Physicians' Day | The 10 Hurdles Every Doctor Entrepreneur Must Overcome: A Tribute to Those on the Journey

To many, being a doctor is not just a “secure job,” but a “lucrative one.” Physicians enjoy high social status and substantial income, with virtually no risk of unemployment or layoff. This is a remarkably stable professional group, having little to do with entrepreneurship.

However, from an insider’s perspective, this is not entirely the case. Physicians are arguably among the most compassionate and idealistic professionals in the world, as they frequently witness immense patient suffering and the pain of separation and death, yet often feel powerless to intervene. It is common for doctors to remark that after entering the profession, they find the range of curable diseases becoming increasingly limited.

Meanwhile, doctors are acutely aware of the significant shortages and deficiencies in China’s current healthcare supply, which is utterly inadequate to meet the growing societal demand for medical services. Ultimately, everyone trapped in this predicament suffers immensely: patients complain about the difficulty and high cost of accessing care, physicians decry their heavy workloads and low incomes, and the government shakes its head, citing an unsustainable healthcare burden that it can no longer bear.

Despite the government’s continuous efforts to implement healthcare reforms to address this situation, progress has had to proceed step by step due to a multitude of considerations. This gradual pace has inspired some physicians to pursue entrepreneurship. They hope to improve healthcare through their own efforts, enhance patients’ medical experiences, and enable doctors to serve more patients more effectively. At the same time, they aim to earn income with integrity and pride. Of course, physicians’ foray into entrepreneurship is not driven by survival needs; yet, isn’t the essence of any entrepreneurial venture to pursue one’s passions while achieving financial success?

Favorable national policies supporting physician entrepreneurship have been frequently introduced. The Outline of the National Healthcare Service System Plan (2015–2020), issued by the General Office of the State Council in March 2015, explicitly stated that the establishment of individual clinics is not subject to planning and layout restrictions. In September of the same year, the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of a Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment System clearly encouraged physicians from urban hospitals at or above the secondary level to practice at multiple sites in primary healthcare institutions, vigorously promoted privately funded healthcare, simplified the approval procedures for individual medical practice, and encouraged qualified physicians to establish individual clinics.

In practice, the revised Implementation Rules for the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions, which came into effect on April 1, 2017, removed the provision from the original Implementation Rules that stated “medical personnel who are currently employed, have resigned due to illness, or are on unpaid leave from medical institutions shall not apply to establish medical institutions.” The lifting of this 24-year-old ban is regarded as having finally broken the shackles restricting physicians’ entrepreneurial ventures. Many share the view that a wave of physician-led entrepreneurship is quietly emerging.

However, entrepreneurship is far from simple. Physicians possess clinical experience, but as founders and leaders of an enterprise, they also require management skills. In the new wave of entrepreneurship in this era, physicians must also have capabilities in promotion, fundraising, and capital operations... They may even need to understand information technology, artificial intelligence, renovation, and customer relationship maintenance. This raises the question: which capabilities are truly indispensable for physicians embarking on entrepreneurial ventures? We have attempted to outline the top ten essential skills for physician entrepreneurs:

1. Professional Expertise: Sufficiently strong professional expertise is a prerequisite for any successful entrepreneurial venture. Whether you are a physician starting a business or opening a restaurant, you must excel in your core competencies to avoid failure in a competitive landscape. Medicine is a highly specialized industry that relies heavily on clinical diagnosis. While seasoned physicians with years of practice certainly possess ample professional expertise, novice doctors lacking sufficient practical experience would be better served by gaining hands-on experience within established medical institutions.

2. Stress Resilience and Courage: Frontline physicians may not lack stress resilience. However, the passive endurance of stress inherent in clinical practice is not entirely the same as the proactive stress tolerance required in entrepreneurship. By leaving behind the security of a stable medical career—the proverbial “iron rice bowl”—physicians embarking on entrepreneurial ventures must endure immense pressure and fear. Such pressure would overwhelm most individuals with normal stress resilience; therefore, only those with superior stress resilience are well-suited for entrepreneurship.

3. Ideals and Aspirations: Medicine is a unique profession. The initial motivation for most physicians to embark on entrepreneurship is undoubtedly their dissatisfaction with the current state of healthcare and their desire to effect change. Otherwise, why would they have chosen to study medicine to serve society? And why would they endure the hardship of leaving their medical careers to start businesses?

