April 30, 2025 • 28 mins
What happens when life's greatest challenges lead to extraordinary success? Sam Maddula, Pharm.D, a healthcare entrepreneur and philanthropist, shares his remarkable journey—from growing up in an impoverished village in India to building a multimillion-dollar specialty pharmacy.
Born legally blind, Sam’s life was transformed by sight-saving surgery, reshaping his worldview and fueling his drive. His family’s immigration struggles and educational challenges deepened his empathy, which became the foundation for Banks Apothecary (later Altruix), a pharmacy serving underserved communities.
By focusing on patient care and hiring overlooked talent, Sam grew the company to $300 million in revenue before selling to private equity. Rather than retiring, Sam founded the Maddula Foundation to support ocular health, pharmacy students, and vulnerable populations. He also created Workshop Strategy to help struggling healthcare businesses.
Sam’s philosophy centers on the belief that success isn’t a zero-sum game: "You can do good and have more than one person win." This abundance mentality has allowed him to create wealth while uplifting others.
For entrepreneurs, Sam’s advice is simple: "Don’t worry about what anybody else thinks, just do what feels right in your gut."
Key Takeaways:
- Empathy as a foundation: How Sam’s hardships shaped his business model.
- Building with purpose: Growing Altruix by focusing on patient care and hiring overlooked talent.
- Abundance mentality: Creating wealth while helping others thrive.
- Entrepreneurial advice: Trust your instincts and pursue what feels right.
About Sam Maddula Pharm.D:
Healthcare leader and transformative entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience delivering exceptional operational and financial outcomes in the healthcare and specialty pharmacy sectors. Founded and scaled Bank’s Apothecary Specialty Pharmacy to $300M in annual revenue, achieving an industry-leading valuation upon sale to a private equity firm. Deep expertise in value creation, innovation, and patient-centric strategies, with a track record of successful partnerships and M&A advisory roles. Experienced board member and advisor, passionate about driving transformative impact in healthcare and private equity. Philanthropic advocate—founded the Maddula Foundation, contributing millions to healthcare and education initiatives.
Connect:
Website workshopstrategy.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/workshop-strategy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Announcer (00:00):
The following programming is sponsored by Marc
J Bernstein.
The views expressed do notnecessarily reflect the views of
this station, its management orPeasley Media Group.
Entrepreneur, founder, authorand financial advisor, Marc
Bernstein helps high-performingbusiness owners turn their
visions into reality.
Through his innovative work andthe Forward Focus.
Forums, Marc connectsentrepreneurs to resources that
(00:20):
fuel their success.
Forums Marc connectsentrepreneurs to resources that
fuel their success.
Founders Forum is a radio showand podcast where entrepreneurs
share their journeys, revealingthe lessons they've learned and
the stories behind their success.
Join Marc and his guests for amix of inspiration, valuable
insights and a little fun.
Now let's dive in.
Marc Bernstein (00:44):
Good morning America.
How are you?
Good morning Roger Marley.
Thanks for being in the studiowith us this morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Good morning Arlo.
I always have to say goodmorning, arlo.
It's my dog.
I'm not sure he's listening tothe show, but good morning
anyway.
We have some great guests.
In fact, we had them for ourlast show.
(01:04):
It's just in reverse.
So our guest today is SamMaddula I'll formally introduce
him in a minute and with him isDavid Lopez, who's been on a
previous podcast.
And to start the show, I've beenthinking a little bit.
The last show that we didtogether, the three of us, was
about lack of abundance.
(01:24):
It was really about tariffs andthe constraints that that can
put on people and thinking aboutit.
I want to go specificallydeeper into this idea of
scarcity and abundance with aquote from Stephen Covey.
I'm sorry, Stephen Covey, he'sactually a fraternity brother of
mine.
I never met him, but he's infraternity and um or was um, and
(01:47):
get your guys input on this, onthis uh quote.
Most people are deeply scriptedin what I call the scarcity
mentality.
They see life as having only asmuch, as the only, so much, as
though there were only one pieout there and if someone were to
get a big piece of the pie, itwould mean less for everybody
else.
Instead, I have an abundancementality, when people are
(02:09):
genuinely happy at the successesof others and the pie gets
larger.
Actually, I'm going to add oneother quote happens to be by
Oprah Winfrey on abundance whenyou focus on what you have, your
abundance increases.
I started with my breath,noticing being alive is a good
start.
So a couple different takes onabundance.
(02:29):
What do you think about it, Sam?
We've talked about this subjectbefore.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (02:34):
It's an intense way to start the show.
Marc Bernstein (02:38):
That's right, let's get right into it.
Let's get right into it.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (02:40):
I think you're talking about basically
what most other people would sayis a zero-sum game, where it's
only one person wins and theother one loses.
I think I'm probably a goodexample of you could do good and
have more than one person win,and when you help others or if
you give back, it actually feelspretty good.
So instead of just taking andassuming someone else is not
(03:00):
going to have, you can have andgive to others too.
Marc Bernstein (03:03):
You are a good example, so we'll touch on that
as we go through your story,David, your thoughts.
David Lopez (03:09):
I mean, I think a lot of the same way Sam does.
You know, you know, I like toalways say you know I'm not
greedy.
As my company becomessuccessful, I like to make
everybody around me successful.
That got me there.
I'm not the only person thatmakes us successful, so I like
to reinvest that into theemployees and into the community
.
And you know, realistically,when you do do that, it makes
(03:31):
everything bigger, right.
Marc Bernstein (03:33):
Give and it comes back to you.
You don't, you don't give toget, but it comes back to you
when you, when you do that.
So Sam Maddula is a doctor inpharmacy, I guess, doctor of
pharmacy, yeah, doctor ofpharmacy and is founder and CEO
of Workshop Strategy and alsofounder of Banks Apothecary,
(03:53):
which is now named Altruix, andhe's a healthcare leader and
transformative entrepreneur withover 15 years of experience
delivering exceptionaloperational and financial
outcomes in the healthcare andspecialty pharmacy sectors.
He founded and scaled BanksApothecary Specialty Pharmacy to
(04:14):
$300 million in annual revenue,one pharmacy achieving an
industry-leading valuation uponsale to a private equity firm.
He has deep expertise in valuecreation, innovation,
patient-centric strategies, witha track record of successful
partnerships and M&A, and alsohe's been in M&A advisory roles
(04:37):
Experienced board member andadvisor, passionate about
driving transformative impact inhealthcare and private equity,
about driving transformativeimpact in health care and
private equity.
And he's an advocate ofphilanthropy.
He founded the MaddulaFoundation, contributing
millions to health care andeducation initiatives.
And welcome, Sam, thank you forhaving me.
Yeah, we've been talking aboutthis for a long time, so glad to
(04:58):
finally get you here.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (04:59):
Yeah, it's been like a year.
Yep, we can't complain.
Marc Bernstein (05:03):
We got it together in Philly, where we
both live, but we got ittogether in Florida.
No complaints about that.
Nice, right, right, and welcomeagain, David as well.
