Curing Blindness with Brad Doerschuk

In our first episode of What’s the Mathematics, we sit down with Brad Doerschuk, CEO of InFocus Clinical Research, a global clinical research organization at the forefront of advancing treatments for retinal diseases and vision loss.

Brad breaks down the real-world “math” behind clinical research—from how therapies move through the pharmaceutical pipeline to the global coordination required between biotech companies, physicians, and patients. We dive into the high-stakes world of ophthalmology trials, where innovations like gene therapy and advanced drug delivery systems are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible—including the potential to slow, restore, or even cure blindness. 

This episode explores how specialized firms like InFocus play a critical role in bringing life-changing treatments to market—managing everything from clinical trial design and patient recruitment to regulatory strategy and global execution. 

If you’ve ever wondered how medicine, business, and innovation intersect on a global scale, this conversation gives you a front-row seat to the mathematics behind it all.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome back, welcome back. It's been a long time to another edition of What's the Mathematics?

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Taking some time off to do a lot of different things, and then this journey of of my return is gonna be all about entrepreneurs and founders. Thankful that the last two or three years I was able to make a personal investment into the banking world, working with auditors, working with turning uh turning a team around, ups and downs of that. The journey was amazing. Now I've resurfaced with a lot of things to talk about, but in that time I met a lot of great founders. And so we will be going through founders and CEOs, business succession, capital markets. Sure, you're okay? Yeah. And what makes these folks tick? So because I can see it's on the welcome back to another matter. I am your morning. Um there's not it's not much over there's nothing fancy, there's nothing music I can play too. I'm gonna edit everything and it's gonna be a casual conversation. So so relay some music. So so it's you know, we're recording right now, so you can just um know that it's on and say whatever you want to say. Man, so before I get into all the questions in the format of the show, that what was your thought when I asked you to do that? What was going on in your brain when I asked you to do this?

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Well, I mean, I am a uh I think I'm an Eneagram 2. And um, so I was a little bit worried. I was worried how I was gonna come across. Okay. Yeah, what kind of impression I was gonna make. Yeah, because I know this the distribution, your audience, you know, you you you have some very impressive people that you hang around with, and I'm just a uh I'm an emerging young man.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Whatever. I think I think the the reason why I'm doing it, and I'm glad I asked you, and I'm is like I said before, is I've I'm in that spot in my life. I've gone through this big change, and that year, year kind of transitioning to where I am now, it really showed me what I'd been given. And and even the role that I thought I was supposed to do, that was taken away from me, and I had to suffer for a little while to find my next thing and go through that. You went through that with me, but that time gave me a chance to really sit back and say, oh, dude, you've created one of the strongest networks in Tennessee. Amen. And you have you and and how do you take advantage of that while also doing what you love to do, which is also give advice and connect, folks. And and remembering that I had done this podcast out of COVID and just out of the out of the fun of of just that time you're home, and I said, let's bring it back. And it's like, let's go. And so now I want to say I'm thinking ahead, like two or three years from now, when I've archived 30 to 40 of these interviews and having these this archive of local entrepreneurs, their stories, and my friends, and just what all the journeys that we've gone on, that's gonna be able to be cool. Because then I want to create like this curation of all y'all, like we all host something once or twice a year around the show and um you know, this Jefferson. Best of. Yeah, the best of. And you know, so yeah, but but but also. But I also it's like, you know, invite everyone to the club to to have a cocktail to meet everyone. I was talking to Danielle, the CEO of uh of um Boy Scouts, Girl Girl Scouts about doing the Jeffersonian dinner for her and another board member out here. So this is a part of me. This is my life, this is me stirring the economic soup. And you're you're my first interview and guest this year.

SPEAKER_03 4:00

Well, thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Yeah, so we'll we'll hop right into it. Uh man, talk about just a little bit the origin story of you um getting into the space that you're in, you know, without, you know, you can share as much as you want, but but really, you know, from high school being a phenomenal um uh athlete and track and football and going through college and getting into the science space, like talk about that early journey of like how you ended up here. Um because I think it's fascinating um how you've done it, but but just give a little bit of the origin story.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

