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Even U.S. presidents failed to fix this, but he's solving it | MedMe Health, Purya Sarmadi

This Founder pivoted four times before it worked, and says every pivot only made his conviction stronger. Purya Sarmadi, co-founder and CEO of MedMe Health, the Y Combinator startup now powering over 4,500 pharmacies across North America. In this conversation, Purya breaks down the distinction most first-time founders miss: being on the wrong wedge is not the same as being in the wrong market. He walks through the four pivots that got MedMe to its wedge, the one-line test he used to know he'd found it, and how COVID took the company from roughly 100 pharmacies to nearly 1,200 in about ten weeks. He also gets honest about the co-founder relationship, the message that nearly broke his, and the principle he now uses to keep both founders in the fight. What you'll learn: - The difference between being on the wrong wedge and being in the wrong market, and how to tell which one you're in - The one-line test he used to know he'd found the right wedge - Why AI changes the class of problems you can solve, but not your customer's job to be done - The exact co-founder message he regrets, and the "candle" principle he uses instead - How one 72-hour build won MedMe its first enterprise customer and unlocked the rest 00:00 Intro 01:27 You Can Be Right But Still Fail - Don't Give Up 04:11 Why couldn't a pharmacy do this? 04:53 The Pivots 05:42 Wrong wedge vs. wrong market 07:04 From 100 to nearly 1,200 pharmacies in ten weeks 08:04 Build on What Tech Can't Replace 10:06 What AI changes for founders, and what it doesn't 10:32 Comfort Quietly Kills Your Best Partnership 11:16 The message that nearly broke his co-founder 12:23 The candle principle EO stands for Entrepreneur& Opportunities. As we're looking to feature more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, don't hesitate to contact us at partner@eoeoeo.net LinkedIn | @EO STUDIO X | @eostudi0 instagram | @eostudio.official

Purya Sarmadiguest
Jul 2, 202614mWatch on YouTube ↗

Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
July 2, 2026
Duration
14m
Channel
EO Studio
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

This Founder pivoted four times before it worked, and says every pivot only made his conviction stronger. Purya Sarmadi, co-founder and CEO of MedMe Health, the Y Combinator startup now powering over 4,500 pharmacies across North America. In this conversation, Purya breaks down the distinction most first-time founders miss: being on the wrong wedge is not the same as being in the wrong market. He walks through the four pivots that got MedMe to its wedge, the one-line test he used to know he'd found it, and how COVID took the company from roughly 100 pharmacies to nearly 1,200 in about ten weeks. He also gets honest about the co-founder relationship, the message that nearly broke his, and the principle he now uses to keep both founders in the fight. What you'll learn:

  • The difference between being on the wrong wedge and being in the wrong market, and how to tell which one you're in
  • The one-line test he used to know he'd found the right wedge
  • Why AI changes the class of problems you can solve, but not your customer's job to be done
  • The exact co-founder message he regrets, and the "candle" principle he uses instead
  • How one 72-hour build won MedMe its first enterprise customer and unlocked the rest

00:00 Intro 01:27 You Can Be Right But Still Fail - Don't Give Up 04:11 Why couldn't a pharmacy do this? 04:53 The Pivots 05:42 Wrong wedge vs. wrong market 07:04 From 100 to nearly 1,200 pharmacies in ten weeks 08:04 Build on What Tech Can't Replace 10:06 What AI changes for founders, and what it doesn't 10:32 Comfort Quietly Kills Your Best Partnership 11:16 The message that nearly broke his co-founder 12:23 The candle principle EO stands for Entrepreneur& Opportunities. As we're looking to feature more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, don't hesitate to contact us at partner@eoeoeo.net LinkedIn | @EO STUDIO X | @eostudi0 instagram | @eostudio.official

SPEAKERS

  • Purya Sarmadi

    guest

    Founder/operator of MedMe Health, discussing the company’s pivots and building a healthcare vertical SaaS business.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of EO Studio, featuring Purya Sarmadi, Even U.S. presidents failed to fix this, but he's solving it | MedMe Health, Purya Sarmadi explores medMe’s pivots turned pharmacies into scalable community healthcare hubs MedMe iterated through four pivots, learning that being wrong about the initial product “wedge” doesn’t mean the overall healthcare market thesis is wrong.

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