From Surgeon to CEO: Dr. Taryn Rose’s Journey
Dr. Taryn Rose went from the OR to the world of high fashion—trading in scrubs for stilettos and building a multimillion-dollar brand along the way.
In this keynote, she gets real about what it took: risk, resilience, and walking away from a path that no longer fit.
Her story is a reminder: success isn’t something you find.
It’s something you define.
Watch the Full Talk and Earn CE/CME Credit
This inspiring keynote from Pinnacle keynote speaker Dr. Taryn Rose is available in full, and you can earn CE/CME credit for FREE by watching it on the Learn at Pinnacle app. You’ll find even more empowering content from creators you love, all geared toward helping women in medicine thrive.
Other Topics Covered in the Full Talk:
How being an immigrant shaped Dr. Rose’s entrepreneurial mindset
Why she turned down traditional clinical pathways
Her experiences with media visibility (Oprah, TEDx, Miss America)
The emotional cost of ambition and public success
Dr. Rose’s current work with DARPA and the AMA's venture arm
How Dr. Rose Found Inspiration For Her Business
For a lot of women in medicine, entrepreneurship can feel out of reach.
Too risky. Too indulgent. Something other people get to do.
But Dr. Taryn Rose’s story flips that narrative.
Because it’s not about having more time or less debt—
It’s about betting on yourself anyway.
A successful orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Rose didn’t leave medicine because she failed at it—she left because she had another calling, and the courage to follow it. Her journey began not with a formal MBA, but with a research project on diabetic shoes during residency. When patients were more compliant with stylish shoes, the results were clear: fewer ulcerations, fewer amputations.
“I said, well duh, why don’t we just design better-looking shoes that don’t look like Frankenstein shoes?”
That research, sponsored by Nike, revealed an often-overlooked truth: utility is not enough. People need beauty, dignity, and choice—even in their medical devices. This seed of an idea grew into a business that would redefine comfort and style in women’s footwear.
By the time she finished residency, Dr. Rose had begun to envision a different life: one where she could use her medical knowledge to solve a real-world problem, but do so creatively, and on her terms. She made a deal with her (then) husband to give the business two years—and if it failed, she’d do a hand fellowship.
“I couldn’t imagine going out into the community and doing this for the rest of my life. I needed something more.”
That clarity gave her the confidence to pivot—an important lesson for any clinician who's ever felt trapped by sunk costs or societal pressure. Medicine was her foundation, not her prison.
Resourcefulness, Risk, and the Reality of Reinvention
Dr. Taryn Rose didn’t come from privilege—
She came from grit.
Her family fled Vietnam with nothing but photos and the will to start over.
That kind of scarcity doesn’t just shape you—
It sharpens you.
And for Dr. Rose, it became the foundation for a life built on creativity, courage, and making things work when nothing came easy.
“My father… went to a phone booth in the refugee camp and started cold calling other MDs. That was the beginning of our journey in America.”
This grit served her well as she built a business from scratch. When she needed a manufacturer in Italy, she didn’t know how to find one—so she called her salesperson from Barneys. When she couldn’t get a hotel during Milan Fashion Week, she leaned into her Gucci connections and secured a room at 1/3 the rate.
Every woman in medicine has these same tools: networks, problem-solving skills, and the persistence to see things through.
Key Takeaways for Aspiring Physician Entrepreneurs:
Leverage your network. Ask specifically. People want to help—but you must be bold in your ask.
Get scrappy. Perfection is not required. Progress is.
Understand the “why.” It’s not about abandoning medicine; it’s about expanding what’s possible with your training.
Dr. Rose scaled her shoe company to $40 million in revenue over 10 years, landing in major department stores and on Oprah. But she’s clear: this wasn’t a Cinderella story. It was hard, risky, and often messy.
“I feared regret more than failure.”
It’s one of the biggest hurdles—and one of the most freeing:
Risk.
Especially for women taught to choose safety, not stretch.
Stability, not possibility.
But building something bold means getting uncomfortable.
And learning to trust yourself more than the fear.
Building Without Burnout
Burnout isn't always born in the hospital. Sometimes, it follows us into the dreams we chase beyond it.
For women in medicine, entrepreneurship can be exhilarating—but it also carries real risks for overextension. We’re used to working hard, solving problems, and carrying the weight of being excellent in every environment. Add “founder” to the mix, and the danger becomes real: swapping one kind of burnout for another.
