Physician Entrepreneurship in Residency: Building a Startup While Training with Dr. Daniella Dennis

Many physicians don’t fully understand the contracts they sign when starting their careers.

In this episode of the Startup Physicians Podcast, Dr. Alison Curfman speaks with Dr. Daniella Dennis, an emergency medicine resident at the University of Connecticut and founder of Payscope MD, an AI platform designed to help physicians better understand employment contracts and salary benchmarks.

Daniella started building her company during intern year of residency after realizing how complex physician contracts are—and how expensive legal reviews can be for graduating residents.

Instead of waiting until the “perfect time,” she leveraged no-code AI tools to build a minimum viable product and start gathering feedback from physicians.

In this conversation, we discuss:
– Why physician contracts are often difficult to understand
– How AI may help physicians identify contract red flags
– Building a startup while still in medical training
– Why MVPs and user feedback matter more than perfection
– How physicians can leverage their clinical skills in entrepreneurship
– Why early-career doctors may actually have an advantage in innovation

Dr. Dennis also shares how posting one TikTok video helped her connect with mentors in health tech—and how simply getting started can open unexpected doors.

If you’ve ever wondered whether physicians can become founders—or whether it’s “too early” in your career to start something—this episode will challenge that assumption.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Introduction to Dr. Daniella Dennis
02:00 – The Idea Behind Payscope MD
05:10 – Building an AI Startup Without a Technical Background
08:40 – Why MVPs and Feedback Matter in Startups
12:30 – Why Early Career Physicians Should Build in Health Tech
17:50 – Advice for Doctors Who Want to Start Something

RESOURCES:
Payscope MD — https://www.get-payscope.com
Startup Physicians — https://www.startupphysicians.com

Connect with Daniella:
X: @payscopeMD
Linkedln:@GetPayScopeMD
Linkedln: @Daniella Dennis
www.theresidentfounder.com
Instagram: @Daniella_DoubleD