The Breathing Room with Doctor Sina

What happens when you grow up watching your father operate and eventually become his colleague?

In this episode of The Breathing Room, Dr. Sina Joorabchi sits down with fellow ENT surgeon Dr. Ariel Grobman for a candid conversation about following his father into medicine, finding his own identity as a surgeon, navigating the first years of private practice, and building a career that leaves room for family, health, and life outside the operating room.

Dr. Grobman opens up about the imposter syndrome that comes after residency, why young surgeons shouldn’t rush into the hardest cases, knowing when to refer or walk away, and the value of having mentors who can challenge your thinking.

They also get into the business side of medicine: physician marketing, private practice, private equity, using data instead of instinct to make decisions, and what younger doctors should understand before choosing their career path.

One of the biggest takeaways: you don’t have to prove everything immediately. Build confidence, build relationships, and let your career grow over time.

Subscribe to The Breathing Room for candid conversations with physicians, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and people building meaningful careers beyond the traditional path.

Guest:
Dr Ariel B. Grobman
Founder & CEO, Los Angeles Center for Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy (LAENT / LACENTA)

Hosted by:
Dr Sina Joorabchi
Otarlynologist

#ENT #PrivatePractice #PhysicianEntrepreneur #MedicalPodcast #Surgeon

What does it actually take to grow a medical practice from one struggling office into an organization with 18 locations, hundreds of employees, and dozens of providers?

In this episode of The Breathing Room, Dr. Sina Joorabchi sits down with longtime friend and fellow ENT surgeon Dr. Geoffrey Trenkle to unpack the decisions, failures, opportunities, and mindset behind that growth.

When Dr. Trenkle took over his first practice in Los Angeles, it had four employees, two phone lines, and, literally, dial-up internet.

Today, his organization spans 18 locations across Southern California with 250+ employees, multiple surgeons, physicians, specialists, and advanced practice providers.

But this conversation goes far beyond growth.

Dr. Trenkle shares how identifying underserved communities became his “blue ocean,” why availability can be one of a young physician’s greatest competitive advantages, how he and his wife Lauren built the company together, and why successful private practice requires far more than being a great surgeon.

They also dive into:

▪ How to identify opportunities other physicians overlook  
▪ When to open a second — or tenth — location  
▪ Building systems before sophisticated technology  
▪ Working with your spouse without destroying the relationship  
▪ Why private practice is becoming less common  
▪ Confidence, resourcefulness and entrepreneurship in medicine  
▪ How COVID led to an entirely new healthcare company  
▪ Scaling from one testing site to dozens of locations  
▪ Managing hundreds of employees without losing culture  
▪ Why sometimes your best employee still has to go  
▪ Giving physicians autonomy inside a large organization  
▪ Finding mentors for each new stage of growth  
▪ Building a career that creates freedom — not just income

One of the biggest themes of the conversation: find the problems other people don't want to solve.

CHAPTERS  
00:00 Meet Dr. Geoffrey Trenkle  
00:55 Choosing private practice  
02:25 Losing his first job opportunity  
05:45 Taking over a struggling practice  
09:53 Finding an underserved market  
10:59 From 1 office to 18  
12:08 Building around an overlooked patient population  
15:31 The systems that made growth possible  
17:17 Advice for young physicians  
18:31 Opening additional locations  
23:18 Building a business with your spouse  
31:50 Private practice vs. employment  
35:03 Why physicians are afraid of private practice  
43:01 Resourcefulness and entrepreneurship  
46:51 Finding the right mentors  
52:44 The COVID opportunity  
57:46 Scaling a testing company  
1:05:52 Maintaining culture at scale  
1:10:00 What's next  
1:13:20 Leading physicians  
1:18:33 Rapid-fire questions & lessons learned

Subscribe to The Breathing Room for conversations with physicians, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and people building careers beyond the conventional path.

#PrivatePractice #HealthcareEntrepreneur #PhysicianEntrepreneur #MedicalPractice #ENT