StartUs Presents: Primul Medic

Describe Primul Medic in 50 words or less.

“Primul Medic” (“First Doctor”) connects Romanians with medical advice from verified doctors in real-time.

Why did you decide to pursue your own dreams rather than someone else’s?

Prior to launching Primul Medic I worked for Yonder (an outsourcing company) for 4.5 years. Even during this time I was pursuing my own dreams through gaining the experience I knew I needed to be successful in my own venture. It isn’t enough to have a dream or idea — you have to build the skills and capabilities to execute it.

No matter what I do, I strive to do it the best I can. This drive pushes me to constantly seek ways to improve things. For a long time I have known that to be happy and fulfilled with myself, I need to use my skills and energies to make meaningful and positive impacts while pursuing my own dreams. Being a co-founder of a startup with partners who feel the same, I wake up each day motivated and determined regardless of the challenges ahead. I am very thankful for having such great co-founders, Alex and Ionut.

7 years from now: How did your startup change the world?

Primul Medic will disrupt the healthcare system in Romania by creating a new way for patients to get medical advice in real-time. There are many problems in the healthcare system here, from limited access due to geography, waiting time, inefficiencies and costs, to issues of corruption, in some cases. Primul Medic not only brings verified medical professionals, but also brings transparency to the doctor-patient relationship. It will improve the efficiency of the medical system by channeling people to the right, best professional immediately, rather than making them go through a complex, time-consuming, and resource-wasting system of referrals.

After proving ourselves in Romania and the wider region, we will scale. We will also provide top quality evaluation and advising tools and content in local language on our platform, increasing the understanding of stigmatized and poorly understood conditions (such as mental illnesses) so that people can get help quality discreetly, but promptly.

In what ways do you measure your success and how do you make sure you don’t lose track?

Success has many measures for us. Our first success is that we are doing something that matters, that we believe in, and that we have inspired other people — including doctors, advisors, and professionals — to believe in our vision.
Primul Medic as a company will be successful when it becomes a trusted reference point and platform for both patients and doctors. Our success is our customers’ improved health and treatment outcomes, which will be achieved by reducing the time it takes to get medical advice and increasing the quality of it.

Primul Medic isn’t just a startup for me — it is a mission and a passion born from personal reasons. Because of this, I know the true measure of success for Primul Medic won’t be captured on a balance or cashflow sheet. It will be measured by the people we have helped, the families we have prevented loss and suffering for, and the improvements we push in the healthcare system. Keeping this big picture in mind, we use Trello and project planning to ensure we stay on track with each milestone and goal.

Describe your typical working day from coming to the office to leaving it.

Rising early to a healthy breakfast, I meet with my co-founder Ionut and head to the gym. After this routine is when each day diverges. Sometimes we head to the office to develop, strategize, think about the features and users, analyze feedback, or work on presentations for meetings or events. Other days I spend meeting with stakeholders and partners — doctors, patients, lawyers, media, medical administrators, and potential partners. Other days I spend at events or trainings to improve my skills and understanding in this market. I am also completing my PhD in computer science, so I spend some days teaching and working with students who I hope will go on to use their skills to solve important problems. Having such variability in my life is one of the beautiful things about having a startup. But each day ends with two things: planning to get the most out of the next day, and reminding myself why I am doing this.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

Right now we are bootstrapped, fueled by our own passion and efforts, as well as those of the people who believe in us and have invested their time and efforts in us. We are very thankful to them for this.
In the future we will require financing to scale up, but for now we are focused on building the best product with our own resources.

With ferocious competition and a booming trend to build new companies: How do you make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle?

Right now there is no company in Romania trying to do what we are doing. Maybe that is why a lot of people called us crazy for trying it. We got quite a bit of media coverage and visibility in Romania so far for trying to solve such large problems that patients and doctors are facing.

If we are successful, we know there will be competition — and this is good. It will push us and other aspects of the healthcare system to constantly improve to compete and this is helpful for the Romanians. We will compete by having a network of verified and trusted doctors, committing to quality and transparency, and providing compassionate and competent customer support and locally relevant content for patients.

What do you look for in team members?

Our team is passionately committed to our vision — we look for the same in any prospective teammates. Being a team-player is important. Every day I feel lucky to have co-founders that are so reliable and dedicated. Technical skills are important, but what is more important is a strong desire to learn and improve continually. Each member of our team often attends different trainings and activities to improve our skills and capabilities, even if it isn’t immediately required for a specific task at hand.

Why would a talent join your team?

You will work in a team of people that are dedicated and passionate on a project that will improve the quality of life of millions of people. We are serious about our mission, but also like to have a good time. The environment we offer is drastically different than what you will find elsewhere. We are all self-motivated and responsible, but don’t hesitate to help each other out. We have clear roles, but are collaborative and respect and seek out each other’s ideas and opinions. You will never hear “that isn’t my job.” We also want each of our team members to grow according to their own goals and desires and give them meaningful experiences that will help them pursue their other passions in the future.

What was your most memorable moment so far?

The day we were accepted into Spherik Accelerator. At that point I had a deep feeling that this project will be different from others that I worked on and failed at early stages. The knowledge that we had made other people believe in our vision and capabilities, and that we would be supported in our dream by high-level professionals with their time and resources, gave me the confidence to leave my day job and commit fully to Primul Medic. Prior to this I had planned to do both in parallel and save money for the startup, but joining Spherik changed everything.

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

I’m just beginning my journey in entrepreneurship and there is a long way to go. A lot of advice I might give now would change in 5 years, 3 years, or even 2 months as I gain more experience. Things move fast and we learn fast.

But the advice I don’t believe will ever change is to follow your instinct, especially related to your values. Anything that changes or goes contrary to the status quo meets resistance. If you believe in your idea, then invest yourself in it and put it into practice. As a very good friend of mine says, “There is no bad or good feedback, it is only feedback. You decide what you do with it.” So listen carefully, but understand that it is your startup and your life — you must decide. At some point you may face a dilemma in whether to take a partnership or investment that requires you to break your values. Stick to your values. Yes, sometimes this will mean turning down what appears to be a good business opportunity. This is part of why it is so important to have co-founders who share your core values and vision. Succeeding or failing, rich or poor, healthy or sick, popular or pariah, your co-founders are the one thing that can never be taken from you by someone else.