Yeah, I mean I wasn't thinking of going back to uh childhood, but uh but certainly when you look back on you know in your childhood, you do realize that you have tendencies, you know, in different directions. I mean, you mentioned you know sports. I mean, for me, I am passionate about sports, uh, but a lot of that's because I'm a very competitive person. And um, you know, I going back to youth sports, I was uh I played like 12 years of football and I was a quarterback and had a lot of success, you know, early on. And um, it just you know, it it inspired me and fed me. And I did track, you mentioned in in high school and um be high jumper and uh and did well enough academically. I ended up um going to Vanderbilt. Um, very fortunate opportunity. Got to meet a ton of uh, you know, really driven people in that environment. And um, it was a small, insulated environment. And uh, you know, and from there, you know, started to try to build and mold what I wanted to do. Coming out of high school, I thought I want to go to medical school. I want to be a doctor. And um, and I don't know if that came from environment, came from my parents, came from within me, uh, you know, where that really came from. But as I started to evolve through college, I realized, you know what, I'm not exactly certain that being a doctor is right for me. The way that medicine was moving, more towards an institutional, you know, system, you know, a lot of them owned by private equity, a lot of hospital-based, you know, practices and things like that, as opposed to the independent, historical, old school, you know, medical practices. So I have my doubts and such, but I had gone to college and got a degree in the sciences, um, got a chemistry degree because if you're going to medical school, you get a chemistry degree. But if you're not going to medical school, what do you do with a chemistry degree?

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

There is not much. I do not work in a lab anymore. I did it a little bit early on, uh, it was at Vanderbilt and realized that the lab was just not for me. Um, beakers and test tubes, um, I it, you know, we were not good friends.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah, but I can see you in there though. Yeah, I did. I had my lab coat over the colour. The beakers and the glass, the goggles standing over the.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

I was committed, but I realized um, you know, I I probably had to go another direction.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Bunsen burner. Yeah. Oh, the Bunsen burner. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

I did that in high school. It's coming back. Yeah, yeah. So um, you know, but my science passions, you know, led me into pharma and biotech ultimately, um, out of the lab. And I was uh an overly confident, somewhat naive, really, to society and business expectations as far as what a young person was supposed to do or was capable of. And um I chased some really high mountains, had some really transformational opportunities early on, particularly with Roche, uh Hoffman La Roche, uh, a big global pharmaceutical um biotech company. And um, within a few years, uh very fortunate to lead a critical late phase clinical trial of a product called Osyltamavir. We know it today as Tamaflu. That went really well.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Yeah, I've heard you talk about that, but it's pretty famous.

SPEAKER_03 7:50

Yeah, it is an amazing drug. I yeah, everybody should have it in their medicine cabinet. It's unfortunate it's not over the counter, but it works really well.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

I tell my friends I uh that you cure you cured the flu. The flu. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:01

The key is though, with influenza, people have got to know that so what tamaflu does is it stops the replication of the virus. Influenza, true influenza, not stomach flu or something, replicates in the body for about 72 hours and then it sheds for 72 hours. Hence, you get a six to seven day course of illness. Common sense, if you can stop the replication of that virus early on, you're gonna shorten the duration of illness. But most people, when they get the flu, they stay home for a day, they go to the doctor after two days. Well, now you're already replicating the virus for 48 hours. It's over. The drug doesn't have much chance. Yeah. So you got to be able to recognize it right away. Um, it's typically a fever onset, mac truck feeling, your body gets flushed, chills. And then um, but anyway, amazing drug that went well. After that, with Roche, I was uh had the opportunity to lead, uh, be in the leadership team for a hepatitis C initiative. And that drug ended up uh taking over the market for Ep C for about 10 years. Um, but that in general, that was kind of my you know, youth to uh early or business origin story, yeah. Uh, you know, set my foundation for the path forward ultimately.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yeah, so so when when did kind of the you know, you've gone through through this. Um, I think every every business person has to go into the job for us and learn and and learn the corporate world. And so um when did you see an opportunity to take some risk um and and go uh you know entrepreneurially, even if it was a side hustle at first or if it was volunteering somewhere while you still worked? Uh when did when did you see that um opportunity and how'd you feel about it? Like as is some some someone that I don't know of has, you know, you may not have a lot of risk cover. You do ski. Yeah, and yeah, yeah, I do. Yeah, if you look at a little uh LinkedIn profile, you are a little you are a little bit of a risk taker, so it you know, I'm curious about that.

SPEAKER_03 9:55

Yeah, so that's a great question. Um, and and I do get that all the time. The whole uh LinkedIn profile. Have you seen that?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Wait, is does it have the jump?

SPEAKER_03 10:04

Yes, that is me.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

That's the jump, that is, that is me. Yeah, people always wonder.