David Lopez (05:09):
Thank you.
Marc Bernstein (05:11):
So let's start.
You have a really interestingstory that starts in childhood,
almost after you were born.
Which kind of was what broughtyou here?
So let's start with that.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (05:21):
Yeah, simply put, I was born blind for
all measures.
I was born legally blind.
I was born in a dirt, poorvillage in India Literally can't
find it on Google Maps and myparents had no idea.
Eventually, my mother found outthat there was something off
with me, because when she wouldtalk to me I wouldn't make eye
contact, et cetera.
(05:41):
Eventually we stumbled upon acamp for the poor that was set
up by again, we're talking aboutabundance by a charitable
organization, by a physicianhere in america, and the doctor
basically told my parents when Iwas about a year old if we
don't do surgery on your son, hewill end up blind forever and
(06:02):
that's basically like a deathsentence in india.
And so we need you to come toamerica and have to do surgery.
And it was a guy named by thename of dr raju and he founded
the eye foundation of america.
So my parents pretty muchpicked up nothing and left
everything they had and theywere pretty poor.
They were laborers in india andkind of came to this new world
(06:23):
called America that they'venever even heard of.
They're not educated folks.
We came here, we went to asmall town in West Virginia
Morgantown, west Virginia andthe doctor did a surgery on my
eyes, a corneal transplant onboth eyes, and I could magically
see.
And you know, I went fromliterally from darkness to the
(06:44):
gift I was given, the gift oflight by Dr Raju, and so once we
got here, I just have to tellyou.
Marc Bernstein (06:50):
So you heard Raju go.
Wow, he never talks, but thisis some story and this is an
incredible story.
Well, if I impress Raju, I'mpretty good, huh.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (06:58):
Let's go continue.
So we got here and the doctorsaid hey, we did surgery on both
eyes, everything's good, butyou know, we need you to stay
here for post-op care and allthat.
And my parents, like I said,they don't speak the language,
they're not educated, they knownothing.
So we ended up staying here onhis advice and my parents moved
(07:22):
up to New York City to work at apharmacy, because my uncle owns
a pharmacy.
And, lo and behold, we weretrying to get our paperwork in
order and it didn't work out theway we wanted it to be and my
parents lost their legal status.
So we ended up as illegalimmigrants, the kind of folks
who live in the shadows ofsociety.
Eventually they got their stufftogether.
(07:45):
The way immigration works is youhave to go back to your home
country.
We went back to India just todo the paperwork.
Once in India we were stuckagain.
So when we got there they toldus you're stuck, you can't go
back to America.
I don't know anything besidesAmerica.
I came here, like I said, whenI was a couple months old In
(08:06):
India.
I went back to the same villagethat I came from.
I went to school literally in ashack with like 120 degree
weather.
Spent about a year there untilmy dad managed to get our visa
straightened out and came backto America.
And once here, you know, I lostabout a year and a half of
education.
Did you speak any?
Marc Bernstein (08:26):
Indian at that point?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (08:28):
Yeah, my parents always only spoke a
language called Telugu and theydidn't speak English, so my
native language I always spokepretty fluently, so we were
stuck in India, came back hereand then, once here, I was
pretty behind on education.
I didn't really fit in, kind ofstruggled my way up.
(08:49):
Eventually I got to college andI'm trying to figure out what
to do.
And, like I said, my parentsworked in a pharmacy, so that's
all I knew.
So I figured, hey, I'll give ita shot.
So I went to pharmacy school.
As luck would have it again, Igraduated in the great financial
crisis of 09.
So I wasn't, I was, I waswithout a job.
(09:11):
I was kind of just trying towork odds and ends at like local
pharmacies, trying to pick uphours.
Well, my current partner foundme at a random pharmacy and he
said hey, I got an opportunityfor you in Philadelphia.
I didn't even know where Phillywas on a map because I was that
guy from New York City, youknow.
And so I came to Philly, I had aopportunity to work in a very
(09:34):
rundown pharmacy in a veryrundown neighborhood, and I was
a 24 year old kid, I didn'treally know much and I was like,
hey, I don't have any any otheropportunities, I'll take it,
let's just give it a shot.
And I kind of worked in thatneighborhood and those folks
that I served were having thesame kind of issues that I did,
(09:55):
you know, like lack of education, lack of good access to
healthcare, et cetera, et cetera.
And so eventually I figured,hey, let's give me, let me, let
me give this a shot.
We grew the company, we made itlarger and larger.
But this is what I mean you cando good and help others and be
(10:15):
financially successful.
So the more my company grew,that meant the greater we were
helping folks and we werehelping.
You were spreading abundance,yeah.
Marc Bernstein (10:25):
That's amazing.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (10:27):
So it grew and it grew.
Marc Bernstein (10:28):
Then what?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (10:29):
happened.
It grew and we became prettylarge and eventually I met my
wife in 2017.
We had two beautiful daughtersand in 2022, we decided to exit
to a private equity company.
(10:49):
We decided to do that because,I said, life is not just all
about money, but it's also aboutfamily, and my wife went
through a lot of hardship tohave a baby.
She almost passed away, so itwas kind of my wake-up call to
take a step back, and so I endedup with a sale of the company
(11:09):
in 2022.
Marc Bernstein (11:12):
And your life?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (11:13):
has not been without trials, and
tribulations, that's for sure.
Marc Bernstein (11:17):
It's been interesting.
What you know word resiliencecomes to mind.
But I'd rather have youdescribe what do you learn from
all those difficulties that youhad?
What you know?
What's the?
What would you say is the bestlesson that you learned from the
hardships you know?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (11:30):
this might sound cliched, but the best
lesson that you learned from thehardships.
You know this might soundcliched, but the best thing that
I learned is never to give up.
Just keep going, because Ithink if you just don't give up
in the hardest points of life,it'll really allow you to get
through that part, and theneverything else just becomes
easier.
Marc Bernstein (11:50):
Yep, so how about in business?
Because it sounds like hey wejust started this business
serving the community.
We grew, we grew, we grew andI'm sure there are some
challenges along the way withthat.
Can you speak to that?
And I'm sure you didn't do italone.
Businesses are never builtalone.
I'm sure you had leaders withinyour business that helped and
there's a culture.
So maybe address some of thoseissues before we take a break.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (12:13):
Yeah, in business, you know, it's never a
straight road.
It almost feels like everyother day would be a hiccup.
My mentors and my partners wereactually my uncles, who have
tremendous history in pharmacy,so they were kind of my advisors
.
They would kind of guide me.
Tremendous history in pharmacy,so they were kind of my
advisors, they would kind ofguide me.
And then I surrounded myselfwith people who basically were
(12:37):
kind of like the salt of theearth, people who might not have
the best resume but we're justgoing to go out and kill it and
just do a really good job.
So you know, I had folksBecause you knew where you came
from.
I knew where I came fromExactly and I knew that some of
these guys would never get achance.
I knew where you came from.
Marc Bernstein (12:51):
I knew where I came from Exactly and I knew
that some of these guys wouldnever get a chance Right, but
you could see it in their heart.