4. Management Capabilities: Prior to starting a business, physicians only needed to excel in their clinical duties. However, after embarking on entrepreneurship, physicians effectively become entrepreneurs, requiring them to master scientific management alongside their medical practice. Management is a complex discipline; regardless of the management approach adopted, it must be tailored to specific circumstances and is no less challenging than the study of medicine. Physician-entrepreneurs should actively acquire relevant knowledge and apply it in their daily operations.

5. Strategic Planning: Physician entrepreneurs must possess strategic planning capabilities to gain insights into the overall healthcare market and identify their own entrepreneurial opportunities. Meanwhile, they need to make choices among various options, such as specializing in a specific field versus practicing general medicine, or establishing a chain versus operating a single clinic, among others. More importantly, physician entrepreneurs must have a clear self-awareness, decompose strategic goals, and achieve them in stages and steps.

6. Networking and Team Building: As the saying goes, nobody is perfect; no one can excel in every aspect. Therefore, one of the best strategies is to identify like-minded individuals within an extensive professional network to build a team. A broad network is essential, whether for securing co-founders or raising capital. Furthermore, physician entrepreneurs should be mindful not to carry over the lack of collaborative spirit often found in traditional institutional settings into their startup ventures.

7. Extensive Learning: Physicians do not lack learning ability; indeed, many are top academic performers. However, the key question is whether they have the willingness to acquire the competencies they lack in entrepreneurship. These gaps often span diverse fields, such as legal knowledge, financial literacy, management expertise, marketing know-how, and strategic and tactical tools. To succeed in entrepreneurship, physicians must set aside their prior achievements in medicine and start learning anew.

8. Information Acquisition: After identifying their knowledge gaps, physicians aspiring to start businesses need to acquire expertise across broader domains. Only by accumulating sufficient knowledge can they develop keen industry insights and gain a thorough understanding of policies, thereby increasing the likelihood of entrepreneurial success.

9. Brand Promotion: For physicians within the public healthcare system, brand promotion may be an unfamiliar concept. However, the essence of a physician’s entrepreneurial venture remains the provision of a product or service. Therefore, how to enhance buyer market recognition of the product through brand promotion and public relations is a critical consideration for entrepreneurially minded physicians. The adage “good wine needs no bush” is no longer applicable in this era.

10. Capital Operations: Physician entrepreneurs need to possess a certain understanding of the capital market and the ability to engage with it; otherwise, they may struggle to find suitable investors, leading to a stalemate in their venture. Even after securing financing, careful consideration must be given to how the funds are utilized; failure to do so may result in fundamental disagreements and a divergence of interests between the investors and the physician founders, ultimately causing the venture to fail.

Above, we have summarized ten essential capabilities for physicians embarking on entrepreneurial ventures. However, practical experience speaks louder than theory. To this end, we interviewed several leading physician entrepreneurs to hear their perspectives on starting businesses in the medical field.

Dr. Zhang Qiang, as an insider within China’s public healthcare system, is a renowned expert in the field of vascular surgery and has established cardiovascular surgery departments at two hospitals in Zhejiang Province and one in Shanghai. As an outsider operating beyond the state-run system, he is the founder of China’s first physician group and a leading figure among freelance physicians in the country. Whether working within or outside the public system, Dr. Zhang has remained a pioneer in his field, demonstrating strong innovative capabilities. Consequently, when discussing entrepreneurial ventures by physicians, he maintains that innovation constitutes the primary significance of such endeavors.

He believes that physicians launching startups should not simply replicate the models used within the public healthcare system; instead, they should innovate and break new ground on that foundation. Physician-led ventures must aim to better meet societal needs. “An ideal startup should be innovative. If medical services are likened to products, then a physician’s startup should offer either a novel product or one that is superior to existing options.” After several years of entrepreneurial experience, Dr. Zhang Qiang has clearly gained a profound understanding of the essence of medical services.

The establishment of a physician group was also an innovation gradually developed by Dr. Zhang Qiang through his evolving understanding of capital and business models. For a year, Dr. Zhang observed collaborations with contracted institutions. He found that the management and operational demands of asset-heavy hospitals constituted a vast systemic undertaking, far beyond the expertise and control of a surgeon. Dr. Zhang gradually realized that an asset-light collaboration model, offering greater room for cost control, was the most suitable approach for him at the time.

