From One Clinic to a European Network: Dennis Diokno on Scaling FirstMed

In this episode we sit down with Dennis Diokno, founder and CEO of FirstMed, to unpack a 30-year journey of building trusted healthcare for expats across Europe. From launching a single clinic in Budapest to expanding into Rome, Milan, and beyond, Dennis shares lessons on perseverance, customer care, scaling with culture, and knowing when to focus. The conversation also explores the power of the Thunderbird network, hard-earned entrepreneurial mistakes, and how AI and telemedicine are shaping the next chapter of FirstMed’s growth.https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-a-diokno-5a455a8/https://firstmed.hu/Dennis Diokno is a global healthcare entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience launching and scaling international outpatient clinics. He is the Founder and CEO of FirstMed, one of Central Europe’s most recognized English-language private healthcare providers, serving expatriates, tourists, and international insurers.Dennis began his career in Moscow with the American Medical Center, rising from intern to Marketing Director and Operations Manager. He later became the first General Manager of the International Medical Center–Beijing, where he helped launch China’s first international joint-venture clinic. He then co-founded a healthcare venture in China, raising 3 million dollars in funding and advising U.S. healthcare companies on expansion into Asia.He moved to Central Europe to establish FirstMed in Budapest, developing the business plan, securing investment, and opening what is now a trusted healthcare provider entering its 26th year. Today, FirstMed operates clinics in Budapest, Rome, and Milan, with new locations planned for Paris and Vienna, alongside a pan-European telemedicine expansion designed to make international healthcare more accessible and scalable.Dennis serves as a Council Member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary and is a Co-Founder and Board Member of the International Business Chamber in Rome. He speaks English and German, converses comfortably in Hungarian, and enjoys running, golf, Aikido, and travel.This podcast is sponsored by Freshwater Investments