Overcoming the Doubt: Bias Towards Action

In this episode, medical education entrepreneur Shiv Gaglani and our host Dr. Eric Gantwerker discuss the founding, journey, and acquisition of Osmosis, a leading medical education platform.

Shiv starts by sharing the impetus behind Osmosis: He and classmate/co-founder Ryan Haynes were medical students at Johns Hopkins, and they wanted to find an efficient way to study high-yield topics for their exams. What started as a text-based question bank for classmates evolved into an app and a video learning platform that millions of healthcare students use today. The co-founders took a leave of absence from medical school to dedicate energy towards building up Osmosis into the comprehensive platform that it is today.

His advice? "Medicine is not always the most forward-looking field. Don't be discouraged by the masses who are not ready for your product. Find your true fans and keep focusing on improving your content."

We track Osmosis through its growth at a tech incubator and its decision to pursue a content-driven marketing strategy. Shiv explains his reasoning for pursuing an MBA and how his business professors became seed round investors. He advises all entrepreneurs to be self-aware and know how to play up their strengths. This outlook has helped him form B2B institutional partnerships with medical schools, companies, and government organizations. He also explains “vapor testing,” or launching a marketing campaign before a product is actually available, in order to generate interest in a target demographic.

Finally, Shiv describes the process of being acquired by publishing company Elsevier. A key mindset is to treat similar companies not as competition, but as potential collaborators. Keeping an open mind and staying in contact with similar individuals in the industry can lead to a wide range of future opportunities.