Philip Sobash

Dr. Philip Sobash is a Medical Doctor who practices Internal Medicine. Dr. Sobash grew up in Irmo, South Carolina, but has lived in many different states throughout the years including Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia and Arkansas.
Dr. Sobash completed his undergraduate degree at Clemson University, where he still is actively involved with guest lectures to the medical students, and received his M.D. from The Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine.
When Dr. Sobash isn’t practicing medicine, he likes to give back to the community. He is a mentor for upcoming doctors, and even runs a scholarship called the Philip Sobash Scholarship for Future Medical Doctors, which awards funds to a student who wishes to become a doctor in the future.
In his spare time, he collects vintage watches, enjoys cooking, watching college football. plays with his dog. Dr. Sobash loves animals and also regularly donates money to help with organizations involved with animal rescue.

Where did the idea for your career come from?

Well, my ideas all stem out of my clinical healthcare experiences as that is where I have the most experience and have been trained in. I think there is a major lack of this insight in business and biotech that is an unfilled void. I am still in the process of formulating the exact business plan for a company, but hope to do so in the future.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

The mantra the early bird gets the worm comes to mind. Having a specific vision and goal you are trying to achieve will give you a target to shoot for so everything you are doing can help your cumulative efforts to reach where you want to do.

How do you bring ideas to life?

This is where more heads are better than one. You have a train of thought that serves you individually well but need others to dissect and critique where you are coming from. Diversity of thought comes into play in bringing new innovations to fruition.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Obviously the most evident answer at this time is artificial intelligence in healthcare. I think what I am most excited about is computational bioinformatics in terms of developing novel therapeutics. This could also lead to a possibility of further personalized genomics medicine in a way we haven’t seen before

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Having a multidisciplinary approach to problems I think it’s key here. When you become too specialized you may develop one train of thought that could pigeonhole you. This goes back to the previous question of how-to bring ideas to life. Again, I would reiterate that diversity of thought is paramount and pushing your ideas forward

What advice would you give your younger self?

Probably the cliché “doesn’t listen to what others want you to do, do what you want to do”. I have had a lot of individuals tell me to stay on the tried-and-true path of clinical medicine and that my ideas of merging clinical healthcare with business/biotech are seemingly useless. But the further I go along in my clinical career and gaining a better understanding of the current landscape I realize that there is an unmet need for physicians input and other areas of business.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

That physicians can be much better utilized, and in many cases possess a lot of the qualities that make good innovators and entrepreneurs, in improving healthcare than solely clinical medicine.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

One thing you should do almost daily in some aspects but not all is self-reflection. Assess your strength and weaknesses constantly. What can you improve on what are you good at and being able to clearly verbalize these things? How many more self-introspection will also allow you to see others and where they are strong and can improve and being able to communicate that to them

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

There is too much fear of rejection. I’ve been rejected more than anyone else I know and I’m still in the position to achieve every goal I have ever set out for myself. The idea of being told no seems to be one of fear, but realizing that being told no doesn’t make you go backwards but instead leaves you in the same spot you’re at will open your eyes to reaching for newer possibilities because there’s no harm in doing so.

I would say a second point that is arguably more important is the ability to develop your soft skills in order to network. I believe that a lot of where I have gotten in my career was due to me being able to relate to people and form relationships. No matter what industry you’re in, no matter what your beliefs or feelings are relationships are going to play a factor no matter what. So being able to cultivate these is only going to benefit you.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Creating a newsletter where medical practitioners can get the most concise and up-to-date medical literature (in their given specialty) to deliver practice changing information them in a format that is concise without detracting from the inundation of information they receive daily.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I would have to say on a good steak and wine. Can’t ever go wrong enjoying a great meal.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

As someone with a lot going on the key is to stay organized, I found that the app “Things “is a very useful tool for it to do list. It’s not just a simple to check off but rather you can categorize what to do when it’s due the priority of it and having set reminders where it takes the guesswork out of when you need to do things has been a big help.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

One of the most impactful books that I’ve read it made such a difference in kind of how I do things is Originals by Adam Grant. Grant is an organizational psychologist who has written a multitude of books. Originals is about how to get over the concept of groupthink and allow yourself to be a nonconformist in your business or life to help you thrive. This may seem contradictory to my previous statements about having a diversity of thought. The difference here is many times organizations are set up more for extroverts rather than introverts, and anyone who cringes when someone says “brainstorming” will know what I mean. Thinking outside the confines of your “job description” will help you stand out and make a name for yourself.

What is your favorite quote?

“I don’t have dreams I have goals, and now it’s onto the next one”. From Harvey Specter on the show “Suits”.

I think this is profound quote because a dream is something that your mind creates often in your imagination. Contrast that to a goal, which is tangible and concrete end point. I think this makes a world of difference in helping you in your motivation to reach where you wish to be.

Key Learnings:

• Physicians are underutilized in business and biotech and there is a major unfilled void we’re having a pragmatic clinical expertise would be useful in these industries
• Artificial intelligence is going to change the face of personalized genomics and novel therapeutic discovery
• The reason why you hear the same keys to be successful over and over is because there is a fundamental element of truth to all of them. Being able to network and using your soft skills will immensely impact where you can go more so than any tests, scores or degrees