SPEAKER_03 10:07

Yeah, is that real? That is me. Yes, yes. And it was uh it was certainly in the last 10 years, but um before I tore my ACL uh uh when you were uh you were there with me. Uh that was a big risk too. That was a big risk. Playing uh competitive men's basketball.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah, it's a defensive play that you heard yourself. Yes, it was a defensive play.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

I said that uh Philip was not gonna score that layup and uh I went down and tackled him. That was a bad idea. It was a bad idea. Yeah, yeah. So um yeah, I mean, I think you're essentially asking uh, you know, what's um what inspired me to kind of start my company, my adventure. Yeah, you know, what what uh what was I looking to solve, you know? Um and uh, you know, really it was that experience at Roche, a lot of those foundational experiences that inspired me. And um, you know, you either have inside of you the um comfort level to take risks, or you, or you don't. You know, we all line up on a continuum how much risk we're willing to take and to tolerate. Um, you know, and I think the biggest uh thing that drove me in that direction when I was at Roche, um, as with all large pharma and biotech companies, uh the operational teams are very limited with the contract research organization partners that they can work with. Uh, we are here at InFocus Clinical Research. We're considered a contract research organization or CRO, and the largest pharma and biotech companies in the world, their procurement divisions really limit who you can work with. So you're largely limited to the McDonald's, as I call them, companies, uh, you know, the Walmarts, you know, Citigroup, I mean, large, large global partners, uh, because they want you to be able to operate in 50, 100 countries, what have you. Um, so the one critical thing though I noticed was we really hated working with the CRO partners we had to work with. We're only allowed to work with two or three of them. And that still stands today. If you go to any large or mid-sized pharma biotech company and ask them, tell me the CRO that you love to work with, you'd love like to work with tomorrow. You get silence because they don't exist. The teams hate working with them. There's a lot of I mean, I we could go in another conversation, I could tell you why they um they really don't like working with them. But I recognized that and I thought, wow, that is a problem to be solved. There has to be a better way. There it is. You have got, you know, billions and billions, tens of billions, maybe a hundred billion is spent on these drug development programs, you know, hundreds and hundreds of drug development programs annually, thousands of them, spending billions of dollars. And most of the pharma companies hate the CROs that they're paying these billions and billions of dollars to every year. I mean, that's a problem to be solved right there. Yeah. So um look, I took a lot of risks.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

You know, what was the biggest? What was the biggest risk you took?

SPEAKER_03 13:04

I mean, I think the biggest the biggest risk anyone can take is is starting a company. Yeah. There's there's no question. Because you are to to start a business, you are betting on yourself. Right. You are um you're not reliant on anyone. The easiest thing you can do, and it's not a bad choice. I mean, there are a lot of beautiful businesses in this world to become part of, to be on the team of, and to grow your career with. There's nothing wrong with that. But to go out and start your own business, yeah, you are you you answer to yourself and you are responsible for success or failure entirely yourself, as opposed to the team around you. Right. And the team that's already in place or what's been built before you. So that that that's an incredible risk for anybody.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

Well, tell us that tell us a little bit about the process without giving up personal information about the company. Uh the inception and and the and the the way you went and uh maybe you had to raise capital, maybe you had to borrow some money, maybe you had to go into your own war chest um to take that risk, and you had to go and call on and know that you would have opportunities uh when you said when you hung the shingles um for the business. Like what that that risk and and what what was that process like for you?

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Well, I I knew that I did not want to be confined in a um in a box or um you know working my way up a ladder in a in a career specifically. I I wanted to have unlimited opportunity. And um, you know, I I already mentioned you know solving a problem that I saw that was out there. I wasn't certain how exactly I was going to solve that, um, but I knew that I could, I knew I was capable because I had done that on this side being on the side of a large pharma company and seeing the infrastructure that was needed for that and and how to solve that um that quandary and that problem. I did not take on any outside investment, and um, and that's a very risky path, but it also is an insulated path in that it insulates others from you know any collateral damage. You know, I mean a lot of investors out there, whether they're investing, whether it's private equity firms that are investing in a basket of companies or um individual investors investing in stocks, or you know that they're not all going to work. Yeah. Um and so, you know, in that sense, by not taking out on outside investment, I wasn't risking anything for anyone else.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:42

I was risking it all myself.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:44

And um, and you know, I I've had a penchant for that, I guess, in in life, you know, taking risks and willing to gamble on myself, but on myself. I mean, going back to that skiing example, indeed, um, you know, if you're jumping off a uh a cliff or you're, you know, doing something extremely dangerous, um, it it's all on me. You know, I'm I'm the one taking the calculated risks. And when I look back at it, I'm I've been willing to do that in life and um been very, very blessed and and fortunate. Uh, there are some you know core characteristics that I've I've come to realize that uh you know allow me to um to do well in taking risks.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Yeah. And yeah. Is there uh so if you had an equation for taking risk and some of those calculations, you talk about the calculations, our show is what's the mathematics? And so this is I mean, you heard her calculations. So um it uh risk is something that we get scared of um when it's uncalculated, right? But you said calculated risk in starting a business, and some of the things um you principally have done in that calculation are are can you name just a few? Um if we have some other folks that are listening that maybe looking to go into business for themselves, what are some some broad broader calculations that they could be doing before they take it?

