Have you ever felt the pressure to follow a traditional career path, even when your gut tells you to forge a different one? For many doctors, the path is clear: train, practice, repeat. But what happens when your passion for impact extends beyond the bedside? This episode features one of the leading physician innovators who faced this exact dilemma and made the difficult choice to leave clinical practice for a career in technology and venture capital. We explore the emotional and professional challenges of stepping away from a traditional medical career and how that pivot can lead to an even greater scale of impact.

In this deep-dive conversation, Dr. Rebecca Mitchell, Co-founder and Managing Director of Scrub Capital, shares her incredible journey. We begin with her upbringing in rural Wisconsin, where early experiences with a strained healthcare system and personal loss due to medical errors ignited her passion to innovate in care delivery. Dr. Mitchell discusses the pivotal moment during medical school at UCSF when she realized her true calling was not in day-to-day practice but in building systems to scale medical expertise. This led her to a successful career in digital health product leadership, where she was instrumental in scaling remote patient monitoring programs at companies like Validic with Kaiser Permanente and, most notably, Livongo. At Livongo, she helped expand the company from a single-condition diabetes platform to a multi-condition service that treated over 10 million patients, showcasing the immense impact physician innovators can have in the tech industry.

Now, Dr. Mitchell is channeling that experience into her next chapter with Scrub Capital, a venture capital firm built on a powerful thesis: that early-stage health tech startups are more successful when guided by a diverse community of clinician investors. She explains how Scrub Capital functions, its focus on pre-seed to Series A companies, and its unique "community pitch" process that involves dozens of clinicians in the investment evaluation. This conversation provides an invaluable look at the burgeoning world of clinician-led venture capital and offers practical advice for doctors considering alternative career paths for physicians. Dr. Mitchell’s story is a compelling case study for any medical professional who believes their impact can be amplified through technology, business, and embracing a nonlinear career.

Timestamps:
(00:00) The Modern Dilemma for Physician Innovators
(01:29) Introducing Scrub Capital: A Clinician-Led Venture Capital Firm
(03:52) Dr. Mitchell's Origin Story: From Rural Healthcare to a Global Mission
(06:06) The Turning Point: Navigating the Difficult Decision to Leave Clinical Practice
(14:05) Lessons in Digital Health Product Leadership: A Livongo Case Study
(17:43) The Scrub Capital Thesis: The Value of a Diverse Clinician Community
(21:18) Inside the Investment Process: How Scrub Capital Evaluates Startups
(25:11) Does Scrub Capital Invest in Biotech and Drug Development?
(26:09) Advice for Aspiring Physician Innovators: Embracing Risk and the Nonlinear Path
(27:35) Final Thoughts