Yeah and tell, give a successstory or you know, just a
general description of how theydeveloped within the company.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (13:00):
Yeah, you know there were folks that I had
.
One of them was like a singlemom and you know she just had a
tough time and tough life andshe was like, just give me a
chance and I'll work my butt off.
Gave her a chance.
She did amazingly well.
I think other folks didn't takea chance on her.
We had an older gentleman.
Marc Bernstein (13:18):
What was her role in the company?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (13:20):
She was part of our substance use
disorder program so shebasically her role was to kind
of spread the word about thecompany, the changes that we
could help affect peoplepositively, and it turned out,
like some of the folks, that weworked with Almost like a PR
person for the Businessdevelopment and helping
(13:40):
clinically too.
So she did both Interesting and, just add, like one of the
folks, some of the people thatwe worked with were her high
school classmates or collegeclassmates, right, wow.
Marc Bernstein (13:51):
This is, I think , a good jumping off point.
We're going to take a quickbreak and we'll be right back
with Sam Maddula on FoundersForum.
Announcer (13:58):
What's holding you back from your next big move?
At Workshop Strategy, we'remore than just advisors.
We're partners in your success.
We roll up our sleeves and workalongside you to build a
strategy that drives growth,strengthens leadership and makes
operations more efficient.
If you run a medical practice,pharmacy, healthcare
organization or any healthcarebusiness, we create solutions
(14:22):
tailored to your needs and goals.
We are here to help you takeyour business to the next level.
Let's set bold goals and let'sachieve them together.
Marc Bernstein (14:34):
We are back on Founders Forum Interesting
business story, Sam, and we'regoing to talk about your exit
strategy in a minute, but DavidLopez has a question for you
first, so go ahead, David.
David Lopez (14:45):
So, Sam, you know, as a business owner as well,
scaling and doing differentthings to figure out.
You know how I had to do that.
I went you know as a businessowner as well, scaling and doing
different things to figure outyou know how I had to do that.
I went through a program whichI guess for the first time in my
life, I figured out that.
You know, it wasn't the steelindustry that I was excited
about, that I was really.
My passion was buildingbusinesses and teams.
So through your process ofscaling that and selling, you
(15:06):
know, was your passion pharmacy,or have you found that and what
really created that drive to dothat?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (15:13):
If I want to be really honest, my passion
is not pharmacy.
I don't even think I'm a greatpharmacist, but I think I'm a
really good business person andI think of it like building a
sandcastle and I just like tobuild and build and build and I,
the bigger something grows.
It's almost like an existentialversion of me and the idea of
size and growth just makes mefeel really good.
David Lopez (15:34):
Yes, I feel the same way and it was interesting
how it took me a long time tofigure out that building
businesses was really my passionand what I was good at, not
necessarily the business I wasin.
Marc Bernstein (15:44):
So that's a great lead-in too.
So you built and built, andbuilt and then you sold the
business.
You had an exit strategy, a.
It was a very profitable exitand you decided you could have
just like retired and saidthat's it.
But you're doing two thingstoday that, I think, was your
way of sort of giving back as aresult of, of um you know, the
(16:05):
great success you had inbuilding the business.
One of those is that you foundedworkshop.
One of those is that youfounded Workshop Strategy, and
the other is that you foundedthe Maddula Foundation.
So let's take them one at atime.
Let's talk about WorkshopStrategy and what you're doing
there.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (16:18):
Well, one of the things I just want to
take a step back is when we soldthe company, it was very
important to me that we find theright partner that my employees
were taking care of, because,yes, I made a good dollar but
you know care of.
Because, yes, I made a gooddollar but you know, the people
that I brought alongside with mehad to be taken care of.
So I made sure that that wasbuilt in and some of those folks
got equity because, like yousaid, it's not just me that
makes it and they and I assumethey're still happy in their
(16:40):
roles with the new company.
They're very happy, Um, and wekeep in touch all the time.
Nice, Excellent, Okay, and so,yeah, after the sale, I created
first I did the MaddulaFoundation.
So a lot of the sale proceedsof the Maddula, the sale
proceeds, we put into theMaddula Foundation and the idea
of that is to basically helppeople at the bottom rung of
(17:02):
that ladder.
So part of that goes to folkswho have ocular issues, like
myself.
Part of that goes to folks whowant to go to pharmacy school
but can't afford it but have thegrades to do it.
Part of that goes to folks in,you know, sex trafficking and
other things, where we basicallythe idea is and my wife's a
phenomenal supporter of this isto help people who have a will
(17:25):
but they need the financialaccess to it.
Um, so that's the MaddulaFoundation.
Marc Bernstein (17:31):
I thought it was pretty much healthcare, but it
really goes beyond that as wellit does.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (17:34):
It does, it goes out, it goes to a wide
variety Um and the other.
The next thing I did cause,like most entrepreneurs, you
can't sit still Right, uh.
So I created, uh, somethingcalled workshop strategy and the
idea is literally, we're goingto workshop an idea for you and
then strategize how to make itcome to life.
And what I do now is I workwith other entrepreneurs who
(18:00):
either want to scale up in thepharmacy and healthcare world
and or other folks who arehaving a rough time in business.
So you know, right now is arough economic situation in the
country.
So I work with certain founderswho are really good people but
might not have the bestexecution to do to get where
they want to be.
So my goal is to use all of myexpertise and my life's work to
(18:25):
give back, in a entrepreneurialand business way, the acumen
that I've learned to help themsucceed.
Marc Bernstein (18:32):
And they're.
If they're struggling, how dothey pay you?
That's one of my questions.
If they're having a hard time,this is a for-profit, I would
assume.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (18:42):
It is a for-profit.
I'll be very honest.
What I charge is very minimaland the reason is I'm not doing
this to make money.
I've made money and I'm okaywith it.
This is more.
It's not charity.
Obviously, my time is money,but I try to keep it as low as
possible just to cover expensesand certain things.
And the rest, honestly, it justfeels good to help people out.
Marc Bernstein (19:04):
Can you have without names or anything?
Do you have an example of acompany you've been able to help
that's benefited fromWorkshop's strategy?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (19:12):
Yeah, yeah, there's a pharmacy I was
working with.
It was actually 15 years old,it was doing okay and it's
served a lot of patients, butunfortunately, for a long time
it didn't have any profits andthe owners were thinking about
selling the company.
But when you sell the company,you let go of all the people
that work and 20 people and 20families are gone.
(19:35):
So I went in.
We completely redid the CEOstructures.
We incentivize all theemployees, like we did with
Banks Apothecary, to make surethat they have skin in the game.
And you know, we got rid oflike the bad actors.
We made the company profitableand let's just you know it went
from making no profit to nowover a million dollars a year
(19:57):
Wow.
So they're very happy and it'snot just about the million a
year that the partners andemployees are making, but it's
about the 20 lives that are nowstill employed.
Marc Bernstein (20:09):
How long did it take you to do that with this
company?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (20:12):
I started that project in April of 2023,
and I finished it in December of2023.