SPEAKER_03 17:03

So I mean you're kind of wondering about the formula, yeah, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

A little a little a little bit. I mean, and we'll we'll end with a formula, maybe just get a few pieces and then uh we can move on. But I just wanted to hold on that because this is a big part of entrepreneurship and being a founder and a CEO is is calculated risk um to be successful. And some some people get it twisted because I have a hunch on something, I'm gonna go all in and it's gonna be, and though those are the ones that fail fail. You're exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 17:31

I mean, I we we see all the time. I mean, obviously, most businesses that have started fail, they don't succeed. Yeah, um, very, very few. I've uh you know, looked it up the other day. Like, how many businesses get to I don't know, half million, a million, ten million, yeah, uh 50 million, a hundred million, you know, how many b and you know, as you start to move up that scale, the percentages uh practically don't exist because they're so infinitimal. Uh, you know, so it is really, really hard. And so I think the best thing for people to know they're looking to go to business or in an early business or um in a growing business. It is uh unquestionably the most difficult, challenging, and stressful experience you can have of your life.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Yeah, no sugarcoating.

SPEAKER_03 18:20

You know, it could be uh, you know, relationships or kids or you know, whatever it is. I mean, you know, family that can be challenging and difficult and stressful, and um, but the reality is, you know, building a business, if you're gonna build a successful business growing, thriving, it is guaranteed going to be the most stressful, personally and professionally, challenging and difficult experience of your entire life, and you need to know what you're signing up for. And the reality is 99.9999% of people in this world don't start a business, they go and work for a company that has thrived, is in place, is is is mature, and and that's a beautiful thing too. But if you want to you know really found a business and an impactive you know business, you have to be ready for that ride. It's also though, even though I say it's the most challenging, difficult, and stressful experience your entire life, it's also going to be the most rewarding, fulfilling, and invigorating experience you can ever have. Yeah. So you will never, I mean, it you will never taste the highest highs if you're not willing to deal with the lowest lows.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

That's it. So work hard, play hard. Work hard, play hard.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

Yes, I love that. That was my uh my motto at Vanger Belt, you know, it was uh work hard, play hard. Yeah, we we we studied 20 hours a day for you know, four days a week, and then um, you know, had fun for 20 hours a day for three days a week.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Yeah, rightfully so. Um so so this is the big a big pivot, you know, is is success, but then there's failure. All right, moments of failure, uh, you know, of dream career, skiing, playing basketball, running a business, raising a family. Yeah. Um, you know, failures am along the way and lessons learned from those failures that have created more opportunities. So just would love to hear any any of of that. Maybe there's a story particularly that you could share um that would be be um that you can illustrate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:25

Uh so examples of failure along the way. Yeah, yeah. And there's always failures. I mean, for every one of those um, you know, those big ski jumps or something, you you fall. And uh, you know, it's funny, I was telling some guys the other day uh with skiing, I said, you know, one of the most important things, and I I taught my kids how to ski like two or three, um, is learning to fall. I look back on that, I think that you know, one of the keys to being a good, strong skier, like early on, I taught them falling is fun. We got to learn how to fall. And you translate that over to to life and business, and you you got to learn how to how to fall and learn how to deal with failure. Because if you are going to be a successful entrepreneur, you're gonna be successful in business at some stage in in your process, you've got to be able to deal with with failure. And I certainly on the business side have had that. Um, the first uh time, uh, really had two, a couple of uh big, if you want to say, setbacks or you know, challenges. Um, I, you know, prefer not to use failure. I mean, it's it's only a failure if you don't learn from it. So uh, you know, as long as we're learning from from mistakes or learning from from challenges, then uh, you know, they're they're adding to our our story of success ultimately. But the first one, um midway through growing my first CRO, uh, had three biotech partners committed to me, felt really good, and then had some uncontrollable events, which happens a lot in our industry. In the one case, one of the uh companies lost their funding, uh market crashed, and they lost their funding. Another one had Some unexplained deaths on a uh a drug that they had emerging. And so that really um unfortunately uh terminated those projects. And so just as I thought things were you know setting sail and we had good visibility and good forecast and pathway forward, uh kind of legs were taken out from under me. Um, second one was within six months of starting uh the incredible opportunity that has been in focus clinical research, which uh have been uh working on building for the last 10 or 12 years now. And um it was within six months, and the initial partner leadership of the initial partner uh was terminated within six months of starting that venture. So they were critical to the formation, um, the concept, the idea, and backing it and supporting it. Um, and they were eliminated. And the new leadership came in and they said, Um, good luck, you're on your own, we're not funding this anymore. So I had wound down my entire prior business to commit everything to this new business, this new opportunity. And um, and so that was uh that that was definitely a uh a setback, um, a challenge that you know I had to deal with. I mean, those experiences though ultimately taught me whether at the time or just looking back, it taught me everything about my character. And um ultimately it becomes it's your inner makeup that uh your character and your resolve that determine what you are capable of in business.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Right. So you're uh and I kind of rem remember a little bit you going through that transition. And as as you're you're scaling in focus and you're thinking strategically about growth, how much does that setback help you make decisions of the future?

