From Medicine To Entrepreneurship

Stepping from medicine into entrepreneurship can be both exhilarating and disorienting. You’re moving from a field grounded in evidence and service into an arena that demands storytelling, speed, and business acumen. My advisory sits at that intersection – helping you turn your expertise and big vision into a clear strategy and investor confidence.

I’m Vanessa Pham – an award-winning founder turned strategic startup and VC advisor. I co-founded Omsom, a proud + loud Asian food brand that launched online into immediate national brand awareness. We then scaled nationwide in Whole Foods, Target, and Sprouts, achieving 300%+ YoY retail growth for three consecutive years. In June 2024, we sold Omsom to DayDayCook, a public company and global leader in Asian CPG. Along the way, Omsom reached 20B+ press impressions, built a community of 200K+, and was named "Most Innovative Company" by Inc and "one of the best cooking products" by CNN. 

Before Omsom, I was a management consultant at Bain & Company advising Fortune 500 CPGs on retail and growth strategy. I’m a Harvard graduate, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and judge, and an Inc. Female Founders 250. Founders describe my work as “bringing remarkable foresight and strategic clarity” and a “gift for helping leaders become higher-performing, more aligned versions of themselves.”

Here are the essentials I share with physician-founders preparing their first fundraise.

Setting Up a Successful First Fundraising Round

Center your long-term vision (company and personal)

Before kicking off your first fundraising round, you first need to get clear on: 

1. Your long-term vision for your company
   
   1. Where do you want it to be in 5 years? 10 years?
   2. What is your ideal exit and on what timeline?
2. What you want your journey to look like, knowing it could be 5-10+ years
   
   1. What type of stress or pressure are you willing to take on?
   2. Do you want to take a big swing or build more methodically?
   3. How do you want to balance growth vs. profitability?

Too many founders start the journey and raise capital without fully understanding what they’re signing up for. It’s critical to reflect and get clarity on these questions, so you can set up the ideal foundation and capital journey for you and your business.

For physician-founders, that means aligning on pace of growth, ownership and governance (how much control you want to retain), and the kind of partners who fit your mission and timeline. From there, the math gets simpler: how much capital you need for the next 12-18 months, which milestones that capital must unlock, and which investors are best aligned. The goal isn’t just to raise – it’s to choose capital that supports both the company’s arc and your wellbeing for the long haul.

Storytelling is your superpower

Evidence creates trust; story creates belief. For a first fundraise, your goal is to help investors get excited, use their imagination, and see possibility. Your pitch should answer three things crisply: 

1. Why now - market shift or unmet need
2. Why this product/brand - your wedge, product differentiation, and proof so far
3. Why you - clinical credibility, proximity to the problem 

This succinct narrative helps investors feel the momentum and understand why you’re the right founder to lead it.

My role is to help you shape the round you want, sharpen the story, and run a focused process. I’ll help tighten materials, pressure-test milestones and use of funds, and review terms with an eye to pace, governance, and partner fit – while protecting your time and energy.

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