This featured story is brought to you by the Power of Why Podcast in collaboration with Invest Ottawa, with critical support from BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund, the Title Sponsor of International Women’s Month 2024.

We teamed up to produce this special series to celebrate women leading in Ottawa for International Women’s Month and shine the spotlight on our IWW 2024 featured leaders to unpack their passion and purpose.

Five inspirational leaders are selected each year to represent International Women’s Month. They are role models who significantly impact our economy, community and society and embody the spirit, goals and values of IWM.  

Building a startup while in medical school sounds impossible. 

But Yoobin Lee, founder of Quip Medical, is making it work—not by working harder, but by working smarter. 

Growing up across Vancouver, Seoul, and California, she saw different cultures, different expectations, and the idea that success meant choosing just one path. 

Then, in medical school, she saw something she couldn’t ignore: Doctors losing significant revenue in unbilled work—because the system was outdated, complex, and broken. 

So she started building. 

✅ Validated the idea through market research.
✅ Brought on a technical co-founder.
✅ Landed her first customer and refined the platform with real-time feedback. 

That idea became a pitch.

That pitch became Quip Medical—helping physicians spend less time on admin and more time with patients. 

She didn’t wait for permission.

She didn’t tell herself, I’m just a med student.

She asked for help. Found the right people. Built the product. 

Today, Quip Medical is working with real physicians, solving a real problem, and making sure doctors actually get paid for the care they provide. 

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This is episode two of a five-part series in collaboration with the incredible team at Invest Ottawa, Ottawa’s lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries.