From Orthopedic Surgeon to VR Startup Founder with Dr. Danny Goel

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. Chapters00:00 Introduction00:58 The transition from surgical training to independent practice03:20 Building a risk-free environment for surgical training05:07 Why timing matters in medical simulation07:48 Building from a problem inside clinical practice09:17 Why physician founders can stay in medicine11:31 How the company started13:15 Finding technical co-founders outside of medicine15:41 Raising early capital and validating the problem18:27 Learning the business side of healthcare20:17 Why physicians do not need an MBA to start22:07 The value of advisors for early-stage founders23:37 Pressure-testing a startup idea25:42 Why physicians should not be afraid to share their ideas29:06 Creating impact beyond individual patient care30:16 A first step for physicians with startup ideasResourcesExplore the Concept Pitch Builder and other free resources for physician founders:https://startupphysicians.com/resourcesLearn more about PrecisionOS:https://precisionostech.comLearn more about Startup Physicians:https://startupphysicians.comConnect with Startup Physicians on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-physicians/