Mark Switaj

The idea for Mark Switaj’s company came while he was in his MBA program at Georgetown University and interested in evolving technologies in the transportation space. His idea was to use the ondemand model of Uber and Lyft and apply it to medical transportation.

It took several starts and stops and a few years of smoothing out bugs, but after adding two strategic partners, Roundtrip launched in 2016 and today is the leading healthcare transportation SaaS platform.

Roundtrip provides ride-ordering software to connect ride requests to a community of qualified transportation companies. The company is helping to reduce medical appointment no-shows, offering platforms that connect people with nonemergency medical transportation. “Roundtrip is doing more than expanding access to care; we are changing how people manage their health in their everyday lives,” the company said.

At Roundtrip, workforce diversity is a priority. From hiring to creating a diversity and inclusion committee to things as simple as giving shout-outs to employees who do something that celebrates Roundtrip’s values, being inclusive permeates the company culture. Switaj is an LGBTQ leader who wants employees to know they can be themselves. At a previous company, Switaj rose to a senior position and started to be more vocal about his sexual identity when he was released with no reason given. “I still don’t know if being let go was related to me being more open about my identity,” he said. “But one thing is for certain — I don’t want others to experience this same thing that I had.”

Prior to Roundtrip, Switaj served as the youngest senior executive at Envision Healthcare, holding the chief operating officer title for the company’s North segment. Before business school, Switaj served as director of business development at American Medical Response, the nation’s largest ambulance company, where he led the sales organization for the eastern half of the country.

He discovered his interest in patient transportation by serving as a volunteer EMT at age 18. He holds an MBA from Georgetown and a Bachelor of Science from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. He also is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Switaj makes it a priority to give back and mentor the next generation of leaders in his community.

“I’m not blind to the benefits I’ve been afforded as a white male,” he said. “I specifically carve out time, every week, to mentor budding, diverse entrepreneurs who are navigating their early-stage ventures. As a board member of the nonprofit Philly Startup Leaders, I’m able to pay it forward to such innovators, offering the encouragement to achieve greatness right in our neighborhoods and across the globe.”