So it took about eight months.
Marc Bernstein (20:20):
Wow, that says something.
We have a little commercial forWorkshop Strategy.
That was just played on theshow, so people will know how to
get in touch with you ifthey're interested.
I'm here to help.
Yeah it's great.
So let's talk about your future, because you're obviously a
future-looking guy.
And if this were three yearsfrom today, Sam?
(20:41):
So we're talking about the endof March of 2028, and you and I
are together and you're tellingme about your life.
What would that conversationlook like for that to have been
a successful period of time inyour life and or your business
and or your foundation?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (20:59):
I think we both can separate that,
professionally and personally.
I have a three-year-old and athree-month-old, so hopefully in
three years they're both goingto be sleeping properly through
the night and they'll be healthyhappy children.
I just want to have healthy,happy kids, because I've faced a
lot of medical adversity in mylife.
So for them to just be healthyis a big deal to me.
(21:19):
Professionally in three yearsand my wife's happy with me to
be home enough I want to startmy next company and just get on
the road and maybe redo the samething, but healthcare is what I
know.
So hopefully in three yearsfrom now I'll be starting my
next healthcare company.
Marc Bernstein (21:39):
Why three years?
Just let the kids grow up alittle bit first.
Is that the idea?
The idea is well, there's acouple of things.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (21:45):
You know I have a non-compete right now, so
I'm not going to.
I'm going to honor that.
That's a good reason.
Yeah, I want to respect that.
I also want to spend time withmy kids and I know that this
time, as everybody says, we'llnever come back.
So I get my fulfillment rightnow from the children when
(22:05):
they're not crying, and from mynon-profit and from workshop
strategy.
So I think I have more gas inthat engine before I move on.
Marc Bernstein (22:14):
And what do you see happening with the
foundation over the next threeyears?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (22:19):
The idea of the foundation.
You know right now it's aself-funded foundation, so
everything, every dollar that'sbeen given, is from me.
The idea is to expand it andhopefully get other
entrepreneurs or philanthropiststo buy in.
But regardless of anything, theidea is to continuously grow
that foundation and help morepeople that are in need.
So it's not about a companylike where I want to double in
(22:41):
size or triple in size.
But as long as we are stillconstantly helping people with
the finances that we have tomake a difference, then I'm
happy.
There's no end goal to that.
That's great.
Marc Bernstein (22:53):
I'm going to give a little plug right now for
the Sattel Institute.
You and I spoke about it lastnight and so I'm going to get
you there at our next CEOconference to help you introduce
your foundation.
Other CEOs and that kind ofthing.
David, I'll mention that to youas well.
Yes, because I know you'recommunity oriented.
This is an organization inPhiladelphia that was created by
a guy named Ed Sattel, asuccessful entrepreneur that
(23:15):
I've known actually for 50 yearsnow, and he decided to put a
lot of his resources into thisthing.
So there's no dues to join.
You just have to make acommitment to support one
charity over a four year periodand you're a member.
And then they have these thingswhere you get together and
discuss a lot of thoughtfulsessions on how to best do
philanthropy from theorganization's point of view,
(23:38):
the nonprofit, and then howbusinesses can create corporate
social responsibility withintheir businesses and that kind
of thing.
So it's a very and theygenerally get about 400 people
to these things and it's notreally publicized.
Now I'm doing it on the radio.
I probably shouldn't even be,it's all word of mouth, but
people can contact me from fromthe podcast that they like if
(23:59):
they're interested in it, but Isee it's a great place to really
, you know, connect with othersand and figure out the best ways
to achieve what you're tryingto do in that area I think
that's really great because youknow, as a philanthropist and as
having a foundation, it's hardto find like-minded people and
learn and see what other folksare doing correctly or
incorrectly and you know, keepkind of going.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (24:22):
So there's a lot of entrepreneur groups,
but I don't know a lot ofphilanthropy groups and there
might be, but I just don't know.
Marc Bernstein (24:27):
And you have my word, I'll be there there's a Ed
Sattel's expression is think wenot just me which you know
means that you know it's allabout the communities that we
live in and what we can giveback and all that kind of thing,
and it's so prevalent there.
It's just nice to be around.
You know hundreds of peoplethat think the same way.
(24:48):
It's pretty amazing.
So you've created already alegacy, but what are your
thoughts about your legacy, Sam?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (24:58):
Again, that's a very loaded question.
Marc Bernstein (25:00):
I like loaded questions I can see that.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (25:04):
My legacy.
What I want is again the firstand most important part is to
raise good, honorable andhealthy children that will
hopefully give me grandkids oneday.
I hope they'll listen to thisright now, in a couple of years,
and say, hey, I want grandkidseventually.
Marc Bernstein (25:20):
Me too Put my plug in.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (25:23):
But my legacy is hope to be again it
might sound a little cliched,but to a role model, to not just
my community but to folksaround the country and say, hey
if I could do it, other peoplecan do it, and that's all I want
.
I don't need any namerecognition or anything like
that.
I just want people to knowright now, who are listening,
who are stuck in the gutter,that I've been there and if I
(25:44):
could do it, you could do it.
Marc Bernstein (25:46):
Are you open to public speaking in that regard?
I know you're not seeking it,but are you open to that if it
comes along?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (25:52):
If it can help a hundred percent.
Marc Bernstein (25:54):
Great.
And if you could speak to youryounger self, what advice would
you give?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (26:01):
yourself.
I think that's an easy question, because growing up I was
actually very self-conscious andI was probably pretty insecure
and I would literally tell myyounger self you know, don't
worry about what anybody elsethinks and just keep doing what
you think is right and whatfeels right in your gut.
And that's a big thing that mywife has taught me and I think
(26:23):
it's helped me really succeed.
And so I would tell myselfdon't worry about what anyone
else thinks, just do what feelsright in your gut.
Marc Bernstein (26:32):
So I have to tell you that I I really that
really resonates with me.
That's one of the reasons Ithink you and I are connecting
so well, because a lot of thingsyou say it's like I'm speaking
because I had I was, as a child,pretty introverted not a lot of
self-confidence, that same kindof thing and and um and um.
You know I think that'scompletely flipped on its head
(26:54):
over time, but, um, my wife wasalso a big influence in regard
to that as well, in terms offollowing your gut and following
your instincts and just do it,you know, as which.
I think you know you're luckyif you have that kind of support
system in your life.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (27:09):
I think you know that's.
One of the beauties of marriageis if you find a good wife
system in your life.
I think you know that's one ofthe beauties of marriage is if
you find a good wife, obviouslydon't let her go.
And but also is she is like myrock.
I know these things soundcliched, but I wouldn't be here
without her because sheunderstand understood and
understands my struggle andshe's very confident and she
makes sure that, like thatconfidence oozes off to me and
(27:31):
she'll make sure that I alwayshold my you know head high up.
Marc Bernstein (27:35):
We married to the same woman.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (27:39):
I hope not.
Marc Bernstein (27:40):
Anyway, listen, this has really been great.
