Dr. Rinki Varindani Desai is a digital health consultant who helps health tech founders and teams move from innovation to adoption, drawing on 15 years as a speech language pathologist, healthcare leader, and educator. She founded Theratactix, cofounded STEP (the Swallowing Training and Education Portal), a seven-figure online education platform for SLPs, and still teaches and contributes to research at Mass General Brigham in Boston.

Rinki shares how becoming a mom pushed her out of full-time clinical work in 2023 and into independent consulting. Her network turned 20 replies into paying projects, and she grew from her first bad-fit client to her first $15K month while working around her son’s schedule. If you’re an experienced professional wondering whether your expertise can become a flexible consulting career, this episode is for you.

Timeline Summary

[0:19] – Laura introduces Dr. Rinki Varindani Desai, health tech consultant, 15-year SLP, and cofounder of a seven-figure education platform

[1:40] – Why becoming a mom forced Rinki to change how she used her healthcare expertise

[2:44] – Creating her LLC on LegalZoom during a late-night feeding with no roadmap for what came next

[3:02] – Why her tech friends told her to stop chasing product management and lean into her clinical lived experience

[3:58] – How a free mentorship program for women helped her see her existing business as stable cash flow

[4:18] – Discovering consulting on YouTube and realizing she could work 10 to 15 hours a week as an expert

[4:58] – The innovation-to-adoption gap in digital health and why founders miss real clinical workflows

[5:47] – Reaching out to her network during nap time: 20 replies, with over half becoming projects in six months

[7:41] – Turning down misaligned founders and insurance companies to focus on mission-aligned health tech clients

[8:29] – Building a consulting business while earning a doctorate, raising a baby, and running a two-person company

[11:40] – Being the first woman in her family to work and wondering if her son will be proud of her

[14:09] – Why her first client was a bad fit and how failing forward led to a clear niche and offer

[15:25] – Hitting her first $15K month and what it means to finally choose who you work with

[18:00] – Why she shelved plans to launch a podcast after Laura asked if it aligned with her goals

[19:44] – Feeling like she didn’t belong while giving a keynote to health tech founders on her market readiness framework

[21:59] – The case for a portfolio career and why you don’t have to tie your identity to one role

5 Key Takeaways

1. Your Lived Experience Is the Asset — Rinki almost walked away from 15 years of frontline clinical knowledge to become a product manager. Consulting let her sell that experience directly to the companies that need it most.
2. Start With the Network You Have — She didn’t run ads or build a funnel. She reached out to people she already knew, got 20 responses, and turned more than half into consulting projects within six months.
3. Alignment Beats Any Paycheck — Her first client wanted her for sales and her network, not her expertise. Saying no to founders chasing trends made room for mission-aligned work that actually moves patient outcomes.
4. Design Your Business Around Your Season — Rinki built her consulting practice around nap times and her son’s first three years. Growth doesn’t have to mean hustle culture, and you get to decide what you’re up for right now.
5. You Don’t Need One Identity — You can be a clinician, consultant, educator, entrepreneur, and mom in different rooms. A portfolio career lets your expertise flow into different vessels without boxing you in.

Links & Resources

• Dr. Rinki Varindani Desai — https://rinkislp.com
• The Expert Freedom community with Laura Meyer — https://go.getexpertfreedom.com/apply/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=expert_freedom_show&utm_content=EP007

Enjoyed This Episode?

If Rinki’s story of turning nap-time outreach into a $15K month made you think of someone who’s ready to make the leap, send this episode to her. Follow The Expert Freedom Show so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating and review to help more experts find their path to consulting.