Balancing Medical Practice and Entrepreneurship

Yelizaveta "Lisa" Shnayder, MD, Eric A. Gantwerker, MD, MMSc, Jennifer A. Villwock, MD, and Elizabeth J. Franzmann, MD

The following article provides highlights from and expands upon the Panel Presentation "Key to a Successful Side Hustle: Balancing the Continued Practice of Medicine with Entrepreneurship," presented at the AAO-HNSF 2024 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. A webcast of the lecture is also available on OTO Logic, the AAO-HNSF learning platform.

Physicians are uniquely positioned to succeed as entrepreneurs in starting companies that might be related or unrelated to clinical care. Many physicians find their work in the business space as a stimulating way to diversify their medical careers, prevent burnout, help patients and educate trainees, and demonstrate to the medical community how to deliver innovative business solutions outside of traditional clinical pathways while continuing to practice clinical medicine.

Moderator Lisa Shnayder, MD, immediate past Chair of the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) Section, led the session highlighting each panelist's experiences with founding and running businesses outside of their medical practice. Each panelist discussed their approach to successfully developing and launching their ventures. They discussed key resources to leverage, important legal and institutional requirements to navigate, best practices, pitfalls, and more. Here, we provide key tips from each of the panelists.

Full registrants to the 2024 Annual Meeting who missed the session have access to the full webcast on OTO Logic, the AAO-HNSF education platform. Members who did not attend the Annual Meeting can also purchase individual session webcasts for CME credit.

Jennifer A. Villwock, MD, is an innovator in smell research and a developer of the AROMA (Affordable, Rapid, Olfactory Measurement Array) smell kit, which was a finalist in the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging (NIA) Start-Up Challenge for small business technology transfer funding. The NIA Start-Up Challenge is an immersive and rewarding two-stage, five-month accelerator program for early-stage entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas for science-driven technologies and products that have the potential to increase the diversity of NIA-funded small business research and development.

During the Annual Meeting session, Dr. Villwock focused on the legal and ethical implications of developing a start-up business at an academic institution. She highlighted the need to balance protecting your intellectual property while publishing your research and disseminating scientific information. In the same vein, she advised potential entrepreneurs to apply for intellectual property protection early in the process and before your idea reaches public domain.

Eric A. Gantwerker, MD, MMSc, is a pediatric otolaryngologist who is passionate about teaching residents and medical students using surgical simulation. He discovered that video games can be a creative outlet for making education enjoyable for learners while employing technology to learn a variety of clinical topics beyond otolaryngology. As the medical director of a company producing games for medical education, Dr. Gantwerker offered participants advice on wide-ranging business skills and knowledge—from how to secure funding, requirements for registering your business, formalizing your role within the company as it grows, legal requirements when bringing your venture to a new academic institution, and more.

Dr. Gantwerker advised would-be entrepreneurs to assemble their legal team early in the process of starting a new company, preferably as soon as you have a viable idea. Educate yourself in all aspects of running a company including business acumen, marketing promotions, and legal requirements. Though, you can later decide to limit your involvement solely to the medical and/or scientific aspects of the business. He also advised physician–entrepreneurs to understand the legal and financial implications of bringing your existing start-up venture to a new institution of employment by contacting the organization's technology transfer office.

Elizabeth J. Franzmann, MD, is the scientific founder and chief scientific officer of a biomedical startup company. According to Dr. Franzmann, disciplined time management strategies are a necessity for becoming a successful start-up entrepreneur while maintaining an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery practice. "If you still enjoy [your entrepreneurial work], do not give it up too early," advises Dr. Franzmann. "Be thoughtful and honest with yourself and your leadership about protecting your time to work on your scientific pursuits."

Said moderator Dr. Shnayder, “The [Annual Meeting] panel was highly interactive and incorporated audience questions as well as stories of the members' own experiences in starting small business operations, lessons they learned along the way, and things they wished they had known at the beginning of their journeys. We hope participants walked away feeling confident in the strengths physicians bring the healthcare startup space.”

Interested in the Latest Innovations in Simulation Education?

The Simulation Showcase at the 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO will provide an opportunity for simulation scholars to demonstrate their innovative otolaryngology simulators, projects, and curricula. Come watch the top three most innovative simulation project authors present to a panel of expert judges and compete for cash prizes. Simulation projects are judged on innovation and creativity, scalability throughout the specialty, and advancement of training and practice in the field of otolaryngology.

Both the Simulation Showcase and SIM Tank events will be held on Sunday, October 12, 2025.