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Well, I I guess I'd go back to character. I mean, it tests your resolve, it tests your commitment. Yeah. Um and and and those are ultimately key parameters that determine whether you are going to be successful in business. Um there's also the whole you know concept of preparation meets opportunity. Some people call it luck, but uh you in my experience anyway, you have to have that that commitment that resolve that is is next level is is is very unusual. And uh and so that's what those setbacks do, is they test your commitment. Because at any point in time, you know, I could have faced one of those challenges and gone and taken a job with, let's say, Pfizer or Merck or whoever. And um, you know, it's uh these are companies that have you know built something really beautiful and strong and stable, and you can get on board with that team and that ship and and and ride and and be a part of something great, but instead of building it yourself. So those setbacks really they they test your resolve and your commitment to to building something yourself.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

You know, Brad, one of the things I really admire about in focus and you as their as the leader is is the fact that you're one of the only companies in our market that I have a connection to that has a global presence. And in Nashville, that is there's a lot of healthcare, um, you have a lot of real estate, um, service business, hospitality. Uh so I get to I get to frequent a lot of businesses that do a lot of local and you know regional things, but you're only only companies, man, where you are on the road. Australia, you're in the Swiss Alps, you're you know, Germany, like, and you know, we have we share coffee time in church and we get to talk about those stories. But I, you know, share just an experience of your global travel um and talk about just you know American business versus international business, people you talk to and how we do things differently than how you have to negotiate things there. I just think that is uh you hear about people majoring in international business, but I was just like, what is that? But I can truly say I have a friend who is in international business.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

You do. Yes, that's really cool. Yeah, and it's a good point you bring up. We're not um because Infocus is is privately held, uh, you know, there there's not a lot of information out there about Infocus. Yeah, you know, I've had somebody do a um a global data search on us the other day, and um, you know, these deep intelligence networks that find out everything on every company. And I had them, as an example, search for us in the projects we work on, which we've worked on probably, you know, 50 or 100 projects easily, and they could only find two. I thought, wow, that is great, really under the radar. That's good. And so so we are even certainly uh in Nashville. But yeah, we are active uh currently in focuses in about 20 countries. Um we've got an office in Australia, we've got an office in in Europe, we got an office uh we've just recently set up in China as well. Um we've got operations down in in Latin America, and and certainly as you're growing a global business, a full service global entity, you do have to uh uh you know get out there and engage. You know, you gotta get your boots on the ground and really build relationships. You know, business and life are certainly about relationships. And um and that's uh something I've done and I've embraced is getting out there and doing that. I was very, very fortunate early on in my life to have opportunities through my dad. Um my family, you know, has a long missionary history. My grandparents and my dad donated uh probably a quarter of his time, you know, work wise. He was a telephone producer and uh did network stuff and then also donated a lot of time to relief and development organizations. And as part of that, I got to travel with him to a number of third world countries, um, be it in uh in Central America, in uh in Southeast Asia, in Africa, and seeing these uh third world communities and seeing the work that is done there. And a lot of it happens through relationships and building relationships with the local community. And I've certainly done that on the business side. Um, you know, one of the first areas we moved into as a company at Infocus uh was, I guess, boy, probably six years ago, uh, was the Australia market. And um we leveraged, you know, relationships both from people that were uh foundational to Infocus that had global relationships, uh, Dr. Larry Singerman in particular. Um so leveraged those and uh, you know, built uh operations in different markets around the world through those relationships uh and such. But uh but traveling uh around the world on business is um, I will say uh it is a difficult thing. It is not for the faint of heart.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Uh I think it's not as sexy as it seems to be a lot of people and use it. I don't travel a lot, so I think it's sexy. I'm with a good thing.

