storage Is Heading Next 20:50 Long Term Investing Mindset 23:17 Building the Right Team 25:54 Raising Capital and Track Record 28:19 Setbacks and Key Lessons Learned 30:15 Day to Day Schedule and Family 33:04 Legacy and Closing Thoughts

    36 min
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4.4
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About

The Underdog Physician podcast is for pre-med students, medical students, residents, and attendings who feel like they’re underdogs. I am a physician practicing in the US, hosting this podcast to be a source of inspiration for those willing to embrace their challenges and beat the odds no matter where they are in their entrepreneurial or academic journey. I will be discussing physician entrepreneurship and sharing the journeys of those who aspired to serve society in unique and creative ways. Listen as I interview amazing physicians who overcame great odds and are now doing amazing work.

Information

  • Creator
    The Underdog Physician
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    96
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Underdog Physician
  • Show Website
    The Underdog Physician Podcast