Dr. Rahul Iyengar didn’t train for 11 years to see 40 patients a day.
“I wouldn’t take a job seeing 40-plus people a day,” he says. “That’s not what I trained 11 years to do. And even then, 90% of what I’d be treating could’ve been prevented.”
That realization led him to launch Members Health Co.—a Nashville-based health hub that’s flipping the script on how primary care is delivered. Less than a year after opening his first clinic in Wedgewood-Houston, Dr. Rahul is expanding into The Nations, with more neighborhood hubs already on the horizon.
But this isn’t just a story about growth. It’s about a larger mission: to build a healthcare model that’s simple, transparent, deeply personal—and rooted in prevention.
A Better Way, Designed From Scratch
Members Health Co. is built on a direct primary care model, offering patients unlimited access to their personal physician for a flat monthly fee. It’s “all things health and wellness,” Dr. Rahul says—“fully price transparent, at cost, saving you money, keeping you healthy, and bringing back that old-school neighborhood doctor kind of feel.”
All services at Members Health Co. are HSA-eligible and tax-deductible for self-employed individuals.
“We’re like a one-stop shop,” Dr. Rahul says. “But it’s all overseen by your doctor, not someone trying to sell you a treatment.”
He’s careful to distinguish it from concierge medicine, which he says often charges steep fees without a true emphasis on prevention. “There are concierge doctors that charge $8,000–$10,000 a year and still don’t focus on prevention … And there are med spas pushing expensive treatments that aren’t necessarily in your best interest.”
Prevention > Prescription
At Members Health Co., care starts before symptoms show up.
Dr. Rahul runs comprehensive lab work on every patient—covering hormones, inflammation, nutrient levels, and more. The results have been surprising.
“I’ve only had 7 people out of almost 400 have normal labs. And that’s what’s been the most eye-opening thing to me. The average age is around 31; everyone’s young and healthy and fit and feels good.”
That’s the crux of his approach: catch issues early and course-correct. “You’re going to feel fine until you don’t. The same way the engine’s going to run until it doesn’t because you never took it for an oil change. And that’s what I focus on—doing the oil changes, the fine-tuning, and all that kind of stuff ahead of time. It’s all the things that health insurance doesn’t cover, just like how car insurance doesn’t cover oil changes, gas, or car washes. What I do is like maintenance—the exact opposite of health insurance.”
Small Clinics, Big Vision
The new location in The Nations is intentionally small, just like the original in Wedgewood-Houston. To ensure every patient gets the time and attention they deserve, each doctor limits their panel—Dr. Rahul caps his at 200 and currently has a waitlist for new patients. His colleague at the new Nations location, Dr. Kyle Moore, caps his panel at 400 and is currently accepting new patients.
“If I scale to 10 locations and each doctor caps at 400 people, that’s 4,000 patients total,” Dr. Rahul says. “Still less than what one traditional PCP (primary care physician) manages in today’s system.”
The point, he says, is not to grow fast—but to build something sustainable.
“I’ve had patients tell me, ‘I’ve been going to the same doctor for eight years, and I’ve spent more time with you in this one visit.’” Taking the time to truly engage with each patient makes all the difference in care.
Health as a Lifestyle—and a Community
Dr. Rahul’s vision goes beyond medicine. His clinics are designed to feel welcoming and personal—and to serve as spaces for connection. He regularly hosts dinner parties, chef’s tables, and wellness events that bring members together.
At a recent private dinner featuring meals from a local nonprofit, over 50 members showed up. “I didn’t think that many of them would show up,” he says. The strong turnout showed just how much people value shared experiences and meaningful connection.
Members Health Co. also partners with organizations like The Heimerdinger Foundation and The Nashville Food Project to offer fresh, locally prepared meals—giving members easy access to healthy food and supporting community-focused nonprofits in the process.
“This is what I believe health really is—eat real food, move, and have community.”
Building the Vision, One Layer at a Time
Dr. Rahul’s background spans personal training, design, real estate, and medicine—and each piece shows up in the business. Members Health Co. is, in many ways, a summation of all the different skills and side hustles he’s picked up along the way.
But behind the vision is a mountain of logistics—and that’s where things get hard.
“Everything is urgent because everything needs to be done now,” he says. “What comes first? When everything’s a priority, where do you start? That’s probably the most challenging part.”
It’s why he joined the EC’s InFlight Accelerator. “I don’t know what I don’t know,” he says. “All this stuff that I’m not thinking about that I should be thinking about.”
He mentions that a lot of the problems he’s facing while scaling come down to the “boring stuff”—things like logistics, operations, and organization.
Learning from the Journey—and Each Other
Dr. Rahul joined InFlight to strengthen the operations side of his business and avoid mistakes that could slow him down as he scales. But beyond the systems and support, it’s the community that’s made the biggest impact.
“Even just talking to my tablemates, we’ve already found ways to collaborate,” he says. One founder, who runs a local meal prep company, is in early talks to partner with Members Health Co. on new offerings. “We’re in totally different industries—but that’s what makes it fun. We’re not competing. We can help each other grow.”
His advice for other founders? “Go for it. I think that’s the hardest part.”
“You can sit there and think about it all day,” Dr. Rahul says. “There’s no way you can start it perfectly. The only way I learned was by doing it. Obviously, it’s not perfect, but you keep evolving and growing.”
Interested in joining InFlight or one of the EC’s other accelerator programs? InFlight is designed for Nashville-based, high-growth founders ready to go from momentum to milestones—no matter your industry. Explore our programs and apply today!
No Exit Plan—Just a Mission
Dr. Rahul isn’t looking to flip the business or exit anytime soon. His goal is to prove that healthcare can be affordable, accessible, and human-centered.
“Everyone makes it seem like healthcare is so expensive and confusing, but that’s the biggest lie,” he says. “They make it expensive and confusing on purpose. The more redundant and confusing it is, the more profitable it is.”
But when you strip away the layers, he adds, “it’s really cheap and easy.”
And that’s what Members Health Co. is aiming to show—starting one neighborhood at a time.
Want to learn more about Members Health Co.? Check out their website (www.membershealthco.com) or Instagram (@membershealthco) to explore membership options, services, giveaways, and upcoming community events.
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