Physician Builder Spotlight: Chartnote CEO Gerardo Guerra Bonilla

After the incredible response we received to our post about why more physicians should start companies, we're shining light on MD-entrepreneurs. Each week, we're featuring someone building a cool product or company that you'll definitely want to know about. Previously, we featured Dr. Hillary Lin, CEO of Elevate x Health. Know someone else who should be featured? Reply in the comments or let us know directly! (theresa@offcall.com)

1. What inspired you to become a physician-entrepreneur?

Burnout from medical documentation was a big motivator. I experienced firsthand what it’s like to stay after hours in the clinic finishing notes — and became very familiar with pajama time charting during residency. My first child was born during my intern year, so I had no choice but to become super efficient with documentation. That meant creating boilerplate templates, or "dot phrases," for the most common clinic visits and hospital admissions.

By the end of residency, I had accumulated over a thousand dot phrases that I regularly used in practice. After graduation, I started working at a community clinic and quickly realized how much time clinicians spend charting instead of caring for patients or spending time with family. I wasn’t the only one feeling this pain. I started sharing my templates with colleagues and eventually decided to self-publish a book on Amazon with all the content. To my surprise, it became a best-seller in the "practice administration category." That’s when I realized there might be a bigger market.

I created a WordPress website and started selling an electronic version of my templates. Getting that first purchase was exhilarating — and even more surprising was seeing sales coming from the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. But the main feedback I kept hearing was that clinicians couldn’t install the software needed to expand the dot phrases because they lacked admin privileges on clinic or hospital computers.

That sparked the idea of building a web application that didn’t require any software installation. And that’s how Chartnote was born. I’ve always been passionate about finding ways to work smarter, not harder — and building tools to solve real problems. My entrepreneurial journey started as a way to help myself and fellow physicians reclaim our time.

2. Tell us about what your company does and what problem you're trying to solve.

Chartnote is an AI-powered documentation platform designed to make charting faster, easier, and less burdensome for healthcare professionals. Our AI Scribe listens to the patient encounter and helps transcribe and structure clinical notes, allowing clinicians to focus on patient care instead of paperwork. We’re tackling the problem of documentation overload — one of the leading contributors to physician burnout.

3. What's your advice for a physician who’s thinking about pursuing entrepreneurship or a nontraditional career in medicine?

Don’t be afraid to step outside the traditional path — and your comfort zone. Medicine trains us to follow protocols and evidence-based guidelines, but entrepreneurship is messy and unpredictable — in a good way. Surround yourself with people who support your vision, learn to embrace failure as part of the process, and always stay connected to your “why.” Starting a business is hard, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.

4. What's one lesson you've learned since building your company about entrepreneurship that wasn't obvious to you before?

One of the biggest lessons is realizing that it takes years of hard work to build a successful startup. In the early days, it’s a relentless effort just to keep the company alive. It doesn’t necessarily get easier, but you gain the skills and confidence to tackle bigger problems.

The truth is, you won’t always know the right path forward. You just have to keep trying things until something works—and then double down. Having a great team is essential. If you want to move fast, you can go alone, but if you want to build something great, you need a team.

Don’t be embarrassed by your first product — it won’t be perfect. But you need to put it out there, get feedback from users, and iterate. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Celebrate the wins, and learn from the mistakes.

(I know that’s more than one lesson, but those are the things that came to mind and I wanted to share.)

Connect with Dr. Gerardo Guerra Bonilla on his LinkedIn and learn more about his company Chartnote here.