INTERVIEW | Make Money by Building a Business That Works with Dr. Vivian Asamoah

From Travis Makes Money · 32:47

Show by Travis Chappell

Dr. Vivian Asamoah is a board-certified gastroenterologist, hepatologist, and integrative medicine physician, as well as the founder and medical director of Houston Gastro Institute. Fellowship-trained at Johns Hopkins, Dr. V combines conventional gastroenterology with nutrition, lifestyle, and root-cause approaches to help patients improve their digestive and overall health. In this episode, she shares her journey from growing up in Ghana and studying medicine in Switzerland to building a successful private practice in Houston—and explains why better healthcare starts with listening to patients and looking beyond prescriptions. On this episode we talk about: How growing up in an entrepreneurial family and living across multiple countries shaped Dr. V's perspective, confidence, and approach to life. Her unconventional journey through medical school in Geneva, emergency medicine, and eventually specializing in gastroenterology in the United States. Why she left an employed hospital position to launch Houston Gastro Institute—and the unexpected challenges of starting a medical practice. How combining conventional medicine with nutrition, lifestyle, and root-cause approaches can help address the underlying factors affecting a patient's health. Why mentorship, starting lean, and building an initial customer base are essential lessons for anyone launching a business. Top 3 Takeaways Your environment shapes your entrepreneurial mindset. Growing up watching her parents build businesses helped Dr. V develop the independence and drive to eventually build a practice of her own. Don't overlook the foundations of good health. Medication has an important role, but nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, and community can also influence health outcomes. The best approach starts with listening to patients and considering the full picture. Build your business around what you can prove and manage. Dr. V started with a small office, refurbished equipment, no business loan, and an existing patient base. Her advice: build demand before scaling, even if that means starting with a waitlist. Notable Quotes “Exposure does so much for your confidence, ability to connect with other people, ability to see other people's perspective, ability to appreciate diversity.” “Our job as physicians is to heal. It doesn't say to heal with prescription evidence base. It's just to heal.” “If you can get a coach or mentor, even if this is paid, it's well worth you paying it up front than making mistakes down.” Connect with Dr. Vivian Asamoah LinkedIn: Dr. Vivian Asamoah Instagram: Dr. Vivian Asamoah Practice: Houston Gastro Institute | Leaky Gut Relief A Word from Our Sponsors: - Join the millions who are already banking fee free with America's #1 choice for banking! Head to Chime.com/travis to sign up now. It only takes a few minutes! - Quick money tip for the holidays. The gift exchange is where budgets go to die. This year, run it on Elfster. It’s a free gift exchange app. You set the budget up front, Elfster draws names, and everyone makes a wish list. No guessing, no overspending, no wasted money on stuff nobody wanted. Go to travischappell.com/elfster and use code "Travis" to get started with your own gift exchange! -Glean connects enterprise knowledge, people, decisions, and workflows across systems—giving employees and AI agents the context they need to move their most important work forward, while preserving your existing permissions and security boundaries. Visit Glean.com/tmm to unlock an exclusive offer just for listeners of Travis Makes Money! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More episodes of Travis Makes Money

More episodes

PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.