Do you have any closingthoughts before we?
We have about 30 seconds left.
Anything left?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (27:48):
you want to say.
I just want to say, you know,like I said, we were talking
about workshop strategy.
If anybody there is looking forhelp, I'm here to help.
If anybody wants to make adifference, a real philanthropic
difference, where every dollarwould go to an actual literal
cause without any administration, feel free to reach out to me.
Regarding the MaddulaFoundation, and if someone just
(28:08):
needs advice or just a mentor,you can find me on LinkedIn.
I'm always here.
Marc Bernstein (28:14):
And usually I don't let people make plugs like
that but because I know yoursis all about doing good and
helping others, I wanted to youhave the opportunity to do that.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (28:23):
So it's not a plug.
I genuinely mean it.
Marc Bernstein (28:27):
So thanks for being here, Sam, it's been great
.
David Lopez, thanks for beingin the studio again
participating in the show, andthank you all for listening and
we'll see you again next week onFounders Forum.
Thank you.
Announcer (28:47):
Thanks.
We hope you enjoyed your timewith Founders Forum and that you
found value to take with youthroughout your day.
Join us again next week foranother episode of Founders
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The following programming is sponsored by Marc
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The views expressed do notnecessarily reflect the views of
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Entrepreneur, founder, authorand financial advisor, Marc
Bernstein helps high-performingbusiness owners turn their
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Through his innovative work andthe Forward Focus.
Forums, Marc connectsentrepreneurs to resources that
(00:20):
fuel their success.
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Join Marc and his guests for amix of inspiration, valuable
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Now let's dive in.
Marc Bernstein (00:44):
Good morning America.
How are you?
Good morning Roger Marley.
Thanks for being in the studiowith us this morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Good morning Arlo.
I always have to say goodmorning, arlo.
It's my dog.
I'm not sure he's listening tothe show, but good morning
anyway.
We have some great guests.
In fact, we had them for ourlast show.
(01:04):
It's just in reverse.
So our guest today is SamMaddula I'll formally introduce
him in a minute and with him isDavid Lopez, who's been on a
previous podcast.
And to start the show, I've beenthinking a little bit.
The last show that we didtogether, the three of us, was
about lack of abundance.
(01:24):
It was really about tariffs andthe constraints that that can
put on people and thinking aboutit.
I want to go specificallydeeper into this idea of
scarcity and abundance with aquote from Stephen Covey.
I'm sorry, Stephen Covey, he'sactually a fraternity brother of
mine.
I never met him, but he's infraternity and um or was um, and
(01:47):
get your guys input on this, onthis uh quote.
Most people are deeply scriptedin what I call the scarcity
mentality.
They see life as having only asmuch, as the only, so much, as
though there were only one pieout there and if someone were to
get a big piece of the pie, itwould mean less for everybody
else.
Instead, I have an abundancementality, when people are
(02:09):
genuinely happy at the successesof others and the pie gets
larger.
Actually, I'm going to add oneother quote happens to be by
Oprah Winfrey on abundance whenyou focus on what you have, your
abundance increases.
I started with my breath,noticing being alive is a good
start.
So a couple different takes onabundance.
(02:29):
What do you think about it, Sam?
We've talked about this subjectbefore.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (02:34):
It's an intense way to start the show.
Marc Bernstein (02:38):
That's right, let's get right into it.
Let's get right into it.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (02:40):
I think you're talking about basically
what most other people would sayis a zero-sum game, where it's
only one person wins and theother one loses.
I think I'm probably a goodexample of you could do good and
have more than one person win,and when you help others or if
you give back, it actually feelspretty good.
So instead of just taking andassuming someone else is not
(03:00):
going to have, you can have andgive to others too.
Marc Bernstein (03:03):
You are a good example, so we'll touch on that
as we go through your story,David, your thoughts.
David Lopez (03:09):
I mean, I think a lot of the same way Sam does.
You know, you know, I like toalways say you know I'm not
greedy.
As my company becomessuccessful, I like to make
everybody around me successful.
That got me there.
I'm not the only person thatmakes us successful, so I like
to reinvest that into theemployees and into the community
.
And you know, realistically,when you do do that, it makes
(03:31):
everything bigger, right.
Marc Bernstein (03:33):
Give and it comes back to you.
You don't, you don't give toget, but it comes back to you
when you, when you do that.
So Sam Maddula is a doctor inpharmacy, I guess, doctor of
pharmacy, yeah, doctor ofpharmacy and is founder and CEO
of Workshop Strategy and alsofounder of Banks Apothecary,
(03:53):
which is now named Altruix, andhe's a healthcare leader and
transformative entrepreneur withover 15 years of experience
delivering exceptionaloperational and financial
outcomes in the healthcare andspecialty pharmacy sectors.
He founded and scaled BanksApothecary Specialty Pharmacy to
(04:14):
$300 million in annual revenue,one pharmacy achieving an
industry-leading valuation uponsale to a private equity firm.
He has deep expertise in valuecreation, innovation,
patient-centric strategies, witha track record of successful
partnerships and M&A, and alsohe's been in M&A advisory roles
(04:37):
Experienced board member andadvisor, passionate about
driving transformative impact inhealthcare and private equity,
about driving transformativeimpact in health care and
private equity.
And he's an advocate ofphilanthropy.
He founded the MaddulaFoundation, contributing
millions to health care andeducation initiatives.
And welcome, Sam, thank you forhaving me.
Yeah, we've been talking aboutthis for a long time, so glad to
(04:58):
finally get you here.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (04:59):
Yeah, it's been like a year.
Yep, we can't complain.
Marc Bernstein (05:03):
We got it together in Philly, where we
both live, but we got ittogether in Florida.
No complaints about that.
Nice, right, right, and welcomeagain, David as well.
David Lopez (05:09):
Thank you.
Marc Bernstein (05:11):
So let's start.
You have a really interestingstory that starts in childhood,
almost after you were born.
Which kind of was what broughtyou here?
So let's start with that.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (05:21):
Yeah, simply put, I was born blind for
all measures.
I was born legally blind.
I was born in a dirt, poorvillage in India Literally can't
find it on Google Maps and myparents had no idea.
Eventually, my mother found outthat there was something off
with me, because when she wouldtalk to me I wouldn't make eye
contact, et cetera.
(05:41):
Eventually we stumbled upon acamp for the poor that was set
up by again, we're talking aboutabundance by a charitable
organization, by a physicianhere in america, and the doctor
basically told my parents when Iwas about a year old if we
don't do surgery on your son, hewill end up blind forever and
(06:02):
that's basically like a deathsentence in india.
And so we need you to come toamerica and have to do surgery.
And it was a guy named by thename of dr raju and he founded
the eye foundation of america.
So my parents pretty muchpicked up nothing and left
everything they had and theywere pretty poor.
They were laborers in india andkind of came to this new world
(06:23):
called America that they'venever even heard of.
They're not educated folks.
