ZocDoc Founder Cyrus Massoumi: How I Secured Doctors After Over 1,000 Rejections

This is a clip from an interview with ZocDoc founder Cyrus Massoumi, conducted by Inc. magazine earlier this year. In it, he recounts the arduous early-stage efforts to secure physician partnerships for his company and offers advice to fellow entrepreneurs.

The video, originally titled “Persistence Is Your Only Companion,” may come across as mere “chicken soup for the soul” compared to VCBeat’s consistent commitment to delivering purely substantive, high-value content. Nevertheless, a dose of such inspirational fare is not unwelcome—it can be quite nourishing and beneficial!

In 2007, Massumi suffered a ruptured eardrum on a flight to New York. After landing, it took him a full four days to find a specialist willing to treat him. Many of the physicians listed by his insurance provider were unable to offer medical services; one had even passed away. (What a scam—Americans really have their ways of ripping people off.)

Such a poor healthcare experience was unbearable for Masoumi, who promptly co-founded ZocDoc with his partner. (Well, it’s great to be wealthy—you can just start a company on a whim.)

However, reality is always stark. Like most startups, the company struggled in its early days. Since it initially lacked a presentable website, Masumi used self-made PowerPoint slides that mimicked web pages to pitch to physicians, aiming to convince them that internet-based healthcare was the future of the industry.

But doctors weren’t buying it. Masumi had to visit physicians’ offices thousands of times—getting tossed out on several occasions by the “friendly security guards”—before he managed to sign up the first ten doctors for ZocDoc. (Just thinking about it brings a tear to one’s eye. Our editor did a quick calculation: even if you visited ten doctors’ offices per day, it would still take more than three months to reach 1,000 visits. Entrepreneurship is no easy feat; cherish every step of the journey.)

Afterwards, Massumi discussedThe Importance of Targeting the First Batch of Customers in the Early Stages of a Startup, basically the same as the standard for dating, just "Quality Over Quantity”, not just any customer segment will do; positioning must be precise, precise, and precise again!!! (Emphasizing this critical point three times)

Friends, tap the video above! To watch more videos on internet healthcare startups, don’t forget to follow VCBeat!!!

(P.S.: This "Little Ma Ge" (Ma Sumi) really has a distinctive charm.)

Text | John Wang