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The Truth About Entrepreneurship Nobody Talks About - Preston Alexander
The Truth About Entrepreneurship Nobody Talks About
In this episode, Dr. Rishad Usmani sits down with Preston Alexander, co-founder of Forward Slash Health, a consultancy helping clinicians reclaim autonomy in medicine. From building furniture and rock climbing in Colorado to launching a medical device startup during the pandemic, Preston’s unconventional path shows how curiosity, grit, and timing can shape a career in healthcare entrepreneurship.
He opens up about his early days as a psychology and philosophy student, his accidental entrance into healthcare, and how witnessing the corporatization of medicine inspired his mission to empower doctors to lead the business side of care. Preston and Dr. Usmani discuss the broken incentives driving U.S. healthcare, why AI might make us forget how to think, and how to balance friction and optionality when building impactful products.
With candor and humor, Preston explores the lessons behind his successes and failures — from cold-calling hospitals during COVID to building a startup that helps physicians regain ownership of their work and their purpose.
Key Highlights:
💡 From Climbing Walls to Boardrooms: How Preston went from rock climbing and furniture making to leading healthcare startups. 📘 Learning by Doing: Why he faked being an “MBA candidate,” accidentally earned the degree, and discovered his love for business strategy. 🏥 Inside the Medical Machine: How working in medical devices revealed the tension between innovation, regulation, and corporate growth. 🚀 Starting Up in a Pandemic: The story of launching a surgical device company in February 2020 — and cold-calling hospitals through lockdowns. 🧠 Taking Back Healthcare: How Forward Slash Health helps physicians rebuild independence and rethink the business of medicine. 🤖 AI and the Death of Thinking: Why Preston is both fascinated and frustrated by artificial intelligence and fears it may make humanity less thoughtful. 🎓 Education and Creativity: Why he believes traditional schooling traps curiosity and how parents can rethink education for the next generation. ⚙️ Friction vs. Optionality: The philosophy behind designing products, systems, and companies that are both user-friendly and purpose-driven.
Resources & Next Steps:
🌐 Visit forwardslashhealth.com to learn more about their mission. 📲 Connect with Preston Alexander on LinkedIn. 🎧 Explore more episodes of Learning with Rishad for deep conversations at the intersection of medicine, AI, and human behavior.
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By Rishad UsmaniThe Truth About Entrepreneurship Nobody Talks About
In this episode, Dr. Rishad Usmani sits down with Preston Alexander, co-founder of Forward Slash Health, a consultancy helping clinicians reclaim autonomy in medicine. From building furniture and rock climbing in Colorado to launching a medical device startup during the pandemic, Preston’s unconventional path shows how curiosity, grit, and timing can shape a career in healthcare entrepreneurship.
He opens up about his early days as a psychology and philosophy student, his accidental entrance into healthcare, and how witnessing the corporatization of medicine inspired his mission to empower doctors to lead the business side of care. Preston and Dr. Usmani discuss the broken incentives driving U.S. healthcare, why AI might make us forget how to think, and how to balance friction and optionality when building impactful products.
With candor and humor, Preston explores the lessons behind his successes and failures — from cold-calling hospitals during COVID to building a startup that helps physicians regain ownership of their work and their purpose.
Key Highlights:
💡 From Climbing Walls to Boardrooms: How Preston went from rock climbing and furniture making to leading healthcare startups. 📘 Learning by Doing: Why he faked being an “MBA candidate,” accidentally earned the degree, and discovered his love for business strategy. 🏥 Inside the Medical Machine: How working in medical devices revealed the tension between innovation, regulation, and corporate growth. 🚀 Starting Up in a Pandemic: The story of launching a surgical device company in February 2020 — and cold-calling hospitals through lockdowns. 🧠 Taking Back Healthcare: How Forward Slash Health helps physicians rebuild independence and rethink the business of medicine. 🤖 AI and the Death of Thinking: Why Preston is both fascinated and frustrated by artificial intelligence and fears it may make humanity less thoughtful. 🎓 Education and Creativity: Why he believes traditional schooling traps curiosity and how parents can rethink education for the next generation. ⚙️ Friction vs. Optionality: The philosophy behind designing products, systems, and companies that are both user-friendly and purpose-driven.
Resources & Next Steps:
🌐 Visit forwardslashhealth.com to learn more about their mission. 📲 Connect with Preston Alexander on LinkedIn. 🎧 Explore more episodes of Learning with Rishad for deep conversations at the intersection of medicine, AI, and human behavior.