In addition to innovation, Dr. Zhang Qiang believes that leadership is an essential capability for physicians embarking on entrepreneurial ventures. Aligning with the prevailing view, he holds that after years of study and rigorous training, physicians are by no means lacking in professional expertise or idealistic passion; however, they often exhibit significant deficiencies in other competencies. Consequently, attempting to launch a venture alone is virtually doomed to fail; instead, it is imperative to build a suitable team to advance collectively. Under these circumstances, leadership becomes particularly crucial. This perspective is likely influenced by Dr. Zhang’s identity as a surgical specialist. Much like in surgery, the lead surgeon must direct the anesthesiologists and nurses around the operating table. Critical decisions—such as whether to proceed with incision, how to manage hemorrhage, and other intraoperative contingencies—require the lead surgeon to make prompt and decisive judgments, which undoubtedly exemplifies leadership. Hence, it is evident from his previous statements that Dr. Zhang has consistently maintained that surgeons possess the inherent potential for successful entrepreneurship.

However, not all individuals with potential possess sufficient drive to act. Dr. Zhang Qian frankly acknowledged that entrepreneurship is arduous, requiring wholehearted dedication and strong mental resilience, as well as the courage to fight with one’s back to the wall. “If a physician is unwilling to give up their tenured position or certain vested interests, yet still wishes to embark on an entrepreneurial venture, I believe the likelihood of success is virtually zero. Even if such individuals do start a business, it may involve ethically ambiguous areas, which I do not advocate,” he advised physicians interested in entrepreneurship. “In such cases, I would recommend that they focus on their current roles and avoid excessive distractions that could compromise their professional performance. It is also possible to build a successful career within the public healthcare system, which represents another form of entrepreneurship.”

For physicians aspiring to start their own practices, Dr. Zhang Qiang also offered his advice. “If you are concerned about lacking sufficient capabilities, you can first join well-established institutions. Whether it is a physician group or another type of organization, the key is to gain experience and enhance your skills,” he added. “Once your capabilities have reached a certain level, you can make your own choice: whether to launch your own venture or grow alongside a platform. In fact, most platforms today allow for a form of co-entrepreneurship through stock options or equity participation once your expertise reaches a sufficiently high level.”

No entrepreneur can expect a smooth journey, and Dr. Zhang Qiang is no exception. In the early stages of the Dr. Zhang Qiang Medical Group, he made the mistake of overreaching by trying to do too much at once. At its peak during the startup phase, the group operated in more than five specialties, far exceeding the management capacity of the team at that time. Dr. Zhang Qiang and his management team reflected on their strategic planning, adjusted their objectives, and resolved to excel in their area of greatest expertise, aiming to establish a significant influence both in China and globally. “When pursuing an objective, we must adopt strategic thinking, break down the goal, and achieve it in phased steps,” he noted. Following these adjustments, the Dr. Zhang Qiang Medical Group has now become the leading brand in China for the treatment of lower extremity varicose veins.

Meanwhile, drawing on past experiences, Dr. Zhang Qiang also emphasized the importance of standardized management and the establishment of standard operating procedures. After all, individuals vary in their capabilities and areas of expertise. “Standardizing service workflows and implementing training mechanisms are essential foundations for physicians launching their own practices, yet they are often overlooked in the early stages. We were fortunate to identify and address this issue early on,” said Dr. Zhang Qiang. His remarks refer to the IP transformation strategy implemented by the Dr. Zhang Qiang Doctor Group since 2016, which shifted the brand focus from Dr. Zhang Qiang as an individual to the entire team. Although business performance initially declined significantly, the group quickly regained patient trust by standardizing its management, service workflows, and training mechanisms.

“Think thrice before you act, and act without hesitation; never forget your original aspiration, and forge ahead with determination.” After a moment’s reflection, Dr. Zhang Qiang offered these sixteen characters to physicians aspiring to start their own ventures—true to his style, every word was a gem.

Based in Chengdu, a major hub in southwest China, the Chuanpai Physician Group has drawn significant attention for its rapid development despite its relatively late establishment. Dr. Wang Jun, the founder and president, has played an instrumental role in this success. His twelve years of military service honed his exceptional technical skills, professional conduct, and mental resilience. When asked whether he had ever considered giving up during the entrepreneurial journey, he candidly stated that although he occasionally felt discouraged, he never contemplated quitting. Recently, at the 2019 Sichuan Province Veterans Employment and Entrepreneurship Stars Award Ceremony organized by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Wang Jun was honored with the title of “Most Influential Star in Employment and Entrepreneurship,” an accolade he truly deserves.

