4 Lessons on becoming a successful entrepreneur from Karen Hospital’s Chief Cardiologist, Dr Dan Gikonyo

What can a cardiologist teach you about what it takes to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship?

While Dr Dan Gikonyo is best known as a top cardiologist in Kenya (and currently the Chief cardiologist and founder of the Karen Hospital), his experience building leading hospitals in Kenya, and as the brains behind the premier Karen Hospital, has earned him a place on the list of the country’s accomplished entrepreneurs.

However, before Karen Hospital became what it is today, the land on which the facility sits on was bare, back in 2002, and many did not see the vision Dr Gikonyo had for it and wrote it off as a failure waiting to happen.

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Dr Gikonyo shared his lessons on the theme: “The journey of an accomplished entrepreneur” as the keynote speaker at the fourth edition of the Abojani Economic Empowerment Conference held on November 23, 2024 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi.

The annual conference brings together retail investors keen on leveling up their personal finance journeys in a meeting filled with learning and networking opportunities with industry titans.

This year’s theme was: building staying power as African households, businesses and individuals.

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In his keynote speech, Dr Gikonyo emphasised the importance of starting one’s entrepreneurship journey from a point of enjoying the work you do, then pursuing money, rather than starting a business with the primary goal of making money without any real passion for it.

Here are other key lessons from Karen Hospital’s Dr Dan Gikonyo’s entrepreneurship journey:

1. Set a strong foundation for your business with IFC: While the IFC acronym is usually associated with the International Finance Corporation, Dr. Gikonyo gave a different twist to it, with the I standing for Idea, F for finances, and C for consistency.

• Idea: to have staying power in entrepreneurship, Dr Gikonyo urged delegates to ensure they dare to dream and start with an idea for a business that is viable and sustainable.
• Financiers: The next step is approaching financiers with your idea put down in a convincing pitch that you can present to financiers while seeking funding
• Consistency: He urged entrepreneurs to stay on course while seeking to achieve their goals. He gave the analogy of a building that stands not all at once, but only after many bricks are put into making it stand

2. Include your family in your vision: Dr Gikonyo gave credit to his wife, Dr Betty Gikonyo, for the strides he has been able to achieve in his entrepreneurial journey, adding that one’s spouse plays a significant role in one’s success.

He referenced this with the acronym WB, not referring to the World Bank, but rather having a wise Wife and Blessings as some of the other ingredients needed to succeed in entrepreneurship. Dr Gikonyo has build Karen Hospital with his wife, herself a pediatric cardiologist, and other family members, as well as other trusted partners.

On family inclusion in one’s vision, Dr Gikonyo also made reference to Karimi Gikonyo, who is the cardiologist’s grandson, being the director of the Heart to Heart Foundation, which is a charitable arm dedicated to the control, prevention, b and treatment of heart disease in children who are unable to afford medical care.

3. Agility and the courage to overcome hurdles: Dr Gikonyo urged entrepreneurs not to stay down when they experience hurdles, which are expected when running a venture. Having worked as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi for years, Dr Gikonyo found himself jobless after the 1982 coup. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he decided to move to Minneapolis, US, to look for opportunities and that is how the idea of starting a hospital came about as did the idea of starting the Heart to Heart Foundation came about. Years later, the Karen Hospital stands as a beacon for medical excellence.

Another hurdle was faced when Dr Gikonyo decided to move away from the Nairobi Hospital to set up the Karen Hospital. He spoke of facing criticism and discouragement from people who thought the location and idea of setting up another hospital was not viable. Dr Gikonyo referred to the importance of maintaining focus on one’s vision, adding that against all odds, he decided to start the hospital and it is now a thriving hospital.

4. Mentorship: Dr Gikonyo said that when one finds success in their vocation, it is important to play a part in nurturing others and training them to succeed as well. He listed several people who have passed through his mentorship to become leading doctors and the pride it gives him to see others succeed.

On mentorship and training, he called for an attitude of abundance, citing a conversation he had with a friend who warned him that training other doctors was akin to pushing himself out of the market as they would “take” his clients. He urged entrepreneurs not to be afraid of sharing knowledge and passing down skills.

5. Building a legacy: Dr Gikonyo cited the importance of paying it forward and building a legacy, adding that for him, this has happened through the Karen Hospital Medical Training Centre, which takes in high school graduates and trains them as nurses.