This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Julius Bruch, the 39-year-old cofounder and CEO of AI healthtech startup Isaac Health. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his employment and academic history.
I started training in general medicine and neurology, and I’ve always been passionate about this area, partially because my grandmother had an atypical form of dementia. I completed my Ph.D. in dementia, focusing on the molecular aspects and drug discovery.
Coming out of the research world, I went into McKinsey because I was interested in how the healthcare system works more broadly and how the different parts fit together. During my seven-and-a-half years at McKinsey, I worked with payers, health systems, and state governments on value-based care, chronic condition management, and digital health.
I left in 2021 because I wanted to move on and put things into practice. I felt like I had seen and learned it, and it became a decision between becoming a career consultant or seeing myself as someone who wanted to build something innovative.
How consulting prepared me to be a startup founder
Consulting was a fantastic training opportunity. I learned a lot about how the healthcare system works, how different parts work together, and how to structure a problem. I would say it was the best possible preparation for being a founder that you can think of.
The relationships I built — both inside the firm and with clients — have been a key success driver for the business. It means you know who to reach out to, people at payers you can problem-solve with, and some initial contact points for fundraising. The alumni network is strong.
You also train your analytical thinking and problem-solving approach. Starting a company feels like a consulting engagement — you’re interviewing a lot of people, trying to solve a problem, and building a solution. Eventually, it outgrows that, but the thinking that there’s always a way to solve something comes from that analytical training.
The main thing to unlearn from consulting was the pursuit of perfection. A startup needs to be able to move fast with scrappy pragmatism. The other thing I had to unlearn was always giving in to clients. As a startup founder, you learn quickly where boundaries need to be set.
Losing the structure of corporate life was hard, but I’ve learned to enjoy it
Initially, it felt a bit like: What am I doing? Am I just playing around?
Starting a business was a bit of a dream, but not something I was going to do at any cost.
I definitely lost some sweat over making the decision. I told myself I would give it three months. After those three months, there was enough traction to make it work and continue moving forward.
Startup life is a lot less structured, and you have to be comfortable with that.
Every major milestone feels like a massive reward because you’re fighting for it. It’s not like things just run smoothly and that’s it. Every client you get, every revenue milestone, and any external recognition is hard-fought for.
In August, our startup raised $10.5 million in Series A funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $16.3 million. It feels great for a day — you realize that more investment also means higher expectations and that the goal posts have moved.
Challenges of startup life
Every startup faces challenges, like scaling. We have a service component, so there are always people involved as we grow, and that comes with difficulties. You have to hire, find the right talent, and keep changing the processes, because the way things work for a team of four people doesn’t work for a team of 60 or 70.
Jumping into a startup also means being open to flexibility. You have to be able to wear multiple hats and jump in where needed.
Many people come in quite timidly. They want to work within their scope and be trained on the job. But you really have to create everything from scratch, like workflows. It requires a lot of creativity and problem-solving. Sometimes, I could have acted faster on certain things or signals.
Go with the science and find a cofounder who is deeply rooted in the subject matter. I see a lot of startups that are a little bit obvious or built on very standard, replaceable models without a major moat. It’s important to make sure you are cutting-edge.
Do you have a story to share about becoming an AI startup founder? Contact this reporter at cmlee@insider.com.