Dr. Wang Jun, who has already achieved considerable success in his entrepreneurial venture, remains grounded and maintains a clear-headed perspective. He emphasizes that the most critical factor for physicians embarking on entrepreneurship is the “wooden bucket principle,” which entails recognizing one’s weaknesses and possessing the ability to address them. In his view, physicians are by no means lacking in professional competence or compassion; however, they often fall short in other areas, such as stress resilience, team management, brand awareness, and the ability to engage with capital markets. These deficiencies require deliberate and targeted improvement. After all, practicing medicine previously required only excellence in one’s clinical duties, whereas entrepreneurship is an entirely different endeavor. Without the protective umbrella formerly provided by hospitals, entrepreneurs must account for every aspect of their business.

Finding like-minded expert partners from other fields can certainly yield twice the result with half the effort. Meanwhile, most physicians have a vague self-awareness before embarking on entrepreneurship; they take for granted that their strong professional competence and good interpersonal relationships will make starting a business an easy endeavor, completely unaware of their own shortcomings.

“Is your learning self-driven or taught by others? Do you passively listen, or do you actively seek to comprehend? Where exactly can one achieve professional growth?” Dr. Wang Jun emphasizes that physicians aspiring to start businesses must first recognize their own limitations and take the initiative to learn. “Many physicians are high achievers with strong aptitude. Most people never even raise these questions. It is like students who do not know which courses to take or how to proceed in their studies. Once this issue is resolved, the path forward becomes much easier.”

Regarding specific methods for improvement, Dr. Wang Jun also outlined concrete steps: First, obtain information through media platforms to strengthen your understanding of the industry. After identifying excellent platforms through these resources, engage in deliberate learning. “Whether through interaction or following accounts, if there are things you haven’t fully figured out, observe how others approach them.”

At the same time, Dr. Wang Jun also pointed out that it is very difficult for doctors to adapt to the shift in their professional identity as the market transitions from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market. This gap is particularly challenging for senior experts with strong clinical capabilities. “This morning, I met with two doctors who are planning to start their own businesses. To be honest, they do not lack technical expertise or passion; however, they clearly lack a sufficient understanding of business principles and an awareness of the psychological adjustments required by this change in professional identity. Many people fail to overcome these hurdles.”

The particular emphasis on these two aspects is also linked to the setbacks Dr. Wang Jun encountered in the early stages of his entrepreneurial venture. First, the cognitive adjustment required for his identity transition involved a painful phase: “For physicians starting businesses, there is a brand-building stage, which is inevitably a difficult period. I was puzzled at the time: when I was working within the public healthcare system, many patients had always trusted me and sought my care exclusively. Why did they become skeptical and choose not to consult me after I left the system? It should be noted that I was even more conscientious and responsible than before, with improved technical expertise. What accounted for this?”

“Now I’ve come to realize that it’s perfectly normal for patients not to follow you,” said Dr. Wang Jun, who has gained a clear understanding of this issue after going through this phase. “Patients’ decisions on where to seek medical care are based on multiple dimensions, not solely on the physician factor. For instance, large hospitals offer more advanced equipment and opportunities for collaboration with other specialists. When a patient chooses to consult you, their decision is supported by various underlying factors. Once these supporting factors no longer hold true, patients will naturally begin to hesitate. Once you understand this dynamic and devise solutions accordingly, things become much easier to manage. If you fail to grasp this, you’ll remain plagued by doubts and won’t be able to do your job well.”

As for business acumen, Dr. Wang Jun also has lessons to share. He noted that physicians often lack sufficient professional expertise in business and are completely unfamiliar with its intricacies: “Some capital is at the angel round, some at later stages, and some at mid-stages. How could I have understood these concepts before? For early-stage entrepreneurs like us, negotiating with late-stage investors means we are not on the same wavelength, which wastes both parties’ time and leaves you feeling frustrated. Only through personal experience can one truly understand these dynamics.”

“Starting a business is difficult for doctors, but it is also something that must be done. Often, the difficult things and the necessary things are one and the same.” For doctors aspiring to become entrepreneurs, Dr. Wang Jun offered this advice: “If you have thought it through completely, press forward without hesitation; if you haven’t, do not step out.”