We came here, we went to asmall town in West Virginia
Morgantown, west Virginia andthe doctor did a surgery on my
eyes, a corneal transplant onboth eyes, and I could magically
see.
And you know, I went fromliterally from darkness to the
(06:44):
gift I was given, the gift oflight by Dr Raju, and so once we
got here, I just have to tellyou.
Marc Bernstein (06:50):
So you heard Raju go.
Wow, he never talks, but thisis some story and this is an
incredible story.
Well, if I impress Raju, I'mpretty good, huh.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (06:58):
Let's go continue.
So we got here and the doctorsaid hey, we did surgery on both
eyes, everything's good, butyou know, we need you to stay
here for post-op care and allthat.
And my parents, like I said,they don't speak the language,
they're not educated, they knownothing.
So we ended up staying here onhis advice and my parents moved
(07:22):
up to New York City to work at apharmacy, because my uncle owns
a pharmacy.
And, lo and behold, we weretrying to get our paperwork in
order and it didn't work out theway we wanted it to be and my
parents lost their legal status.
So we ended up as illegalimmigrants, the kind of folks
who live in the shadows ofsociety.
Eventually they got their stufftogether.
(07:45):
The way immigration works is youhave to go back to your home
country.
We went back to India just todo the paperwork.
Once in India we were stuckagain.
So when we got there they toldus you're stuck, you can't go
back to America.
I don't know anything besidesAmerica.
I came here, like I said, whenI was a couple months old In
(08:06):
India.
I went back to the same villagethat I came from.
I went to school literally in ashack with like 120 degree
weather.
Spent about a year there untilmy dad managed to get our visa
straightened out and came backto America.
And once here, you know, I lostabout a year and a half of
education.
Did you speak any?
Marc Bernstein (08:26):
Indian at that point?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (08:28):
Yeah, my parents always only spoke a
language called Telugu and theydidn't speak English, so my
native language I always spokepretty fluently, so we were
stuck in India, came back hereand then, once here, I was
pretty behind on education.
I didn't really fit in, kind ofstruggled my way up.
(08:49):
Eventually I got to college andI'm trying to figure out what
to do.
And, like I said, my parentsworked in a pharmacy, so that's
all I knew.
So I figured, hey, I'll give ita shot.
So I went to pharmacy school.
As luck would have it again, Igraduated in the great financial
crisis of 09.
So I wasn't, I was, I waswithout a job.
(09:11):
I was kind of just trying towork odds and ends at like local
pharmacies, trying to pick uphours.
Well, my current partner foundme at a random pharmacy and he
said hey, I got an opportunityfor you in Philadelphia.
I didn't even know where Phillywas on a map because I was that
guy from New York City, youknow.
And so I came to Philly, I had aopportunity to work in a very
(09:34):
rundown pharmacy in a veryrundown neighborhood, and I was
a 24 year old kid, I didn'treally know much and I was like,
hey, I don't have any any otheropportunities, I'll take it,
let's just give it a shot.
And I kind of worked in thatneighborhood and those folks
that I served were having thesame kind of issues that I did,
(09:55):
you know, like lack of education, lack of good access to
healthcare, et cetera, et cetera.
And so eventually I figured,hey, let's give me, let me, let
me give this a shot.
We grew the company, we made itlarger and larger.
But this is what I mean you cando good and help others and be
(10:15):
financially successful.
So the more my company grew,that meant the greater we were
helping folks and we werehelping.
You were spreading abundance,yeah.
Marc Bernstein (10:25):
That's amazing.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (10:27):
So it grew and it grew.
Marc Bernstein (10:28):
Then what?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (10:29):
happened.
It grew and we became prettylarge and eventually I met my
wife in 2017.
We had two beautiful daughtersand in 2022, we decided to exit
to a private equity company.
(10:49):
We decided to do that because,I said, life is not just all
about money, but it's also aboutfamily, and my wife went
through a lot of hardship tohave a baby.
She almost passed away, so itwas kind of my wake-up call to
take a step back, and so I endedup with a sale of the company
(11:09):
in 2022.
Marc Bernstein (11:12):
And your life?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (11:13):
has not been without trials, and
tribulations, that's for sure.
Marc Bernstein (11:17):
It's been interesting.
What you know word resiliencecomes to mind.
But I'd rather have youdescribe what do you learn from
all those difficulties that youhad?
What you know?
What's the?
What would you say is the bestlesson that you learned from the
hardships you know?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (11:30):
this might sound cliched, but the best
lesson that you learned from thehardships.
You know this might soundcliched, but the best thing that
I learned is never to give up.
Just keep going, because Ithink if you just don't give up
in the hardest points of life,it'll really allow you to get
through that part, and theneverything else just becomes
easier.
Marc Bernstein (11:50):
Yep, so how about in business?
Because it sounds like hey wejust started this business
serving the community.
We grew, we grew, we grew andI'm sure there are some
challenges along the way withthat.
Can you speak to that?
And I'm sure you didn't do italone.
Businesses are never builtalone.
I'm sure you had leaders withinyour business that helped and
there's a culture.
So maybe address some of thoseissues before we take a break.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (12:13):
Yeah, in business, you know, it's never a
straight road.
It almost feels like everyother day would be a hiccup.
My mentors and my partners wereactually my uncles, who have
tremendous history in pharmacy,so they were kind of my advisors
.
They would kind of guide me.
Tremendous history in pharmacy,so they were kind of my
advisors, they would kind ofguide me.
And then I surrounded myselfwith people who basically were
(12:37):
kind of like the salt of theearth, people who might not have
the best resume but we're justgoing to go out and kill it and
just do a really good job.
So you know, I had folksBecause you knew where you came
from.
I knew where I came fromExactly and I knew that some of
these guys would never get achance.
I knew where you came from.
Marc Bernstein (12:51):
I knew where I came from Exactly and I knew
that some of these guys wouldnever get a chance Right, but
you could see it in their heart.
Yeah and tell, give a successstory or you know, just a
general description of how theydeveloped within the company.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (13:00):
Yeah, you know there were folks that I had
.
One of them was like a singlemom and you know she just had a
tough time and tough life andshe was like, just give me a
chance and I'll work my butt off.
Gave her a chance.
She did amazingly well.
I think other folks didn't takea chance on her.
We had an older gentleman.
Marc Bernstein (13:18):
What was her role in the company?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (13:20):
She was part of our substance use
disorder program so shebasically her role was to kind
of spread the word about thecompany, the changes that we
could help affect peoplepositively, and it turned out,
like some of the folks, that weworked with Almost like a PR
person for the Businessdevelopment and helping
(13:40):
clinically too.
So she did both Interesting and, just add, like one of the
folks, some of the people thatwe worked with were her high
school classmates or collegeclassmates, right, wow.
Marc Bernstein (13:51):
This is, I think , a good jumping off point.
We're going to take a quickbreak and we'll be right back
with Sam Maddula on FoundersForum.
Announcer (13:58):
What's holding you back from your next big move?
At Workshop Strategy, we'remore than just advisors.
We're partners in your success.