SPEAKER_03 28:44

You've heard me say it. I will uh I've done it several times. I will uh go to Australia, I'll leave on a uh let's say leave on a Monday, come back on a Friday. Um and keep in mind that you uh you you miss a day or two in there. So uh might go to Sydney, Australia and Melbourne and and be there for two nights in Australia. Uh that's the way it works. If you travel to Australia on a Monday, come back on Friday, you're only there two nights, actually. So two other days are spent traveling your plane overnight. So that's that's difficult business travel. Yeah. So yeah, I would leave here uh, you know, let's say on a Monday afternoon, I'd land there on a Wednesday morning and um and then you know you you hit the ground running, you go out for a walk on on Bondi Beach and wake yourself up, get the coffee and um and get going, and you got Wednesday night and Thursday night, you leave Friday morning at 9 a.m. You land back in uh LA at 7 a.m. the same day after being on a plane for 15 hours and um you know and get home that night.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

So that's get back the same day at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 29:45

Yeah, actually, funny enough, if when you leave Sydney on a let's say a 9 a.m. flight, you land in LA at 6 or 7 a.m. that same day. You land in LA before you took off in Sydney. Yeah. So that'll uh you you can't think about that too much, whether you're I'm going to Europe, whether I'm going to Latin America, whether you're going to Australia, you know, China. You you you've got to uh you gotta reset your mind pretty quickly on I usually do it a little bit in advance, and certainly that day of you put your mind quickly on their time zone um so that you're you're ready to go. Because you're there for business. I mean a lot of people say, oh, you should stick around, you should do some, you know, I gotta go to uh Argentina soon for a uh an important new um Latin America meeting that we're supporting, sponsoring, really trying to build up clinical research uh efforts down there. It's a really wonderful population of uh of clinics and uh researchers in in particular in Argentina and Brazil and throughout South America, and we're supporting that effort to uh to grow that area. But that's a um, you know, that that's a big trip down to uh Argentina and people are like, well, you should stick around. Well, we also have a lot of work to do here, and uh, you know, this is a business trip. This is a business trip. That's right. That's right. So you don't don't really stick around in business dress.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Yeah, yeah, you gotta get get keep your hustle. Um talk a little bit about the company itself, the research. I've heard you mention um to people when you're describing the business about uh curing clearing curing blindness, and and and really that's one of the things, one of one of the things that you research and are are working to do. And I've and I would love for you to align that with your mission growing up as a kid in third worlds and seeing some of the things in healthcare challenges and how sometimes that can align with your with some of your own mission of how you want to do things um in the world. So like talk about that.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

Yeah, so and you know, no offense to people that are working on, you know, new hypertension medications or um, you know, new uh, you know, diabetes or you know, we have a number of illnesses that have a lot of medications out there on the market and and a lot of things that work for a lot of uh diseases. But we also have a lot of diseases and um disease processes that have no treatments available and uh that are very, very challenging. A lot of areas of oncology, uh certainly things like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's, you know, we don't have uh, you know, very good treatments. Alzheimer's probably your first trillion-dollar drug if you can get a uh product that will, you know, eliminate the formation of plaques and things. And another one are these retina diseases, so back of the eye diseases, we call them, or uh posterior segment of the eye. There are diseases like diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, uh age-related macular degeneration, wet AMD and dry AMD, geographic atrophy, um, and then a whole host of diseases that we call inherited retinal disorders, things like Stargardt disease, retinitis pigmentosa, and uh and about 40 others in that realm that are your primary birth, you know, inherited blindness-causing disorders, that there are really no treatments available. Uh, we're getting on the cusp of that. And and it's those kinds of things that certainly drive me and drive my passion, and most of all the people that work in this industry. Uh, for me personally, seeing growing up um people giving back, uh, whether it was you know my dad or my grandparents or others giving to others, uh, that's something that has really, you know, fed me. And uh just in life, I mean you and I, you know, we obviously work uh, you know, it's only one Sunday a month and we volunteer, but it it feels great to give back uh you know to others. It's it's very fulfilling in in terms of mankind and humanity. Uh there's there's almost nothing more fulfilling to your heart than giving back to others. Yeah. Yeah. So hopefully, yeah, you know, through this work that we're doing, you know, we are giving back of our you know, knowledges and our insights and uh you know our operational acumen to hopefully advance some medications that will uh treat or cure these blindness-causing disorders.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Yeah. So now we're talking future. Um, talk about research. And now we're in the very beginning, early stages of AI and research. And you we've some of the um prognosticators of AI have talked about cures for cancer and Alzheimer's, and and now you're in the cusp of of of eye disease and ophthalmology. Like, what what does it mean for you to see this technology as a someone that's an insider's insider insider that's really gonna hopefully depend on it to really to help speed up what you've already been been researching? Like, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_03 34:32

You're asking what is the impact of the yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

Yeah, what is what is what do you think the impact of AI is gonna do for your your business and just the the research that that you're doing?

