Medicine is a passion for a select few, similar to a religious or spiritual calling. Entrepreneurship follows a like-minded path — only the strongest-willed have the capacity to create and innovate — and Dr. Feldman walked away from the formal medical industry to build a $10 million brand. Dr. Feldman did not relinquish his passion for medicine, nor did he re-evaluate a personal desire to improve the health and wellness of patients with varying needs, conditions, and goals. Rather, his keen business sense was simply too strong to ignore.
Primary care doctors are, above all, committed to the patient. Still, they understand how red tape dominates the healthcare industry, where a practicing professional’s autonomy is limited to regulations, procedures, and even controversial measures implemented by external forces with minimal-to-no sustainable knowledge of medicine.
Many times, one refers to a passion. For an NBA player, basketball “is a passion.” In the field of medicine, the theory of caring and commitment to health and wellness is considered a passion, one that is firm and concrete. Dr. Feldman did not relinquish a passion for medicine. Rather, his passion creatively altered to elevate value and promote new standards of care. Physicians quit medicine when they retire or are discharged from the field. A new passion organically emerged for Dr. Feldman: Public Relations and the willfulness to communicate in a wider spectrum. Otter PR has become successful in a short period of time through integration of theories and practices proven effective in the medical field. Now, Feldman and his team of trained, experienced and career-driven professionals are incorporating proven theory into modern practice.
Entrepreneurship has changed. Gone are the days of creating something sustainable being the sole definition or explanatory response to an entrepreneur’s title. Now, the entrepreneur is providing something of service. Dr. Jay Feldman is an entrepreneur in Public Relations. While PR is not a new field, Feldman is changing the approach to PR. The client-oriented approach begins with outreach and gains momentum as the client and representative continue to communicate. Feldman believes in active listening as a simply, yet core element of PR currently overlooked in the tech-driven industry. Delivering human value to the field is creatively unique, shining line on scripted PR stunts that have been tried by the major firms. Otter PR is bringing a new twist to PR, allocating human resources to promote human value. This is what distinguishes Feldman was an entrepreneur not only in the medical field, but in his emerging passion at Otter PR.
Dr. Jay Feldman made the transition from the medical field to pursue entrepreneurship, building an innovative new public relations firm on the premise that an idea precedes opportunity. He sets an example for the primary care physician who may feel entrapped, hand-tied, and without the capacity to pursue real-world goals outside of the examination room. Business and medicine often clash, but Dr. Feldman symbolically walked away from the latter in order to dedicate his time, efforts, passion, and commitment to his vision.
In entrepreneurship, it’s commonly talked about how the “one-million-dollar idea” is beyond the scope of the common individual. Dr. Feldman, by comparison, established a $10 million idea. His company, Otter PR, is now labeled the fastest-growing public relations firm in the United States.
Primary care doctors are not without ideas; they merely lack the opportunity to capitalize on them due to the aforementioned red tape crippling an industry that has moved beyond standards of care. Brilliant physicians are without a voice, without the freedom to commit, and without the capacity to earn based on their knowledge and experience. Dr. Feldman is paving the way for others like him to follow in his footsteps. His transition from medicine to business demonstrates the capacity to move from one passion to the next, and for the better.
Dr. Feldman does not regret his career in medicine. He respects all aspects of the medical field, even those riddled with controversy and adverse regulations. There is no seamless process in business either — each day is more challenging than the previous one — and he relishes in making the best business-minded decision for the client, for the company, and for all stakeholders of Otter PR as a community-driven company with real-world values. As physicians question their capacity to grow as doctors, Dr. Feldman highlights this potential as an inspirational motivator. With the right mindset, he is a perfect example of how any doctor can become a successful entrepreneur.
This article was written in cooperation with Dr. Jay Feldman