“Don’t even think about starting a business unless your illness has reached a certain severity,” Dr. Wang Yu, founder and general manager of Yu Boshi, remarked with a mix of humor and sincerity when asked by the reporter at the end of the interview to offer a piece of advice to physicians considering entrepreneurship. A highly popular pediatric specialist among local parents of patients and the recipient of numerous personal honors, Dr. Wang is a quintessential Chongqing woman—decisive and forthright, unafraid to express love or hate; she is as willing to debate medical truths in her social media circle as she is to share self-deprecating, humorous anecdotes about life as a physician. As the founder of Yu Boshi Pediatrics, the first pediatric chain clinic in Southwest China, what are Dr. Wang’s views on physicians embarking on entrepreneurial ventures?

“Doctors are not gods; they cannot possess capabilities in every aspect.” When asked by a reporter to identify the most critical capability for physicians embarking on entrepreneurial ventures, Dr. Wang Yu responded, “I believe one of the most important capabilities for physician entrepreneurs is the ability to find resources that complement their own skill sets; all other capabilities are illusory.”

In her view, the non-medical competencies required for physicians to launch startups are areas where they often have shortcomings that can only be addressed through prolonged accumulation of experience. Expecting physicians to bridge these gaps solely through their own efforts is likely to make entrepreneurial success a distant prospect. Instead, the likelihood of startup success increases significantly by building a team with complementary skills and shared vision after defining the entrepreneurial direction.

“The biggest challenge for physicians starting businesses is not a lack of capability, but rather their inaccurate self-perception. Many doctors believe that having superior medical skills is sufficient. They assume the market will embrace them and patients will approve, making their entrepreneurial journey undoubtedly bright. In reality, it is nothing like that,” Dr. Wang Yu commented incisively. “The greatest pitfall for physician entrepreneurs is the belief that medicine can solve all problems. That is the biggest trap!”

In her view, there is a significant difference between being a physician and being an entrepreneur-physician. The former requires only the application of one’s medical expertise, while non-clinical factors surrounding medical practice—including brand promotion, operations, strategic planning, and product design—are typically shouldered by the hospital’s administrative departments on behalf of physicians. Although assembling a suitable team can spare entrepreneur-physicians from needing to be jacks-of-all-trades (which is admittedly unrealistic), they should still possess a basic understanding of these competencies, recognize their importance, and be willing to support their partners’ efforts, even if they cannot delve into them in depth.

“For example, in operations, I may not be familiar with the specific tactics involved, but I at least recognize that operations are critical and require my support. Although I cannot perform direct operational tasks, I can provide operational support by delivering professional medical content,” Wang Yu cited this example to illustrate the importance of team collaboration. “Many physicians fail to understand the process of proactively engaging with patients, sharing their expertise to build trust, and thereby uncovering business opportunities.”

Dr. Wang Yu advises physicians aspiring to launch startups to adopt a humble and inquisitive mindset as soon as the entrepreneurial idea takes root. “Initially, you may not even know how to ask the right questions; simply listen to their stories of success or failure. Gradually, you will learn how to formulate questions—such as why things unfolded in a particular way—as your understanding of the matter deepens.” Through engaging with entrepreneurs and experts, Dr. Wang quickly gained a clear self-assessment and identified ways to complement her own skill set. She realized that going it alone is impractical and that building a suitable team is essential for moving forward.

However, the complexities of human nature taught Wang Yu a harsh lesson through brutal reality. When Dr. Yu’s Pediatric Chain established its first clinic, the entire team lacked experience. In designing the business model, they focused solely on commercial logic without accounting for human factors, resulting in unclear divisions of rights and responsibilities and ineffective oversight. Consequently, one of the partners was poached by others to set up a competing venture, forcing the temporarily closure of this initially promising clinic. “At that time, our clinic had a total of 11 doctors and nurses. After this incident, only the store manager remained; everyone else resigned. We founders huddled together, weeping bitterly. It was truly painful,” Wang Yu recalled vividly this failure.

“What moved me deeply was that, when problems arose, no one on the team shirked responsibility or blamed each other. Instead, everyone rallied to support another store, working around the clock for a week to get it up and running. After that battle, I felt confident that there was no difficulty I couldn’t overcome,” summarized Dr. Wang Yu, reflecting on the lessons learned. “With this experience in mind, we now ensure that human factors are fully considered in our design process.”