SPEAKER_03 34:40

Yes. Yeah, so it's a um it's a broad spectrum. I I can see that there could be transformational impacts, yeah. And I can see that there can be limited impacts depending on what area of uh of our industry or of day-to-day process that you that you're looking at. Um similar to maybe the early days of you know technology development with computers, then leading on into the internet, you know, there there's always going to be some overstatement of the impact. But uh, you know, wrapping your arms around how can we collectively best utilize the tools that are emerging and they're out there to make our lives more efficient and uh maybe even greater quality. Our work process, our work product is is very, very critical. At this point in time, we're seeing it emerge. So there's um there's a lot of uh, I guess I'd say spaghetti getting thrown against the wall in terms of what is going to stick, what's going to work well, uh, what's going to be valuable. So we're all, as business leaders, we're sorting through that. We're thort sorting through that process of what's good and what's not. I've had a number of AI companies come to me. They come all the time with ideas and um and we'll pressure test them and see what works and what doesn't work. Um, you know, I had one that said they could uh eliminate all of my staff, and that was about a year and a half ago, and I explained how they they couldn't do that, and they came back and basically uh described how they could eliminate, you know, maybe a quarter of our staff. And uh we went through it and we costed it out, and it was going to cost the same uh to pay them to eliminate a quarter of our staff as it did to have the quarter of our staff as humans uh instead of AI images uh working with people. And what I explained was that's great, but you're gonna take away the culture of my business and the culture of the people. So uh we're gonna get to a point though where there is so things that yeah, we use AI, we've used AI in our um business and our industry, which are really tech innovations in some say cases, but is basically AI um for a long time, for decades. And as I said, it's mostly figuring out what is going to make things more efficient and more quality ultimately. And the AI will have an impact on that, but is it is it overnight? Is it transformational? Like I know that probably saw the Microsoft uh CEO said uh a few weeks ago that in uh that something like 75 to 90 percent of white-collar jobs are gonna be eliminated within 18 months. I don't foresee that happening. Uh maybe certain white-collar jobs in certain sectors, absolutely. Um, but uh not across the board.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Yeah. So what's your dream for the company, man? Like what where where would you like to see the company um be based on the opportunity in front of you?

SPEAKER_03 37:29

Um great question. Uh what's led me to where we are now, which is you mentioned curing blindness, uh tackling retina diseases, uh has become a great passion. So for me, I see you know all of the uh you know core illnesses and diseases that are have a lot of unmet needs. So in oncology, uh certainly in addition to the retina diseases that we're working on and Alzheimer's. I mean, those three areas uh I could have a hundred more years of passion pursuing those because you know the knowledge and the know-how how to solve those those quandaries and those challenges of medicine is out there and the possibilities out there. We proved it with COVID. When you can harness all of the knowledge and experience of all of us who've been in this industry for decades, focused on one thing at one time, you saw what happened, COVID. It emerged out of out of nowhere, and within a year, we had solved, you know, how to uh how to address it, you know, in terms of the vaccines that obviously worked and so forth. And uh we could do that with really almost any disease. But the problem is now, after COVID went, we're all scattered across working on thousands of different diseases, you know, hundreds of uh of different indications and therapeutic areas and things. So it's just a more fragmented knowledge base. Uh hopefully AI can help us uh, you know, make that process a little bit quicker in terms of tackling diseases that have unmet AIDS.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

That's really cool, man. Um, I'm really proud of you. Uh Brad, I think um a lot of you, your family, um I think the approach to the way you're doing business, with all the pressures of being an entrepreneur, you've you've hit the pay d'eurve. Now people are interested in your business from from acquisitions and mergers and partnerships, and everybody wants a piece of in focus. And I've watched you handle it in such um, I mean, just an elegant way. You know, you're flattered, but you're also focused on what you've built. And um some people could take that flattery and and and be out. And I'm moving to Hawaii and I'm doing my thing. And I and I I think your approach has been not because you want to make a ton of money, we all want to make money, but your approach has been like, I have something special. And you mentioned that, you know, Alzheimer's and and oncology, and and I and that's the first time I've heard you say that. I'm just oh, I get it now. Like you've culture, you just you mentioned culture too, right? And you're taking away our culture. We built a culture, and so those two areas deserve the same culture from what you've built. And so I applaud you in that, man. And this is our this is my show and and the podcast is really about also giving you those flowers while we archive this experience for the world to hear and whoever wants to listen, and hope some someone can pick up and learn from what you've done, man, and can go and do the same thing in other businesses and hospitality or in real estate or in banking, like and and and take that same approach to hey, I'm doing this for the world, but I'm I'm holding on to the culture of it because I think I'm doing it the right way. You see what I'm saying? That's awesome. Um, kind of ronding third and coming home, you know, what's the mathematics? You know, life's an equation, um, business is an equation, all the things that we do comes down to the math, the finance and accounting department, kind of dictate how the rest of the company, because that's your health of the business. And so, what would you say is the mathematics to your success um in life and also the business? What what things in this? You can do an algebra, you can do uh add and subtract, just basic arithmetic, but just talk about the math of what you've done to be successful and um and interested to hear hear how you describe that.

