
Fired by Elon, Meta & Wendy’s, Now Raising Millions for Hello Patient
Sourcery
Navigating Business Challenges and Innovations
This chapter explores the difficulties in building a business, focusing on the reliability of agents within workflows and the contrast between structured processes and the unpredictability of conversational interfaces. The discussion is interspersed with humor, including a sponsorship mention and a playful jab about a popular health snack.
*WARNING* Alex Cohen has one of the wildest founder journeys in tech. Fired by over 11 companies—including Elon Musk’s X, Meta, CrowdStrike, and even Wendy’s—he’s now the founder and CEO of Hello Patient, an AI platform transforming how healthcare practices engage with patients.
In this conversation, Alex and Molly O’Shea dive into his underdog story, the viral parody videos that turned heads across the Valley, his 220k+ X following, why storytelling is the ultimate founder superpower, and yes, shares his latest experiments with peptides... Which all leads to Alex announcing Hello Patient’s $22.5M Series A led by Scale Venture Partners, with continued support from 8VC, Bling Capital, Max Ventures, and Remus Capital. Building the future of conversational AI in healthcare.
Hello Patient builds conversational AI agents that handle patient-facing workflows across phone, text, and web chat. Instead of patients waiting on hold, missing appointments, or navigating clunky portals, Hello Patient automates scheduling, reminders, follow-ups, and inbound calls. The system is already deployed across urgent care, ENT, behavioral health, med spas, and primary care, giving clinics 24/7 coverage while reducing missed calls and boosting patient satisfaction. With staffing shortages across the healthcare industry, Hello Patient steps in as the digital front desk—scalable, HIPAA-compliant, and deeply integrated with practice management systems.
Highlights
• The Underdog Story: Alex was fired 11 times before founding Hello Patient, a history that fuels his authenticity and self-deprecating humor.
• Parody as Marketing: Launch videos parodying Humane and Sam Altman/Jony Ive weren’t gimmicks—they were strategic brand moments that drove massive inbound traction.
• Fundraising Success: Hello Patient raised a $22.5M Series A led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from 8VC, Bling Capital, Max Ventures, and others.
• Healthcare AI Impact: Hello Patient powers omnichannel patient engagement—calls, texts, and chatbots—for urgent care, ENT, mental health, med spas, and more, solving staffing shortages and missed appointments.
• The X Factor: With 220k+ followers, Alex’s shitposting persona is more than comedy—it’s storytelling that gives him investor access, customer inbound, and cultural relevance
1. Alex Cohen: https://x.com/anothercohen
2. Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea
3. Sourcery: https://x.com/sourceryvc
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Chapters:
(00:00) Underdog Story
(01:40) Getting Fired 11 Times
(02:38) Creating the Launch Video Parody
(03:32) Recreating Sam Altman's Look
(06:01) Reviewing Past Company Firings
(10:41) Transition from Carbon Health to Hello Patient
(13:02) Series A Fundraising Process
(14:35) Storytelling, Social Media & Fundraising
(30:03) Company Growth & Metrics
(31:55) Technical Stack & AI Partnerships
(38:08) Team and Hiring
(41:53) Deep Dive into Peptides
(46:23) Discussion on Weight Loss Peptides
(50:36) American Food System & Health
(53:03) Predictions on Jony Ive & Sam Altman's Device