{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwildfire-tales.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fendurance-beats-speed-UIrVHXkY","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Endurance Beats Speed","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/899bf8be-87f2-43f0-b0b1-610302b1c302/9225035a-1a4e-467d-83a0-65796cac2c3f/thumbnail_linkedin_post.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/14061579-5b2a-44ed-a98a-e1ba5e7dc9ee\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Endurance Beats Speed\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"Eric McDonald spent nineteen years building DocuTap, a healthcare tech company he started by writing code in his South Dakota basement, eventually reaching a $1.25 billion valuation and exit in 2022. His story rejects the move-fast startup gospel in favor of endurance.\n\nHis key lessons: pick a vertical that grows underneath you (he chose exploding urgent care, where clients expanded on their own); get to cash-flow break-even faster than feels comfortable, since runway-dependence hands control to investors; extend trust to new hires instantly while openly owning your weaknesses; recognize that your best ideas come from listening, not inventing; reinvent yourself at every stage of growth; and integrate small acquisitions as seriously as big ones. Most importantly, anchor your identity outside the company—he lived in a tent for three months after stepping down to rediscover who he was beneath the title.\n\nWant the full story? Listen to the complete podcast episode and connect with Eric on LinkedIn."}