We are thrilled to welcome Brandon Welch, the visionary founder and CEO of Doxy.me on Bright Founders Talk podcast. In this conversation, we dive into the compelling journey of an entrepreneur who merged science with technology to revolutionize telemedicine. Brandon's story began over a decade ago as a PhD student searching for a simple, free video solution for doctors to consult with patients, steering clear of the expensive and complex systems available at the time. The creation of Doxy.me was not just a necessity but a serendipitous blend of necessity and innovation, providing HIPAA-compliant telemedicine services that are accessible to over a million providers across 176 countries today. 

Throughout our discussion, Brandon shares the insights from his unique journey, his entrepreneurial spirit inherited from a lineage of business-minded family members, and his passion for healthcare and technology. We explore how Doxy.me became a global leader in telemedicine, especially amidst the transformative times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brandon's narrative is not just about creating a product but about envisioning and executing a solution that impacts millions globally.

From PhD Project to Telemedicine Titan: Brandon Welch’s Journey with Doxy.me

Brandon Welch’s journey into the world of telemedicine began more out of necessity than pure entrepreneurial drive. Sitting in his study group, frustrated with the expensive and cumbersome options available for video consultations, Brandon saw a gap that needed filling. “There's got to be a way to bring these two together,” he mused, reflecting on the hard choice between high-cost systems and non-compliant simple solutions like Skype or FaceTime. This dilemma birthed Doxy.me, initially a side project fueled by student grants, which eventually blossomed into a major telemedicine platform when the world was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doxy.me’s growth trajectory is as inspiring as it is impressive. Starting with a handful of users, the platform now supports over a million healthcare providers in 176 countries. Brandon shared, “We just released the product to the world and said, we'll see what happens.” What happened next was nothing short of remarkable. As the pandemic escalated, healthcare providers globally turned to Doxy.me for its simplicity and accessibility, catapulting the platform to facilitate over nine billion minutes of telemedicine consultations.

One might wonder if Brandon always envisioned himself steering a tech enterprise. “I always had that entrepreneurial gene,” he explains, tracing his lineage back to a family of business owners. Despite originally pursuing science, Brandon's innate desire to innovate and lead found its true expression in the confluence of healthcare and technology. His approach to running Doxy.me mirrors his deep-seated entrepreneurial spirit, blending strategic leadership with a hands-on involvement in design and user experience—a testament to his belief in the power of technology to transform lives.

Navigating Stormy Seas: Brandon Welch on Steering Doxy.me Through Challenges and Change

Brandon Welch has always seen the myriad challenges of running a business as part of the entrepreneurial thrill. "No business is ever smooth sailing," he admits, laying bare the realities of entrepreneurship filled with stormy seas and unforeseen tsunamis. Welch’s journey with Doxy.me has been anything but predictable, navigating everything from early financial struggles to legal battles with investors, and a rapid scale-up of the team from six to 120 employees in just a few months due to the sudden demand spike caused by COVID-19.

The growth pains did not stop at scaling up; the company also faced technical hurdles. As Doxy.me expanded, it encountered the need to overhaul its decade-old technology to keep up with modern demands. This meant a complete refactoring of their codebase while simultaneously managing a geographically dispersed team, including several employees based in Ukraine during the onset of the war. Welch describes the constant readiness for the next challenge as crucial, noting, "It's just being ready for the next challenge... knowing how to navigate that."

Perhaps most interestingly, Welch touches on the integration of AI in healthcare, a sector historically slow in adopting new technologies. Despite the conservative nature of the field, he is optimistic about the potential benefits of AI, especially in enhancing the efficiency of medical consultations through automated documentation and proactive health risk assessments. “We're going to enable it, we're going to support it," Welch states, showcasing his proactive stance toward inevitable technological evolutions that could redefine the landscape of telemedicine. This blend of foresight and adaptability underscores Welch's ability to turn potential disruptions into opportunities, steering Doxy.me into a future where technology meets healthcare more seamlessly than ever.

Ready for the Next Wave: How Doxy.me is Preparing for Future Global Health Crises

Brandon Welch reflects on the tumultuous times during the onset of COVID-19 and how it tested the mettle of his telemedicine platform. At the peak of the pandemic, Doxy.me saw a staggering influx of 32,000 providers in a single day—a number that dwarfed their entire pre-pandemic user base. “We were just hanging on for dear life,” Brandon recounts, describing the scramble to accommodate the sudden spike in demand. The experience was a crucible moment, burning into the team the importance of readiness and resilience.

The seismic shifts brought by the pandemic have fundamentally altered Doxy.me's approach to scalability and crisis management. Having survived what Brandon calls a "tsunami" of new users, the platform has since fortified its technical infrastructure. “I think if we got that same amount of traffic today, we wouldn't have those same outages,” he confidently states. This newfound robustness isn’t just about adding more servers; it’s a comprehensive enhancement of their monitoring systems and overall preparedness, positioning them to handle sudden surges more adeptly.

Looking beyond crisis response, Brandon also sheds light on the competitive landscape of telemedicine. The industry is seeing a significant consolidation, with Doxy.me emerging as a major player alongside giants like Zoom. This tightening market has funneled more users towards Doxy.me, drawn by its HIPAA-compliant solutions and ongoing innovations in video telemedicine. Brandon's narrative underscores a clear vision for the future, focused not just on surviving the next crisis but thriving through continuous improvement and strategic foresight.

Global Teamwork in the Spotlight: Brandon Welch Discusses Managing Doxy.me's International Operations

Managing a global team spread across continents is no small feat, and for Brandon Welch of Doxy.me, it’s a daily reality enriched with challenges and opportunities. While half of the company’s workforce resides in the US, focusing primarily on sales and customer support, the other half, including most of the engineering and tech design talent, is based in the EU and UK. This geographical distribution leverages the strengths of each region but comes with its own set of complexities. “It makes it a little easier because they’re kind of co-located close to each other in the same timezone,” Brandon explains, highlighting how strategic placement helps streamline operations despite the distance.

The crux of managing such a dispersed team, however, lies in fostering team unity and spontaneous collaboration, which Brandon admits can be challenging when everyone is working from home. The lack of physical proximity means fewer serendipitous interactions that often lead to innovation. To combat this, Doxy.me hosts regular gatherings in various hubs, turning to video calls for daily interactions to maintain a sense of connection. “We try to compensate with more meetings and I end up traveling quite a bit,” Brandon shares, underscoring the effort it takes to keep the team cohesive and aligned.

Brandon’s hands-on approach extends to cultivating a down-to-earth leadership style, aiming to bridge the gap between him and his employees. He strives to be approachable, regularly holding one-on-ones with team members across the globe. “It’s definitely an investment of time, but there’s some really incredible people in the company, and I wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t get a chance to meet them,” he reflects. This personal touch has not only demystified the CEO’s role but has also positively impacted the company’s employee Net Promoter Score, fostering a deeper engagement with the company’s vision and strategy.

Rusana Shkaraban

Podcast Host at Temy

Are you ready to peel back the layers and uncover the real story behind industry leaders’ success? As a Podcast Host and Writer at Bright Founders Talk, that’s exactly what I’m here to do. Whether the journey was smooth sailing or filled with bumps in the road, I’m here to get our guests to remove the smoke and mirrors and share their authentic experiences. We all have a story to tell, and my job is to get to the nitty-gritty of it all, picking their brains to reveal secrets to their success.