We roll up our sleeves and workalongside you to build a
strategy that drives growth,strengthens leadership and makes
operations more efficient.
If you run a medical practice,pharmacy, healthcare
organization or any healthcarebusiness, we create solutions
(14:22):
tailored to your needs and goals.
We are here to help you takeyour business to the next level.
Let's set bold goals and let'sachieve them together.
Marc Bernstein (14:34):
We are back on Founders Forum Interesting
business story, Sam, and we'regoing to talk about your exit
strategy in a minute, but DavidLopez has a question for you
first, so go ahead, David.
David Lopez (14:45):
So, Sam, you know, as a business owner as well,
scaling and doing differentthings to figure out.
You know how I had to do that.
I went you know as a businessowner as well, scaling and doing
different things to figure outyou know how I had to do that.
I went through a program whichI guess for the first time in my
life, I figured out that.
You know, it wasn't the steelindustry that I was excited
about, that I was really.
My passion was buildingbusinesses and teams.
So through your process ofscaling that and selling, you
(15:06):
know, was your passion pharmacy,or have you found that and what
really created that drive to dothat?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (15:13):
If I want to be really honest, my passion
is not pharmacy.
I don't even think I'm a greatpharmacist, but I think I'm a
really good business person andI think of it like building a
sandcastle and I just like tobuild and build and build and I,
the bigger something grows.
It's almost like an existentialversion of me and the idea of
size and growth just makes mefeel really good.
David Lopez (15:34):
Yes, I feel the same way and it was interesting
how it took me a long time tofigure out that building
businesses was really my passionand what I was good at, not
necessarily the business I wasin.
Marc Bernstein (15:44):
So that's a great lead-in too.
So you built and built, andbuilt and then you sold the
business.
You had an exit strategy, a.
It was a very profitable exitand you decided you could have
just like retired and saidthat's it.
But you're doing two thingstoday that, I think, was your
way of sort of giving back as aresult of, of um you know, the
(16:05):
great success you had inbuilding the business.
One of those is that you foundedworkshop.
One of those is that youfounded Workshop Strategy, and
the other is that you foundedthe Maddula Foundation.
So let's take them one at atime.
Let's talk about WorkshopStrategy and what you're doing
there.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (16:18):
Well, one of the things I just want to
take a step back is when we soldthe company, it was very
important to me that we find theright partner that my employees
were taking care of, because,yes, I made a good dollar but
you know care of.
Because, yes, I made a gooddollar but you know, the people
that I brought alongside with mehad to be taken care of.
So I made sure that that wasbuilt in and some of those folks
got equity because, like yousaid, it's not just me that
makes it and they and I assumethey're still happy in their
(16:40):
roles with the new company.
They're very happy, Um, and wekeep in touch all the time.
Nice, Excellent, Okay, and so,yeah, after the sale, I created
first I did the MaddulaFoundation.
So a lot of the sale proceedsof the Maddula, the sale
proceeds, we put into theMaddula Foundation and the idea
of that is to basically helppeople at the bottom rung of
(17:02):
that ladder.
So part of that goes to folkswho have ocular issues, like
myself.
Part of that goes to folks whowant to go to pharmacy school
but can't afford it but have thegrades to do it.
Part of that goes to folks in,you know, sex trafficking and
other things, where we basicallythe idea is and my wife's a
phenomenal supporter of this isto help people who have a will
(17:25):
but they need the financialaccess to it.
Um, so that's the MaddulaFoundation.
Marc Bernstein (17:31):
I thought it was pretty much healthcare, but it
really goes beyond that as wellit does.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (17:34):
It does, it goes out, it goes to a wide
variety Um and the other.
The next thing I did cause,like most entrepreneurs, you
can't sit still Right, uh.
So I created, uh, somethingcalled workshop strategy and the
idea is literally, we're goingto workshop an idea for you and
then strategize how to make itcome to life.
And what I do now is I workwith other entrepreneurs who
(18:00):
either want to scale up in thepharmacy and healthcare world
and or other folks who arehaving a rough time in business.
So you know, right now is arough economic situation in the
country.
So I work with certain founderswho are really good people but
might not have the bestexecution to do to get where
they want to be.
So my goal is to use all of myexpertise and my life's work to
(18:25):
give back, in a entrepreneurialand business way, the acumen
that I've learned to help themsucceed.
Marc Bernstein (18:32):
And they're.
If they're struggling, how dothey pay you?
That's one of my questions.
If they're having a hard time,this is a for-profit, I would
assume.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (18:42):
It is a for-profit.
I'll be very honest.
What I charge is very minimaland the reason is I'm not doing
this to make money.
I've made money and I'm okaywith it.
This is more.
It's not charity.
Obviously, my time is money,but I try to keep it as low as
possible just to cover expensesand certain things.
And the rest, honestly, it justfeels good to help people out.
Marc Bernstein (19:04):
Can you have without names or anything?
Do you have an example of acompany you've been able to help
that's benefited fromWorkshop's strategy?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (19:12):
Yeah, yeah, there's a pharmacy I was
working with.
It was actually 15 years old,it was doing okay and it's
served a lot of patients, butunfortunately, for a long time
it didn't have any profits andthe owners were thinking about
selling the company.
But when you sell the company,you let go of all the people
that work and 20 people and 20families are gone.
(19:35):
So I went in.
We completely redid the CEOstructures.
We incentivize all theemployees, like we did with
Banks Apothecary, to make surethat they have skin in the game.
And you know, we got rid oflike the bad actors.
We made the company profitableand let's just you know it went
from making no profit to nowover a million dollars a year
(19:57):
Wow.
So they're very happy and it'snot just about the million a
year that the partners andemployees are making, but it's
about the 20 lives that are nowstill employed.
Marc Bernstein (20:09):
How long did it take you to do that with this
company?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (20:12):
I started that project in April of 2023,
and I finished it in December of2023.
So it took about eight months.
Marc Bernstein (20:20):
Wow, that says something.
We have a little commercial forWorkshop Strategy.
That was just played on theshow, so people will know how to
get in touch with you ifthey're interested.
I'm here to help.
Yeah it's great.
So let's talk about your future, because you're obviously a
future-looking guy.
And if this were three yearsfrom today, Sam?
(20:41):
So we're talking about the endof March of 2028, and you and I
are together and you're tellingme about your life.
What would that conversationlook like for that to have been
a successful period of time inyour life and or your business
and or your foundation?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (20:59):
I think we both can separate that,
professionally and personally.
I have a three-year-old and athree-month-old, so hopefully in
three years they're both goingto be sleeping properly through
the night and they'll be healthyhappy children.
I just want to have healthy,happy kids, because I've faced a
lot of medical adversity in mylife.
So for them to just be healthyis a big deal to me.
(21:19):
Professionally in three yearsand my wife's happy with me to
be home enough I want to startmy next company and just get on
the road and maybe redo the samething, but healthcare is what I
know.
So hopefully in three yearsfrom now I'll be starting my
next healthcare company.
Marc Bernstein (21:39):
Why three years?
