In this episode, I sit down with the brilliant and down-to-earth Dr. David Canes—a practicing urologist who found himself burned out, uninspired, and stuck in the repetitive rhythm of clinic visits. But instead of staying stuck, he did something a lot of us dream about—he turned a real-life clinical inefficiency into a business. And get this—he didn’t start with a formal pitch deck or MBA, just a Loom video and a whole lot of curiosity.

We dive deep into David’s transition from full-time clinician to founder of WellPrept, a patient education platform built to enhance physician-patient conversations and reduce redundancy in clinic. We talk risk aversion in medicine, developing an MVP on zero budget, the underestimated value of physician creativity, and how to know when it’s time to pursue an idea that just won’t leave you alone. If you’ve ever wondered how to spot a startup-worthy problem in your own practice or what it really takes to build software from scratch—this one’s for you.

Dr. Canes was born in South Africa, and spent most of his life growing up in New England. He attended Yale University as an undergraduate, followed by medical school at Cornell, then Urology residency at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA. After a 1 year laparoscopy and robotics fellowship at Cleveland Clinic he returned to the Boston area where he has stayed ever since. He is Associate Professor at Tufts University, and his clinical work mostly centers on minimally invasive oncology. After a personal burnout struggle, now he deeply enjoys talking about strategies and tactics that help doctors work more efficiently. This passion led to founding WellPrept, a health technology company aimed at helping doctors work smarter. He is a father of 5 boys, and enjoys playing guitar if he has a spare minute.

Episode Highlights:

[1:00] Getting to know Dr. David Canes—his journey from South Africa to urology and how safety shaped his early career path.
[3:15] Why physicians are wired to be risk-averse and how that impacts our startup mindset.
[6:55] The moment David realized repeating the same patient education daily was an opportunity—not just a frustration.
[9:40] Creating his first MVP with a Loom video + a PDF—no budget, just brainpower.
[12:46] How WellPrept was born out of necessity, and the surprising validation from colleagues.
[17:06] The power of looking for problems with the intention to solve them—David’s advice for mindset shifts.
[22:07] Starting without an MBA or tech background—how curiosity and passion fueled the process.
[28:20] Why co-developing software became one of his favorite parts of the startup journey.
[34:01] From prototype to paying customer—how he validated the idea before fully building.
[38:56] Balancing clinical practice and startup life—and when it starts to tip.
[42:16] David’s final words of encouragement for physicians who are on the edge of taking the leap.

Resources:

• Learn more about WellPrept: www.wellprept.com
• Follow David on X (formerly Twitter): @CanesDavid
• Book mentioned: Obviously Awesome by April Dunford
• AI tools for development: Replit, Cursor, Vercel V0

Checkout our services at StartupPhysicians.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast, rate, and leave a review. Don’t forget to share this episode with fellow physicians who might be interested in startups. Together, we can shape the future of healthcare! See you next time.