Founder’s Lessons: Dr. Joseph Choi, COO of Hypercare
Dr. Choi shares how he balances working as an emergency physician and entrepreneur, how he handles conflict, and his advice for founders
About
Welcome to the seventeenth installment of Tsingyuan Ventures’ Lessons from Founders series. Every week, we publish an in-depth founder interview, ranging from early-stage entrepreneurs to successful businesses. Our conversations cover their personal journeys, the lessons that shaped them, their visions for the future, and their failures. We also learn more about their companies and about the challenges they try to solve. These insights and lessons are applicable to any entrepreneur — current or future.
Read past interviews here. You can also read our interview of Dr. Choi’s co-founder and CEO of Hypercare, Albert Tai, here.
Hypercare
Hypercare is a mobile-first digital healthcare collaboration app that enables communication and greater continuity of patient care. It connects the right providers at the right time for patient-centered care in diverse settings such as hospitals, long term care facilities, community care organizations and family practices. Sign up to try it out today, or visit hypercare.com to learn more.
Dr. Joseph Choi is the chief medical officer and chief operating officer of Hypercare, and is practicing emergency physician at a large teaching hospital in downtown Toronto. He is also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto with main interests in healthcare systems, quality improvement and innovation.
Why we invested in Hypercare: Efficient communication in healthcare is such an obvious area where tech can make a huge positive impact. Yet larger companies have been unsuccessful. Albert’s entrepreneurial instinct and drive impressed us. As a strong product manager, he’s able to capitalize on the product-driven category Hypercare is in. Every customer who has worked with Hypercare loves their product and their team.
Meet Dr. Joseph Choi
Interview edited for clarity and length.
“I realized that healthcare is very difficult to change. I got frustrated with how slowly things moved. I decided to strike it out and try to help change the system as an entrepreneur.”
Dr. Choi introduces himself
I’m Dr. Joe Choi, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Hypercare. I’m also a practicing emergency physician in downtown Toronto, and I do a lot of healthcare administration at the hospital.
A meaningful item on his desk
I usually keep my desk pretty Spartan. But I have a photo of my old boxing gloves. I gave the gloves away as a best man gift for my best friend, who used to box with me. Those were the first boxing gloves either of us owned. It reminds me of what we’ve gone through, starting from a beat-up pair of boxing gloves as kids, and fighting through everything in life to where we are now.
His background
I was really shaped by my dad, who was a Chinese immigrant in the 70’s. He was interested in science and medicine, and was a pre-med back in China. When I was a kid, he put on a show called The Operation on TLC. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a recording of an operation with some narration. I watched that growing up. My dad was never like: “you need to be in medicine.” He was genuinely watching it for his own enjoyment, and I was also there taking it in. This was one of the earliest moments that shaped me and my interest in medicine.
I moved towards entrepreneurship through getting interested in the healthcare system as a whole. Going through residency, I started noticing all these inefficiencies and archaic things that happened in the hospital. It opened my eyes to how much of an impact technology can have on patient care. You can be the best doctor in the world, but if none of your technology works, you can’t provide the care. I’m not talking about robotic surgeons or anything fancy, but about how long your computer takes to boot up and if it crashes.
You can be the best doctor in the world, but if none of your technology works, you can’t provide the care.
That led me to do a master’s degree. I realized that healthcare is very difficult to change. I got frustrated with how slowly things moved. I decided to strike it out and try to help change the system as an entrepreneur.
How he balances being a physician and founder
Balance is tough. You can always sleep less, but that only goes so far. I try to be very deliberate in what I do, and minimize doing multiple things at once. I want to be at peak capacity, so I’m either “off” or “on.”
I try to be very deliberate in what I do, and minimize doing multiple things at once.
That’s a mentality from the emergency department. You show up and give it your all. You don’t sit or eat or go to the restroom for a couple of hours. And then you go home and turn it off. You learn to prioritize and design your workflow so that one thing flows into another. In the emergency department, your patients are constantly changing and it’s pretty chaotic. Finding a way to control the chaos is oftentimes just a matter of organization. That’s how I’ve tried to handle Hypercare with clinical work, with administration, and with all the other things in life.
