#232 Entrepreneurship in Genetics with Matt Tschirgi

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On this episode, genetic counselor and entrepreneur, Matt Tschirgi, shares insights he has learned from running his own company and a survey he sent out to fellow entrepreneurs in the field. 

My guest today is a fellow genetic counselor entrepreneur, Matt Tschirgi! Matt (he/him) performs contract work through his company, Genetix Consulting, LLC, in addition to being employed at a commercial lab. He has more than 15 years of combined experience in clinical and industry genetic counseling. Matt’s professional interests include prenatal genetics; academic and industry partnerships; and professional issues such as continuing education, multi-state licensure, and incorporating genetic counseling assistants in both clinical and industry settings. He earned his BS degree from Washington State University, and his MS in genetic counseling from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. 

Last year, Matt put a call out on Twitter and LinkedIn to fellow genetic counselors who are entrepreneurs to share their experiences for a student lecture he was putting together. This call generated a lot of interest and tons of responses, many of which we’ll be discussing in this episode!

On this episode we discuss:

The origin of LLC Genetix Consulting and the services they offer

Genetic counseling skills that are transferable to being an entrepreneur

Charging as an entrepreneur in genetics (fee ranges and payment models) 

Types of services that people provide (i.e., medical writing and editing, project management, variant curation, career/life/personality coaching, and more!)

Challenges that people have faced

What people love most about their businesses

Advice on getting your business started!

If you’re interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and consulting in genetic counseling, we highly encourage you to follow Matt on Twitter, and check out these slides.

Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on April 21st, 2023 where we’ll be discussing at-hom