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The Doctor Who Built Something On The Side: Dr. Bilal Ahmed on the Real Cost and Quiet Lessons of Entrepreneurship
Most founders talk about their wins. The pivot that worked. The milestone they hit. The round they closed. But the conversations that actually change how you build are the ones that start with "if I could do it again."
In this episode of BizBlend, host Sana sits with Dr. Bilal Ahmed, an interventional and structural cardiologist with an MBA, and co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Lylah Health, a microbiome-focused health company he co-built with his siblings. Bilal opens up about what it actually costs to start a business alongside a full medical career, the misconceptions he carried in, the mistakes he made early, and what running a family-led startup really takes. No highlight reel. Just the real story.
About the Guest:
Dr. Bilal Ahmed, MD, MBA, is an interventional and structural cardiologist practicing in Georgia and the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Lylah Health, a microbiome therapeutics company he founded with his sisters Zoya and Zara. He completed his MBA at Auburn University at Montgomery, his medical degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, internal medicine training at Brown, his general cardiology fellowship at Tufts, and his interventional and structural cardiology fellowships at Lahey Clinic.
Key Takeaways:
- Entrepreneurship is harder than medicine. Cardiology has decades of research behind it, so practice becomes algorithmic. Entrepreneurship has no playbook, and the books and shows do not prepare you for what real life feels like.
- Be mentally flexible. The worst thing a founder can do is dig their heels in. Knowing when to pivot, when to admit a mistake, and when to change track is what protects the business.
- Surround yourself with anyone but yes-men. An echo chamber kills original thinking. A trusted "anger translator" who tells you when you are wrong is one of the most valuable people on the team.
- Family co-founders need ground rules. Bilal's three siblings had to literally divorce the concept of family from business meetings, with a written document of decorum and explicit boundaries, before things started working.
- Make time for family or it will quietly slip away. Two fewer meetings a day, more delegation, and intentional efficiency protect both the business and the life you are building it for.
Connect With the Guest:
- Website: https://lylahhealth.com (note: Lylah is spelled L-Y-L-A-H)
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilal-ahmed-md-mba-305372279/
- Email: bilal@lylahhealth.com (Bilal personally responds within 48 hours)
- Blog: Educational content (linked from lylahhealth.com), personally written by Bilal with citations
- Socials: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
Episode Chapters:
[00:00] Cold Open: The Conversations That Actually Change How You Build
[02:00] Meet Dr. Bilal Ahmed and the Story of Lylah Health
[04:00] Why He Refused to Be a One-Trick Pony
[07:00] How a Phone Call With His Sister Started a Company
[10:00] The Romanticized Idea of Entrepreneurship vs. the Reality
[14:00] Why Cardiology Has a Playbook and Entrepreneurship Doesn't
[17:00] The Honest Reckoning Most Founders Don't Talk About
[20:00] Lessons, Not Regrets: Reframing the "If I Could Do It Again" Mindset
[24:00] Co-Founding With Siblings: What It Actually Took
[28:00] Divorcing Family From Business in the Meeting Room
[33:00] The Hidden Superpower a Doctor Brings to a Boardroom
[37:00] Three Pieces of Honest Advice: Be Flexible, Hire Dissent, Protect Family
[42:00] Closing: Where to Find Bilal and Lylah Health
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