Dr. Taryn Rose didn’t avoid this path because she was superhuman—she navigated it by building with intention and learning to pace herself along the way.
“I told my then-husband I’d give it two years. If it didn’t work, I’d go do a hand fellowship.”
That agreement wasn’t just a compromise.
It was a boundary.
A way to hold space—for ambition, for rest, for trying something new without losing yourself in it.
Before launching her business, Dr. Rose got clear on what enough looked like.
Because without that line, hustle becomes a trap.
She didn’t tie her worth to the outcome.
She gave herself permission to build—but not at the cost of her well-being.
For women in medicine, perfectionism is often a survival skill. It helps you get into medical school, excel in residency, and care for patients with precision and accountability. But in entrepreneurship, that same mindset can quickly become a liability—not a strength.
When every move must be flawless, you hesitate to act. When every outcome must be ideal, you fear missteps that are actually part of the process. Dr. Taryn Rose learned that lesson early when launching her business. Instead of obsessing over the “perfect” plan, she gave herself a clear timeline and started where she was—with what she had.
“Once I was able to let go of the idea that I had to be perfect, the world was limitless.”
That shift wasn’t just about building her company—it was about preserving her capacity. Perfectionism is exhausting. It drains your creativity, delays your progress, and feeds burnout before your business has a chance to grow.
Here’s what releasing perfectionism can look like in practice:
Choosing “done” over “flawless”
Asking for help before you think you’ve earned it
Sharing your ideas before they feel fully formed
Accepting that setbacks are not failures—they’re feedback
Dr. Rose reminds us that your value doesn’t lie in being impeccable. It lies in being real, being brave, and moving forward despite uncertainty. And when you trade perfectionism for progress, you don’t just protect your energy—you reclaim your joy.
Structure Your Dream, Don’t Surrender to It
One of the biggest misconceptions about launching a business is that it has to consume you completely. For women trained to “push through” everything from 24-hour shifts to board exams, that mentality can easily creep into entrepreneurship.
But Dr. Rose approached it differently. She planned, researched, and leaned into her existing network instead of doing everything herself. From cold-calling fashion contacts to leveraging department store relationships, she used what she had—without martyring her mental health.
“Remember: lean into who you know and who they know. It’s so important to ask—people are really willing to help.”
That mindset—asking boldly, accepting help, and using existing resources—is often what separates sustainable business-building from burnout-inducing struggle.
Practical Strategies to Build Without Burning Out
Here’s what Dr. Rose’s journey teaches us about how to build something bold without losing yourself along the way:
Start with a structure, not a sprint
Define your timeline. Create limits. A two-year window or pilot phase lets you test your idea without tying your identity to it.
Protect your bandwidth
Carve out “CEO hours” on your calendar like you would clinic time. Don’t treat your business as an afterthought—it deserves real space, but not all your space.
Get support before you hit the wall
You don’t have to do everything. Outsource, delegate, and ask for guidance. Start with your existing network—you’re likely more connected than you think.
Define success for yourself
Not every business needs to be a household name. Maybe yours exists to create freedom, flexibility, or joy. If it meets your goals, it's enough.
Choose Expansion Over Exhaustion
Dr. Rose reminds us that building something new doesn’t mean burning down everything you’ve already created. Your medical career, your relationships, your wellbeing—they’re not sacrifices on the altar of success. They’re part of what makes your entrepreneurial journey worth it.
“Medicine is an incredible foundation for an amazing life. You can do exactly what you want with it.”
So if you’re feeling called to do something more—something bold, creative, or wildly unexpected—know that you don’t have to choose between ambition and self-preservation.
You can build a business that sustains you, too.
“Think big. Start small. But act now.”
Let that be your cue—not just to start, but to start well. Because the best kind of success is the kind you actually get to enjoy.
Conclusion
Dr. Taryn Rose’s journey from orthopedic surgeon to luxury shoe mogul is more than a career switch—it’s a blueprint for reimagining what’s possible for women in medicine. Her story highlights three essential lessons:
Your medical training is a launchpad, not a limitation.
Resourcefulness and boldness matter more than perfection.
The courage to be seen—and possibly fail—is what sets you free.
If you're sitting on an idea, a dream, or even just a “what if,” let this be your nudge. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to start.
Watch the full keynote and explore more empowering content from Pinnacle by visiting Learn at Pinnacle. CE/CME credit available—for free.