SPEAKER_03 41:20

Yeah, well, uh first I appreciate your words. Um, they mean a lot. I mean, we all have to have people that that support us, and um, and you know I I love you as a friend, and we really appreciate your your support, certainly. Um but in in the same note, to be successful in in anything, really successful, you have to love what you do. And you have to be passionate about it. Yeah. And if you love what you do, you're not looking to get rid of it. You mentioned, you know, people always wanting to transact companies and things like that. But if you love what you do, why why would you want to move on and just do something else? I think the same thing with retirement. My mom used to say, like, are you saving for retirement? You were, you know, what are you gonna do when you retire? And um, and she worked in uh UPS uh management for for decades.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Yeah, that'll do it.

SPEAKER_03 42:05

And I always say, like, why uh why would I ever want to retire? Yeah, I love what I do. If you look at successful people, they're not really retiring from things they love to do. Look at Warren Buffett, you know, when did he start investing? At 30 or in his 20s? He was still investing up until his 90s, leading Berkshire Hathaway, you know, 95 or 96, I think, you know, and he actually finally decided let me take a couple years off. Um, but if you love what you do, don't be thinking about how am I gonna retire? How many gonna get out of it? How embrace it and enjoy it. And so, you know, so I have, I would say on the business side though, um, you know, the formula. I I mean, obviously, mathematics is it's not all about just about numbers, you know, complex math is is about formulas. And um, you know, when we look at formulas, the most important formula, uh in my opinion, very unfortunately, is one that cannot be taught. And that's what I've realized in business and entrepreneurship, is that that formula that that cannot be taught is infinite resilience, infinite commitment, um, infinite perseverance and resolve. And that is uh that's my success. I've realized that uh, you know, through doing work on myself and and realizing uh, you know, how I handle other challenges in life, and it's it's that infinite uh perseverance, infinite commitment, infinite resolve uh that you have to have in business if you want to be successful because you're going to face challenges, you're gonna face doubts. Um every day still, I feel uh people doubting whether it's a project, a process, uh, an opportunity, or you know, anything. And you you have to be the one that believes insatiably and infinitely that and is committed that it it's going to work, we're going to find a way. And uh Um yeah. You've done it yourself on the uh the basketball court, you know. You're down by 10 with a minute to go. And um you have to believe. And we're both you know, we both grew up as as athlete competitors. Yeah. And if you're gonna be successful ever in that, you have to believe when there is no uh no, you know, very few others that have that belief with you.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Yeah, I want that on the t-shirt and a coffee mug. Yeah, I love it. On a sweater, yeah. Like, I mean, it uh that's a company value. I think the I think the the infinite is like it's endless. It's it's endurance, it's enduring that um that passion. I think that is incredible. The love passion, uh, infinite resolve. I think that's it, man. So thank you so much, Brad. Like this is the first one of these. There'll be a lot more. Uh, like I said, we're gonna curate, we're gonna stir the the economic soup. I think our generation, Gen X, is really uh up to something really cool right now in this time, this particular time in history, uh, with the silver tsunami happening around us. I think we we're getting ready to get our hands on other things that that that our generation can can really mold.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

So stay tuned. Um, and let's go get lunch if you want to. It's on me.

SPEAKER_03 45:17

I'm excited. Thank you. Appreciate it, Jeff.

SPEAKER_01 45:19

Thank you, bro. We're good. Whammy.

SPEAKER_02 45:24

All right, that was fabulous. Great work, great work, great work. Oh, I got to stretch out in these nice chairs. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 45:35

Now you can see why I come in here on the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Great work, brother.

SPEAKER_03 45:39

Someday you're gonna have come in here and get on it.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

Man, what a powerful show. What a powerful show. I love that Brad is so forthcoming about his business.

SPEAKER_01 45:51

And he really didn't get into it, but this guy's one of the smartest guys I know. Man, the healthcare industry is is a quadrillion dollar industry, and my friend has found a niche that's gonna make him a lot of money, but also it's gonna bless a lot of people in the world. Brad has one of those hearts that is contagious, and whatever God blesses him with, he's gonna do well with. So, shout out to Brad Dorshaw with Infocus Now, our first edition of this founder series. If you like, tap in. Share this with other folks, send me some information. Most of these will be coming through LinkedIn, and I'll have it on Apple, Spotify, and all the other networks that you can get the podcast. And we're gonna keep getting better. But thanks again to Brad and his team for supporting us. And as I always say, as iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another. And that's the mathematics.