“Physicians embarking on entrepreneurship must adhere to fundamental principles; staking one’s entire livelihood and life on a venture is not courage but recklessness.” As a female entrepreneur, Dr. Wang Yu deeply understands the ambivalence and apprehension some physicians feel toward starting businesses. In her view, through various partnership models—such as Hive Partners, Single-Store Partners, and Project Partners—physicians with entrepreneurial aspirations can now grow alongside platforms in a gradual manner with relatively lower risk, thereby completing their transition from clinicians to entrepreneurs. “This collaborative entrepreneurship model allows physicians, who often serve as the primary breadwinners for their families, to alleviate their burdens and leverage their medical expertise. It is crucial to recognize that once commercial motives infiltrate the clinical diagnosis and treatment process, the practice deviates from its proper course.”

“Entrepreneurship is no laughing matter. You need a robust physique and boundless energy, even the readiness to work 24 hours a day. Do not believe the lie that you can balance family and career; no one is spared from this plight,” Dr. Wang Yu earnestly advised physicians aspiring to start their own ventures. Finally, half-jokingly yet seriously, she added, “Unless you’re driven to the brink of desperation, never embark on entrepreneurship.”

On August 19, 2019, we welcomed the second “Chinese Doctors’ Day.” We would like to say “Happy Doctors’ Day” to all physicians; we owe you so much.

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has prepared this article in the hope of assisting physicians. Whether you choose to embark on an entrepreneurial journey or decide against it to serve patients in the manner best suited to your expertise, we remain committed to standing by your side.

For physician entrepreneurs, this is a golden age. May your entrepreneurial journey go from strength to strength:

Cui Yutao

Chairman of Beijing Cui Yutao Children's Health Management Center Co., Ltd.

Dr. Cui Yutao is a nationally influential expert in the field of children’s health. His years of public education on child health have earned him immense popularity and attracted significant interest from investors. When the time was right, Dr. Cui realized, “The moment has come to devote myself fully to my own vision.” What he aims to build is a comprehensive parenting ecosystem. Since its establishment four years ago, Yuxueyuan has secured tens of millions of U.S. dollars in financing.

Duan Tao

Founder of Shanghai Chuntian Hospital Management Co., Ltd.

A renowned expert in obstetrics and gynecology, a national discipline leader, a hospital administrator, and an internet pioneer. On January 25, 2017, Duan Tao stepped down as the President of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Health Hospital. During his tenure, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Health Hospital was the hospital with the highest number of deliveries in China for four consecutive years and was also the most proactive in embracing the internet. In June 2017, he announced his entrepreneurial venture by founding Shanghai Chuntian Hospital Management Co., Ltd. At a VCBeat conference, Duan Tao stated that entrepreneurs should not always aim to compete directly with public hospitals and existing enterprises, as some of these entities have already established barriers. The starting point should be to offer services that differ from existing ones; survival is possible through complementarity. Engaging in direct competition from the outset may allow for survival, but at a significant cost, requiring core competitiveness.

Yu Ying

Beijing Shui'an Youlin Clinic, founded by him/her, has joined the Penguin Almond Group.

At the VCBeat Future Healthcare 100 Conference, Yu Ying stated that many people open clinics not merely for profit, but driven by ideals and passion. For me, the reason for opening a clinic is simple. When I resigned in 2013, I declared my intention to establish a clinic; therefore, I am determined to stay the course no matter how difficult it becomes. Although my 13 years of experience at Peking Union Medical College Hospital are now in the past, all my philosophies and steadfast beliefs actually stem from my time there.

Ou Qian

Founder of Zhibei Medical

In an interview with the media, Ou Qian once stated, “Entrepreneurship is not an easy path.” Before deciding to start a business, young doctors must carefully consider whether they possess sufficient stress resilience, the confidence to grow rapidly, and ample energy along with the ability to proactively and quickly learn. The entrepreneurial journey presents obstacles that must be overcome, such as human resources, finance, management, and communication with various entities including industry and commerce administrations and health supervision agencies—experiences entirely absent from their time within the established system. Although Ou Qian experienced immense anxiety when she first embarked on her entrepreneurial venture, she advises that if you have thoroughly considered these issues and still feel compelled to proceed, then go for it!

To all the physicians embarking on their entrepreneurial journeys: we salute you!