Beth Ann Lopez is the co-founder and CEO of Docosan, which raised a $1M seed this year. Before Docosan, she was the Vietnam Country Ambassador for Galen Growth and Director of Public Affairs at SwipeRx.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

A full-time problem-solver and saleswoman!

Docosan is all about making healthcare easy and accessible for people in emerging markets. Our website and app make it super simple for people to get all kinds of care at the touch of a button.

But behind all that is a ton of work. Building up a platform and a provider network requires a lot of time and attention to detail — solving dozens of potential issues every single day.

The saleswoman part refers to telling Docosan's story to customers, staff, investors, etc… People often don't realize how big a part of the job this is as CEO, but I love it!

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

People may be surprised that I have a scientific background: my undergrad degree is in biochemistry, and I fully intended to go to medical school after doing well on the MCAT.

I got into healthtech startups because of the potential impact: I wanted to change things on a more systemic level.

I was also inspired by my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cambodia, where I worked at a rural health center and learned to speak Khmer fluently. I wanted the opportunity to help millions of people get great healthcare through tech.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

The biggest highlight so far was seeing Docosan reach hundreds of thousands of users. It sounds quite technical, but knowing that behind every user is a real-life healthcare story gives me great validation in terms of the impact we've had.

For example, an early user got good quality knee surgery for the first time after years of botched operations. It also feels like a highlight because of how often I'd been told that no one in Vietnam would ever buy healthcare online!

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

This year, I'm watching the D2C online healthcare space closely. Docosan is ramping up our own D2C platform, so I am curious how other startups are doing.

Right now, the big players are largely US-focused, but we are betting on this trend building up in emerging markets.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

I would tell fledgling entrepreneurs to dive right in and trust your gut.

There are so many experts, lawyers, consultants and others who are happy to charge big fees for advice that doesn't actually pan out in the real world.

I would also encourage entrepreneurs to forge close ties with other founders to get the inside scoop on how to do business, find investors, etc.

🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

I can definitely talk for days about the systemic problems and opportunities in emerging markets healthcare!

Outside of work, one of my favorite topics of conversation is travel. I've been fortunate to live in several countries, and I love talking about different places and ways of seeing things. Also, dogs.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

The Queen's Gambit, because I love playing chess and liked seeing the story of a highly skilled and successful woman in a male-dominated field, even if it's fictional.

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

Oreo Mint. So good!