Entrepreneurship in regulated industries rarely follows a clean arc. The obstacles are administrative as much as technical, and success depends as much on navigating institutional constraints as on engineering. Justin Fulcher built his first company inside one such environment, then went on to help reform another. His career connects a telemedicine startup in Asia to the upper levels of U.S. defense policy.
RingMD’s Model and Its Market
Fulcher founded RingMD in 2013 at age 21, targeting a specific and underappreciated problem. Across much of Asia, mobile internet access had expanded broadly, but physical healthcare infrastructure had not kept pace. Patients who could connect to a smartphone could not easily access a physician. RingMD created a platform to connect the two, eventually operating across multiple countries. Engineering the platform to work within those conditions required building for reliability in environments where bandwidth fluctuated and medical regulations varied. The purpose was clear: as Fulcher told Charleston Digital Corridor in 2020, “Healthcare is one of those things that affects everybody. Without the basic, fundamental healthcare access, it handicaps many parts of the world.” Forbes Asia placed him on its 30 Under 30 list in Healthcare and Science in 2017. He has since transitioned to an advisory and shareholder role at RingMD.
Shaping Defense Technology Policy
Justin Fulcher turned his attention to public-sector reform beginning in early 2025, when he became Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense. His portfolio covered acquisition reform and technology modernization two areas where the gap between what defense institutions need and what their procurement systems deliver has historically been wide. His work helped reduce software procurement timelines from years to months and contributed to updates of key IT systems across the department. He also traveled with senior officials for international strategic engagements in the Indo-Pacific. Fulcher is concurrently pursuing a Doctorate in International Affairs at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies and holds a master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute, earned in 2023. His current research and advisory interests center on defense technology innovation and supply chain resilience for critical materials. Visit this page on LinkedIn, for more information.
Find more about Justin Fulcher on https://x.com/JustinFulcher