【Origin Stories - Beth Lopez, Founder of Docosan AW#21】
Becoming a doctor was all I wanted to do growing up. It was the focal point of my identity for the majority of my upbringing. That all changed when I graduated from university and went to the peace corps.
I was sent to Cambodia, and ultimately fell in love with the place. It was so peaceful. The people were incredibly kind, but many of them lacked access to very basic necessities like healthcare--something I witnessed firsthand while living and working in a health center of this small, rural community.
It was supposed to be open 24/7 and serve as the main medical services hub for all the surrounding villages. In reality, it was only open for 2 hours a day. There were doctors on site, but many of them were just using the center as a way to get referrals to their private clinics. There wasn’t even running water, so many of the kids had gastrointestinal diseases.
The root cause of all this? Poor public health policy. Experiencing that firsthand made me realize that there was something I cared more about than becoming a doctor. After going back to school to get a masters in public health and working in a SG-based healthcare startup for a few years, I decided to set off on my own and start Docosan.
I took a huge risk and poured all of my savings into the company, accompanied by many sleepless nights in the early days. Things were tight. We even worked out of a closet-sized office space on top of a dog cafe at one point. We’ve since raised a round of fundraising and built up promising early traction, with many positive testimonials from patients and doctors.
We still face hurdles every single day but the opportunity is huge. We are changing the way people access healthcare for the better. I can say with 100% conviction that there's nothing I'd rather be doing.
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Docosan (AW#21) is a digital platform that allows patients in Vietnam to seamlessly find, compare, and book healthcare practitioners. They’re currently working with 550 doctors, with over 75,000 patients having now used their platform to discover and book appointments. For other startups targeting AI/Blockchain/NFT/SEA, applications for AW#23 are now open: https://bit.ly/3fE0cC6