Just let the kids grow up alittle bit first.
Is that the idea?
The idea is well, there's acouple of things.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (21:45):
You know I have a non-compete right now, so
I'm not going to.
I'm going to honor that.
That's a good reason.
Yeah, I want to respect that.
I also want to spend time withmy kids and I know that this
time, as everybody says, we'llnever come back.
So I get my fulfillment rightnow from the children when
(22:05):
they're not crying, and from mynon-profit and from workshop
strategy.
So I think I have more gas inthat engine before I move on.
Marc Bernstein (22:14):
And what do you see happening with the
foundation over the next threeyears?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (22:19):
The idea of the foundation.
You know right now it's aself-funded foundation, so
everything, every dollar that'sbeen given, is from me.
The idea is to expand it andhopefully get other
entrepreneurs or philanthropiststo buy in.
But regardless of anything, theidea is to continuously grow
that foundation and help morepeople that are in need.
So it's not about a companylike where I want to double in
(22:41):
size or triple in size.
But as long as we are stillconstantly helping people with
the finances that we have tomake a difference, then I'm
happy.
There's no end goal to that.
That's great.
Marc Bernstein (22:53):
I'm going to give a little plug right now for
the Sattel Institute.
You and I spoke about it lastnight and so I'm going to get
you there at our next CEOconference to help you introduce
your foundation.
Other CEOs and that kind ofthing.
David, I'll mention that to youas well.
Yes, because I know you'recommunity oriented.
This is an organization inPhiladelphia that was created by
a guy named Ed Sattel, asuccessful entrepreneur that
(23:15):
I've known actually for 50 yearsnow, and he decided to put a
lot of his resources into thisthing.
So there's no dues to join.
You just have to make acommitment to support one
charity over a four year periodand you're a member.
And then they have these thingswhere you get together and
discuss a lot of thoughtfulsessions on how to best do
philanthropy from theorganization's point of view,
(23:38):
the nonprofit, and then howbusinesses can create corporate
social responsibility withintheir businesses and that kind
of thing.
So it's a very and theygenerally get about 400 people
to these things and it's notreally publicized.
Now I'm doing it on the radio.
I probably shouldn't even be,it's all word of mouth, but
people can contact me from fromthe podcast that they like if
(23:59):
they're interested in it, but Isee it's a great place to really
, you know, connect with othersand and figure out the best ways
to achieve what you're tryingto do in that area I think
that's really great because youknow, as a philanthropist and as
having a foundation, it's hardto find like-minded people and
learn and see what other folksare doing correctly or
incorrectly and you know, keepkind of going.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (24:22):
So there's a lot of entrepreneur groups,
but I don't know a lot ofphilanthropy groups and there
might be, but I just don't know.
Marc Bernstein (24:27):
And you have my word, I'll be there there's a Ed
Sattel's expression is think wenot just me which you know
means that you know it's allabout the communities that we
live in and what we can giveback and all that kind of thing,
and it's so prevalent there.
It's just nice to be around.
You know hundreds of peoplethat think the same way.
(24:48):
It's pretty amazing.
So you've created already alegacy, but what are your
thoughts about your legacy, Sam?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (24:58):
Again, that's a very loaded question.
Marc Bernstein (25:00):
I like loaded questions I can see that.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (25:04):
My legacy.
What I want is again the firstand most important part is to
raise good, honorable andhealthy children that will
hopefully give me grandkids oneday.
I hope they'll listen to thisright now, in a couple of years,
and say, hey, I want grandkidseventually.
Marc Bernstein (25:20):
Me too Put my plug in.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (25:23):
But my legacy is hope to be again it
might sound a little cliched,but to a role model, to not just
my community but to folksaround the country and say, hey
if I could do it, other peoplecan do it, and that's all I want
.
I don't need any namerecognition or anything like
that.
I just want people to knowright now, who are listening,
who are stuck in the gutter,that I've been there and if I
(25:44):
could do it, you could do it.
Marc Bernstein (25:46):
Are you open to public speaking in that regard?
I know you're not seeking it,but are you open to that if it
comes along?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (25:52):
If it can help a hundred percent.
Marc Bernstein (25:54):
Great.
And if you could speak to youryounger self, what advice would
you give?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (26:01):
yourself.
I think that's an easy question, because growing up I was
actually very self-conscious andI was probably pretty insecure
and I would literally tell myyounger self you know, don't
worry about what anybody elsethinks and just keep doing what
you think is right and whatfeels right in your gut.
And that's a big thing that mywife has taught me and I think
(26:23):
it's helped me really succeed.
And so I would tell myselfdon't worry about what anyone
else thinks, just do what feelsright in your gut.
Marc Bernstein (26:32):
So I have to tell you that I I really that
really resonates with me.
That's one of the reasons Ithink you and I are connecting
so well, because a lot of thingsyou say it's like I'm speaking
because I had I was, as a child,pretty introverted not a lot of
self-confidence, that same kindof thing and and um and um.
You know I think that'scompletely flipped on its head
(26:54):
over time, but, um, my wife wasalso a big influence in regard
to that as well, in terms offollowing your gut and following
your instincts and just do it,you know, as which.
I think you know you're luckyif you have that kind of support
system in your life.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (27:09):
I think you know that's.
One of the beauties of marriageis if you find a good wife
system in your life.
I think you know that's one ofthe beauties of marriage is if
you find a good wife, obviouslydon't let her go.
And but also is she is like myrock.
I know these things soundcliched, but I wouldn't be here
without her because sheunderstand understood and
understands my struggle andshe's very confident and she
makes sure that, like thatconfidence oozes off to me and
(27:31):
she'll make sure that I alwayshold my you know head high up.
Marc Bernstein (27:35):
We married to the same woman.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (27:39):
I hope not.
Marc Bernstein (27:40):
Anyway, listen, this has really been great.
Do you have any closingthoughts before we?
We have about 30 seconds left.
Anything left?
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (27:48):
you want to say.
I just want to say, you know,like I said, we were talking
about workshop strategy.
If anybody there is looking forhelp, I'm here to help.
If anybody wants to make adifference, a real philanthropic
difference, where every dollarwould go to an actual literal
cause without any administration, feel free to reach out to me.
Regarding the MaddulaFoundation, and if someone just
(28:08):
needs advice or just a mentor,you can find me on LinkedIn.
I'm always here.
Marc Bernstein (28:14):
And usually I don't let people make plugs like
that but because I know yoursis all about doing good and
helping others, I wanted to youhave the opportunity to do that.
Sam Maddula Pharm.D (28:23):
So it's not a plug.
I genuinely mean it.
Marc Bernstein (28:27):
So thanks for being here, Sam, it's been great
.
David Lopez, thanks for beingin the studio again
participating in the show, andthank you all for listening and
we'll see you again next week onFounders Forum.
Thank you.
Announcer (28:47):
Thanks.
We hope you enjoyed your timewith Founders Forum and that you
found value to take with youthroughout your day.
Join us again next week foranother episode of Founders
Forum on WXKB 1039 HD2.
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