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The official CEO.com podcast featuring unfiltered conversations with the leaders shaping our world.
Clint Betts: Dr. Myra Ahmad, thank you so much for joining the CEO.com show. What an honor to have you. You are the CEO and founder of Mochi. Tell us what Mochi is all about.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Mochi is a marketplace for evidence-based care. We pride ourselves on being an open marketplace where providers and patients can connect and access whatever care they need.
For the past couple of years, our main focus has been metabolic health and obesity.
Clint Betts: Obviously there’s a revolution happening in that area of healthcare right now.
Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have completely changed the conversation around obesity treatment. People almost describe them as “wonder drugs.”
But they’re also very expensive.
So how is Mochi different from some of those companies?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: We’re really a marketplace model.
Patients come to Mochi, connect with a provider, and work together to create a customized care plan.
That can include: brand-name obesity medications, menopause care, skincare, general metabolic health, generic medications, or compounded medications depending on the patient’s needs.
We treat patients ages 12 and up, and we work with people across a very wide range of metabolic and health conditions.
What makes us different is that we focus heavily on customization and individualized care.
Clint Betts: This really feels like the future of healthcare, doesn’t it?
Even five years ago, people were asking:
“Couldn’t this appointment have just happened over Zoom?”
And now it actually can.
What inspired you to start Mochi? Give us your backstory.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: My background is as a physician.
I spent a lot of time researching obesity, bariatric care, and metabolic health, and that eventually evolved into building Mochi.
In the beginning, our mission was really about awareness and access:
helping people understand these medications,
helping people access treatment,
and helping obesity become recognized as a real medical condition deserving medical care.
And from there, the company just grew rapidly.
Clint Betts: How big of a problem is obesity really?
People often describe it as an epidemic.
Give us a sense for what you’re trying to solve.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Metabolic health impacts essentially everyone in the country in some way.
Obesity contributes to: diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, urinary incontinence, cardiovascular disease, and so many other conditions.
If you include obesity and all the associated comorbidities, it impacts a huge percentage of the population.
One of our biggest goals has been helping people understand that obesity is a medical condition deserving treatment just like any other disease.
If someone comes to a doctor for depression or anxiety, providers discuss medications and treatment options openly.
Historically, obesity wasn’t treated that way.
Clint Betts: Do you have a take on how things got so out of control in the U.S. specifically?
How did we get here?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: It’s incredibly complicated.
The Obesity Medicine Association actually has a diagram showing around 12 or 13 major contributors to obesity.
There are: genetic factors, behavioral factors, socioeconomic factors, food systems, government incentives, nutrition access, and environmental issues.
There isn’t one single explanation.
Honestly, it became the perfect storm over several decades.
Clint Betts: It really does seem like the socioeconomic side doesn’t get discussed enough.
I grew up where McDonald’s was basically considered a nice restaurant because it was one of the only affordable options.
And when that’s the cheapest food available to families, what are we doing as a society?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Exactly.
A lot of our eating habits and health patterns are shaped by what’s accessible and affordable.
And then you also have to look at: what foods are subsidized, what’s approved, how the food industry operates, and how all of those incentives align.
But I do think we’re finally seeing the beginning of a reversal.
National obesity rates have started declining for the first time in years.
And that has downstream effects on all sorts of other conditions too.
Clint Betts: What do you attribute that decline to?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Awareness and adoption of GLP-1 medications.
Absolutely.
These medications are genuinely life-changing for many patients.
Clint Betts: There’s also backlash against GLP-1 drugs though.
What do you make of that criticism?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Honestly, I’ve never seen a medication category receive this much vitriol.
People are working with doctors.
They’re building supervised care plans.
They’re combining medication with nutrition and fitness support.
But somehow there’s this narrative that everyone is using these medications irresponsibly or “cheating.”
That’s not what we see clinically at all.
Most of our patients have spent years trying to lose weight unsuccessfully.
The average person living with obesity attempts weight loss at least once every year.
This isn’t about laziness or lack of effort.
There are physiological and environmental factors involved.
And we don’t stigmatize medication use for: depression, anxiety, cholesterol, or blood pressure.
Medication is simply one medical tool.
Clint Betts: Right. Calling it “cheating” feels strange because obesity is obviously far more complicated than simply telling someone to “eat better.”
Can you explain the difference between brand-name GLP-1s like Ozempic and compounded GLP-1 medications?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Absolutely.
Compounding is actually a longstanding and very normal part of pharmacy practice.
Compounded medications involve combining or customizing medications for individual patients.
This already happens in: IVF care, pediatrics, skincare, and many other areas.
With obesity medications specifically, compounding allows pharmacies to customize formulations and dosages.
The active ingredients—like semaglutide or tirzepatide—can be combined with other additives or delivered in customized dosing structures depending on the patient’s needs and side-effect profile.
Clint Betts: So in some ways, compounded medications are actually more personalized?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Exactly.
It’s really personalized medicine.
You could apply this concept to many medications: thyroid medications, birth control, or anything where standardized commercial doses aren’t ideal for a specific patient.
Compounding allows providers to tailor treatment more precisely.
Clint Betts: Drugs in America are unbelievably expensive.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: That’s a whole separate podcast.
But yes—it’s extremely complicated.
There are so many intermediaries involved: manufacturers, PBMs, pharmacies, insurance companies, marketing systems.
Every layer adds cost.
And ultimately, everyone pays for it indirectly through insurance premiums and healthcare costs.
