40 Under 40 - 2025

By all accounts, Derek Lo is a healthcare outsider. 

Before starting the data and provider network management company Medallion in 2020, “I had zero healthcare experience. Literally zero,” Lo said. “My only healthcare experience was going to see a doctor once a year. I've really tried to be a student of the industry.”

After selling his computer coding education company, Py, in 2019, Lo knew he wanted to build something bigger. A conversation with a friend who had started a digital health company shed light on the difficulties many organizations face. 

“I just felt incredibly motivated to build a business here" in the industry, Lo said. 

He founded Medallion weeks before the COVID-19 public health emergency began, with the goal of limiting the amount of wasted spend and inefficiency Lo saw as pervading healthcare. 

Medallion took a unique approach in its growth. In its early days, the company worked exclusively with digital health startups. The strategy ended up paying off as funding poured into the sector and investors prioritized growth. Lo said digital health company sales cycles were faster and the companies were more inclined to adopt new technologies.

But, as the market evolved, Medallion’s approach had to as well. While it still works with digital health companies such as Hims and Hers, Ro and Headspace, it also partners with health systems and payers. The company has secured $85 million in venture capital funding to date.

— Brock E.W. Turner