Kurt Sysock's journey into entrepreneurship began while he was working as a medical physicist in a clinic. While creating radiation treatment plans, he recognized that the process for oncology patients could be significantly improved through automation.
"I just thought things could be more streamlined,” Kurt said. “How do we reduce errors, create better quality plans for these patients, and do things as efficiently as possible?"
It was this persistent thought—and his inability to let it go—that led him to start Radformation.
“If you can't let it go, then it's probably a good sign you should probably go do something about it,” he said.
Kurt's entrepreneurial journey didn't start with a massive team and unlimited resources. In the early days, Radformation was a side hustle, and he spent his days at work and his nights coding on his computer. Finding clients was challenging, visibility was limited, and resources were tight, but persistence and word of mouth marketing paid off: Radformation evolved from a side gig into a full-fledged company, and his determination led him to quit his job on Jan. 1, 2016.
"In the early days, it's just trying to talk with people to let them know you're there,” Kurt said. “And then as you grow, more and more people hear about you, and it makes it a bit easier because you have more brand recognition."
With each passing year, Radformation's reputation grew, attracting more clients. The company continued to hire and expand its product offerings, ultimately building a suite of eight different software modules.
But he couldn’t have done that without his aggressive roadmap and remaining adaptable. Radformation's strategy was to launch separate products over time and hire more engineers to build new ones, which allowed them to adapt and grow organically.
"Ideally, we would have built everything up front, but we just didn't have resources,” he said.
But the challenges didn’t stop after the products were ready to go. Selling into healthcare institutions, particularly hospitals and clinics, presents unique challenges with the complexities of regulatory compliance and lengthy sales cycles.
"I was super naive, which I think ended up working out well in my favor,” Kurt said. “I think with startups in general, it's kind of good because if you realize how hard it is, then you're like, 'I don't know if I want to do this.' But then you're kind of oblivious to all that and you're like, 'Just gung-ho and let's go do this thing.'"
And it’s that gung-ho attitude that led to Kurt and Radformation to expanding globally, too, with an entirely remote team.
Kurt Sysock's entrepreneurial journey from a medical physicist to the CEO of Radformation is a testament to the power of persistence and adaptability. His insights into building a remote team, expanding internationally, and securing strategic investments offer valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
To hear more about the challenges of expanding to new markets, the search for the right digital tools to keep remote employees connected and collaborating, and Radformation’s funding process, tune in to the latest episode of the Founder Shares podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.
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