All Episodes

August 4, 2021 45 mins

BIO
Dorothea is the founder and CEO of a healthcare technology company, Bot MD. Bot MD is a mobile-based AI chatbot that provides an interface for doctors to quickly access information related to hospital policies, formularies, check who’s on call etc. Along with her founder YC, Dorothea started Bot MD back in 2018 and joined Y Combinator’s summer 2018 batch. Prior to starting Bot MD, Dorothea rocketed up through the ranks at Medtronic and then Baxter, eventually holding the portfolios of country head for Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei and Myanmar. However, she chose to give that up and chose the unconventional path, resigning from her job to start Bot MD.


3 THINGS I LEARNED

  1. Choosing a co-founder is one of the most important steps. In Dorothea’s words, it’s like being married and raising a baby together with your partner. Only you and your co-founder fully understand “how sucky it is when times are down”. It’s during these times that your co-founder might be vital in providing you with encouragement.

  2. Start by building low-code prototypes. These are prototypes that involve little to no code. The goal is to prove certain hypotheses before you get too caught up with building the prototype.

  3. A startup journey might take 10 years of your life, with lots of stress and sleepless nights. So you need to ask yourself whether your idea is worth the pain of going through that process. Do people want it enough? What is your right to win, and why should you be building it? What’s the size of the market?


TOPICS WE COVERED

  • What Bot MD does
  • Why Dorothea left her first job at EDB
  • The initial experiment Dorothea ran that made her realise that Bot MD was a good idea
  • Why building a startup is a painful journey but a very instructive one
  • The importance of having a co-founder
  • What a cofounder relationship is like
  • What Dorothea does as CEO
  • Factors to consider when starting a startup
  • Dorothea’s epiphany that turned the company around and helped them find product market fit
  • Bot MD’s breakthrough product in NUH
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.