How being an emergency physician influences his work with Hypercare
When you’re a resident and you work over 100 hours a week, it definitely toughens you up. I’m no stranger to long hours and sleep deprivation. It also gives me deeper insight, which a lot of people working in healthcare technology don’t know. You can learn some things by observing from the outside. But actually providing patient care provides a much deeper connection.
Actually providing patient care provides a much deeper connection.
The number one thing I bring to Hypercare is domain expertise, knowing the inner workings, and knowing what’s inefficient. I can get an idea of why certain aspects are inefficient, identify barriers, and be really targeted when trying to implement change.
Being a physician has also taught me interpersonal skills. We get people from all walks of life and all states of mind. Some of them are not pleasant. There’s conflict. I’ve had to try negotiating with a guy who is high on meth and trying to fight everyone. I have to convince them that I’m there for their benefit and for a good outcome. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn’t. But nothing fazes me.
Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn’t. But nothing fazes me.
As an entrepreneur, you have to interact with a lot of different stakeholders and different people who may not share your day job or share your vision. But you can work together to achieve a common purpose and outcome.
What he looks for in choosing co-founders
Understanding the goal is number one. You have to both agree on what you’re actually trying to accomplish. Sometimes, you make assumptions and it seems like it’s a given. But when you really start pulling the threads apart, it’s not what you thought.
Understanding the goal is number one. You have to both agree on what you’re actually trying to accomplish.
Find someone who’s not like you. Albert and I operate very differently. I’m several years older than Albert, my life experience is different than his, and our approach to problems are very different. Oftentimes, that leads us to butt heads and have disagreements, even very passionate disagreements.
But it also broadens your perspective. Once you care passionately about something and you’re willing to stand up for those ideas, that’s where the discussion comes in. You don’t want someone who won’t push back on your ideas, who won’t challenge you. You need someone to be your check. If everyone thinks exactly the same way, either you’re all geniuses or you all have no idea what you’re doing. Our founding team balances each other out because we have different personalities and backgrounds.
Once you care passionately about something and you’re willing to stand up for those ideas, that’s where the discussion comes in.
How to resolve conflict
Resolving conflict is about finding common ground and saying: I see where you’re coming from. But may I add this thing? You need to understand how to present your ideas in a way that resonates.
Resolving conflict is about finding common ground and saying: I see where you’re coming from.
If we have an impasse, we need to recognize that we both want the same goal and need to work together to get there. So it’s a constant reframing of your ultimate goal, instead of fighting battles to get your way or to win. It’s very hard and I’m not perfect at it. But I think a lot of it is reflection and introspection. Why are we arguing about this? How do we find common ground, so we can at least set a foundation where we both agree? And then we go from there.
His biggest challenge as COO
The biggest challenge is keeping up with how fast the company has grown. We want to progress in a very short amount of time. My challenge is to stay on top of the company while practicing medicine. The COO needs to know what everyone is up to and develop relationships throughout the company. We employ a lot of students, so there’s some turnover and employees that come and go. That’s very challenging to keep up with.
How he’s grown in his role
You always want to be sensitive to where your team is. As a leader, you have an objective to achieve. You want to guide your team to implement things the way you think they should be done. But you should also be very sensitive to where the rest of the team is at and what they’re thinking, and be completely transparent.
You should also be very sensitive to where the rest of the team is at and what they’re thinking, and be completely transparent.
I used to avoid conflict at all costs. But I realized that it’s always worth it just to be frank. You don’t have to be rude, but you want to be open so that everyone knows exactly where you’re coming from. There are no surprises. I think people will respect you at the end of the day if there’s nothing hidden. If you want to run an organization, especially a small organization, everyone has to know what you’re thinking. Communication and being sensitive to your teammates is very important.