One argument critics make about GLP-1 medications is that because they’re expensive and so many people qualify for them, insurance costs rise overall.
That’s definitely part of the broader healthcare debate.
Clint Betts: What does a typical day look like for you as CEO?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: It changes constantly.
Some days I’m at conferences.
Some days I’m meeting with partners or vendors.
A lot of my time is spent focused on: strategy, mission alignment, raising awareness, and improving the product experience.
Clint Betts: How long have you been building Mochi?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: A little over three years now.
Clint Betts: How did you fund the business?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: We raised funding in March 2022.
Then by late 2022, we became profitable and have continued operating off existing cash flow since then.
Clint Betts: Give us a sense for the competitive landscape.
How are you different from others in the GLP-1 space?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: There are a lot of players in this category now.
Many are vertically integrated, meaning they own every piece of the process themselves.
We intentionally built a marketplace model instead.
I usually compare it to: DoorDash versus Domino’s.
Domino’s gives you one product through one system.
DoorDash is a marketplace where you can choose different restaurants and options.
That’s how we think about Mochi.
Patients can choose: providers, nutritionists, pharmacies, and medication options.
And pharmacies can support many different types of treatments—not just obesity care.
Clint Betts: How have you thought about company culture and team-building?
Are you remote, hybrid, in-person?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: We’re fully in-person in San Francisco.
Especially in the early stages, I think in-person collaboration is incredibly important.
It helps create: strong culture, mission alignment, fast execution, and faster product iteration.
Clint Betts: Can you give people a sense for the advantages of building in San Francisco?
People know Utah as Silicon Slopes now, but Silicon Valley is still the center of startup culture in many ways.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: The biggest difference is simply how normalized startups are.
Before this, I lived in Seattle, but San Francisco is different.
Here, almost everyone works at a startup or wants to work at a startup.
That changes everything: recruiting, networking, conversation, culture.
People understand startup life and actually seek it out.
And because everyone around you is building something, you naturally absorb far more awareness about what’s happening in tech and innovation.
Clint Betts: What do you read?
Any recommendations for other CEOs?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Right now I’m reading The Lean Startup.
Honestly, I’ve read a lot of the classic startup books: Peter Thiel, Ben Horowitz, and several healthcare-specific books from General Catalyst and Hemant Taneja.
I also read a lot about: internal company management, marketplace design, and building strong consumer products.
Clint Betts: Health tech obviously comes with extra complexity: HIPAA, regulation, legal requirements.
What are some of the additional hurdles founders should understand?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: You absolutely need excellent legal counsel.
Healthcare is heavily regulated, and you have to manage: data security, HIPAA compliance, vendor relationships, billing, and patient privacy.
We also built our own internal EMR system, which adds another layer of complexity.
Healthcare is simply much more regulated than traditional SaaS businesses.
Clint Betts: Explain what an EMR system is.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Electronic Medical Record.
It’s where all patient data lives: provider notes, prescriptions, pharmacy coordination, medical histories, and operational workflows.
It connects the entire care system together.
Clint Betts: When you were in medical school, did you think you’d someday run a startup?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: No, not at all.
I genuinely loved medicine.
But I realized fairly quickly that traditional clinical practice wasn’t the right long-term fit for me.
What I did love was: meeting new people, solving problems, and helping improve systems.
And healthcare innovation became a natural extension of that.
Clint Betts: It feels like more doctors are moving into entrepreneurship now.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Definitely.
Healthcare innovation has become much more attractive to physicians.
Doctors are realizing there are opportunities to improve healthcare systems beyond direct clinical practice.
Clint Betts: Has being an MD helped you as a founder?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Absolutely.
It helps tremendously in understanding the real-world pain points inside healthcare systems.
That said, medical school leaves out almost all of the business side of healthcare: insurance, billing,hospital operations, reimbursement, practice economics.
Doctors often graduate without understanding how money actually moves through healthcare systems.
Clint Betts: How did the broader macroeconomic environment affect your business this year?
Tariffs, uncertainty, all of that.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Compounding pharmacies manufacture medications domestically, so we weren’t heavily impacted.
Most of the tariff-related issues we experienced were actually around packaging materials.
At one point, we had a quarter-million water bottles stuck on boats for months.
So honestly, our biggest tariff story was cardboard boxes and shipping delays.
Compared to many businesses, we were pretty fortunate.
Clint Betts: We’re not a political show, but I have to ask:
How do you think about RFK Jr. and the changing healthcare landscape under the current administration?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: I think this administration is genuinely focused on lowering drug prices.
And broadly speaking, anything that removes unnecessary middle layers from healthcare tends to improve access and reduce costs for patients.
That aligns well with what we’re trying to do:
make healthcare more accessible and more efficient.
So in many ways, the policy direction has been positive for our business model.
Clint Betts: Finally, we end every interview the same way.
At CEO.com, we believe the chances one gives are just as important as the chances one takes.
When you hear that, who gave you a chance that helped get you where you are today?
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Honestly, my team.
They’re exceptional people.
Every one of them had many other opportunities available to them, and they chose to help build this vision together.
And getting to work alongside them every day has been incredibly rewarding.
Clint Betts: Dr. Ahmad, thank you so much for coming on the show.
Congratulations on everything you’re building with Mochi. It’s genuinely impressive.
Everybody should check out Mochi Health, and we absolutely need to have you back on again sometime.
Dr. Myra Ahmad: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.