We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patricia Marsh MD a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Patricia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

The early days of starting AMY MD really began before we even knew it was a company. My co-founder, Dr. Seerat Mission, and I met in residency, and we were both the doctors who spent “too much time” explaining things to families. We would slow down, make sure people understood what was happening, and honestly, that became the foundation of the business.

After residency, we joked about opening a little beach clinic in Miami with cotton balls and peroxide for seashell cuts. It was funny at the time, but looking back, that was the seed. Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly our phones became mini-clinics. Everyone was texting us medical questions because they couldn’t get timely access to care. That’s when we realized: people didn’t need more barriers. They needed real physicians they could reach quickly.

So we built Ask Me Your MD, or AMY MD, as a real-time, text-based physician platform. The main steps were incorporating the company, building the technology, recruiting doctors, creating safe workflows, figuring out pricing, and educating people on what telechat medicine actually was.

The biggest challenge was that we were creating something new, so people didn’t always have a category for it. It wasn’t traditional urgent care, it wasn’t video telemedicine, and it wasn’t concierge medicine. We had to build the trust and the language around it.

Knowing what I know now, I would have asked for help sooner. Physicians are trained to be self-sufficient, but building a business takes legal, financial, operational, and technology support.

My advice to a young professional is: start with the problem, not the logo. Be clear on who you serve and what pain point you solve. Don’t romanticize entrepreneurship, because in the beginning you may leave one job and create five for yourself. But if the problem is real, and you feel called to solve it, start before you feel fully ready.

Patricia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Dr. Patricia Kelly Marsh, a board-certified Family Medicine physician, Atlanta native, educator, and health-tech founder. My work has always centered on one thing: making healthcare easier to reach and easier to understand.

Through AMY MD, we provide real-time physician access by text. Patients can connect with doctors for urgent questions, medication concerns, pediatric and adult health issues, chronic disease support, health education, and guidance on what to do next. We also work with employers and organizations that want to offer affordable, practical healthcare access to their teams or communities.

The problem we solve is simple but serious: people have medical questions every day, but the healthcare system often makes it difficult, expensive, or slow to get answers. When people cannot reach a doctor, they search online, delay care, or end up in settings that may not have been necessary. AMY MD gives them a trusted physician-led option in real time.

What sets us apart is that we are physician-led, text-based, accessible, and intentionally human. We are not trying to replace the doctor-patient relationship. We are removing the barriers that keep people from getting to it.

I’m most proud that we have created something that serves real people in real time. Whether it is a parent worried about a child, an employee who cannot take off work, or someone trying to understand their symptoms before going to the ER, AMY MD gives people clarity when they need it.

What I want people to know is that my brand is built on access, trust, and impact. I believe innovation in healthcare should not make people feel farther away from care. It should bring the doctor closer.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Other than training and knowledge, I think the most helpful thing is discernment. In medicine, and especially in health innovation, you have to know what matters most in the moment. Sometimes that means knowing when to act quickly, when to listen longer, when to simplify the message, or when to ask for help.

I also think communication is everything. Patients do not just need information. They need clarity, reassurance, and a plan they can actually follow. The ability to translate complex medical information into language people can understand is one of the most valuable skills in healthcare.

And finally, resilience matters. This field will test you. Building anything in healthcare takes patience, humility, and the ability to keep going when progress feels slow. Knowledge gets you in the room, but discernment, communication, and resilience help you stay there and make an impact.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your firm or practice?

In the beginning, AMY MD was very much self-funded. We started lean, using our own resources, time, and relationships to get the company off the ground. There was no big check at the beginning. It was really a combination of personal investment, sweat equity, and a lot of belief.

Because we were building in healthcare, we had to be thoughtful about where the money went first. The early capital went toward the essentials: forming the company, building the technology, legal and compliance needs, creating the platform, and making sure we had the right physician workflow in place.

What I learned quickly is that funding a business is not just about raising money. It is about proving that the idea is worth investing in. Before you can ask other people to believe in it financially, you have to show that you believe in it through your own time, sacrifice, and consistency.

Eventually, as we gained traction, we were able to bring in investment and support to keep growing. But the earliest stage was really built on resourcefulness. We had to prioritize, stretch every dollar, and make decisions based on what would move the business forward, not just what looked impressive.

Looking back, I am proud that we built the foundation without waiting for perfect conditions. My advice to other founders is to start with what you have, be disciplined with your spending, and make sure every dollar is tied to building value.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.askmeyourmd.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/askmeyourmd
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/askmeyourmd
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciakellymarsh
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/askmeyourmd