Brianna Socci '16 has always regarded herself as a budding entrepreneur. Growing up in Endicott, N.Y., she was the girl who set up a lemonade stand during the summer. She was the one parents called when they needed a babysitter. And when the snow piled high, she was eager to shovel the neighborhood - for a fair price, of course.
"One day," she'd tell herself, "I'd love to be my own boss!"
Wouldn't we all?
When she entered Binghamton University's School of Management, Socci was driven to make her lofty dream a reality. She founded UBERDOC, a healthcare platform that makes it easier for patients nationwide to schedule priority appointments with a doctor more quickly by offering a workaround for scheduling delays caused by proverbial red tape connected with insurance providers.
"I didn't envision myself going into healthcare, but we had to start this from the ground up, pitching to gain the initial seed funding, and my experience at Binghamton gave me the confidence to stand in front of a group of strangers and pitch a business concept," said Socci, who majored in business administration with a leadership concentration. "As an entrepreneur, that's the most valuable skill to have because, at the end of the day, my goal is to make sure everyone I meet knows about UBERDOC and what it can do for them."
In a way, UBERDOC literally sprang from Socci's classwork at Binghamton. Using Photoshop, she designed her first UBERDOC ad in one of her social media classes. But in June, the female-founded health-tech company landed in a statewide spotlight with a double win for Startup of the Year and Founder of the Year at the 2024 Startup Boston Community Awards.
Humbled by the recognition, Socci calls it a testament to her team's hard work, passion and dedication.
"Today's healthcare system is very complicated, especially with all the overhead that goes into a doctor's office with billing and collecting," Socci said. "With deductibles increasing, people are becoming much more comfortable asking how much these services cost. Our team saw an opportunity to help people who were burnt out by the system's complexities."
Building a network to build a platform
UBERDOC networks with more than 5,000 doctors in all 50 states, offering in-person and telemedicine consultations.
That network is what Socci calls UBERDOC's "secret sauce."
To build it, she and her team had to knock on doors to enlist the first 500 doctors. Socci traveled to conventions across the country to pitch her platform.
They found reception to be overwhelmingly supportive. Doctors saw it as a convenient marketing tool, and for Socci, each step on the road to building that network provided valuable lessons on how to tailor digital marketing channels for a target audience.
Because the UBERDOC platform operates outside of insurance coverage, users pay a single cost to schedule an appointment with a doctor in that network as early as the next day. Socci describes it as a quick means of connecting a doctor and a patient, allowing insurance and the patient's regular provider to handle any subsequent care.
"Of course, doctors are really busy, but there are so many steps a medical office has to go through before you step in just to guarantee they're going to get paid for that appointment," she said. "We have everything from primary care to cancer care."
'Making movement'
If Socci has learned anything from her journey of helping build a company and growing a professional network to support it, it's that anyone with the right mindset can accomplish their goals. It can be done regardless of any obstacle life might place in your path.
Socci was a single mom in college. Thanks to her family's support, she was able to raise her daughter while earning her degree.
"I was very lucky," she said, "but my experience proves that you can make it happen."
One of Socci's most valuable career lessons - overcoming the fear of making a mistake - took root during her time at Binghamton, but she didn't really appreciate it until after she began building UBERDOC.
Socci admits she's lost count of how often she's been worried that making the wrong decision would "bring down the whole company."
But she's also realized how that mindset can prevent her from accomplishing her goals, and even mistakes carry valuable learning opportunities.
"Failure is going to happen, and no one likes it when it does. But failure is still proof that you're making movement," Socci said. "You can recover from any failure or mistake. All you have to do is not be afraid to pick yourself up, learn the right lessons from it and move on."
In that sense, even as Socci continues growing as an entrepreneur, she's never really stopped being a student.