The best advice he’s received
I can’t think of a singular statement. But the general theme is: it’s going to be tough. It will always be tough. And if it isn’t tough one day, either your company has failed and there’s nothing left to fight for, or something is amiss. I have the mentality that it’s a grind. You want to embrace it. Frustrations are the point, and victories aren’t sweet unless you fought tooth and nail for them.
It will always be tough. And if it isn’t tough one day, either your company has failed and there’s nothing left to fight for, or something is amiss.
That keeps things in perspective. As an early stage startup, you will always have setbacks and things that are upsetting. But try to keep in mind that this is another story you can tell one day when things work out. Reframe it so you can continue to move forward and keep knocking on doors. That message of perseverance has been very important. Especially as someone who isn’t fresh out of school doing a startup, it helps me keep going.
His morning routine
My mornings can start at any time because of shift work. I typically do intermittent fasting, so I just drink a cup of water. I try to get some work done, and then when my dog wakes up, we go for a five or six kilometer run to tire him out. And then I go back to work. My life doesn’t fit a routine very well because of my shifts. But I like to be able to manipulate and play with all the different things I have to do.
His favorite software tool
I like Feedly. It’s an RSS feed digesting and collating app that allows me to read all my favorite things in one go. I also really like using Asana, the task-tracking app, because it helps me align with the team and allows us to collaborate in a very asynchronous manner.
Media recommendations
Something that I only recently found is a podcast called 99% Invisible. It does a deep dive on all the things that surround you and you don’t think twice about. Why is a stop sign octagonal? Who designed those arrows on the signs that tell you the road is about to bend? It talks about the history of ambulance services and the New York Public Library. It’s a very interesting podcast and the presenters are great, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I also really enjoy Reply All by Gimlet Media. It’s a bunch of guys talking about random things. Their demeanor is really entertaining and it’s something light-hearted that I can immerse myself in.
Question he wishes was asked more often
I think people should be asking themselves more often: why am I doing this? The answer could be as superficial or as deep as you want it to be. But a lot of people just do things, without thinking about the value or implications of what they’re doing.
I think people should be asking themselves more often: why am I doing this?
I work in healthcare administration and I know how complicated a hospital is. So I’m always one to simplify. My approach to life and work is always to ask: why am I doing this? What is the value of doing this?
As an extension, I also try to think of why someone else is doing something. That builds sensitivity and empathy to understand the other person and where they’re coming from. Then, if you have conflicts or interaction with them, you can better understand them.
At the end of the day, if you don’t have empathy, and you have to work with people in the manner that I do, it makes your life a million times harder. So if I get frustrated or caught in conflicts, I have to stop and ask myself: why am I having this reaction? Why am I doing these actions that may be counterproductive? Having that conscious check on yourself is really beneficial.
His advice for founders
You will always need to bring your A game. If you truly want to succeed, then you have to put everything you have into it. That sounds kind of funny for me, because I still practice medicine. But there’s an objective in my mind with Hypercare. Everything else gets a bit in, wherever it can. You always need to have that goal in mind, know what you want to accomplish, and go for it.
You will always need to bring your A game. If you truly want to succeed, then you have to put everything you have into it.
Hypercare came out of a frustration I felt on a daily basis. I sought to build something that could benefit me and my colleagues immediately, and it grew from there. So to the aspiring entrepreneurs and problem-solvers out there, my advice is: pick something that improves your life. I’m sure a lot of people share the same frustrations and problems. The problem you deal with initially is very near and dear to you. And no problem is too small.
To get updates on this series, please follow our publication on Medium.
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tsingyuan-ventures/
Follow us on Twitter: @TsingyuanVC
Tsingyuan Ventures is a $100M seed-stage technology firm. We back technical founders across software, life sciences, and frontier technologies. Learn more about our origin story and our approach here.
Questions, thoughts, reflections? Let us know in the comments below. We’re always looking for great entrepreneurs and early stage ideas, and we’re always interested in having a discussion about venture, technology, and anything related. To see more about Tsingyuan Ventures, please visit our website: tsingyuan.ventures.
