About this episode
Deep Singh let the van he leases for $1,200 a month sit unused for six months, then ran the first trip for Safe Lift Transport in Ventura County, California in August 2024. Fourteen years as a hospital respiratory therapist was the credential he used walking into facilities cold, and he now runs seven to 10 trips a day for about five contracted accounts. The mix is roughly 70 percent gurney and 30 percent wheelchair, he takes no broker or insurance work yet, and he wants three vehicles by the end of 2026.
Key takeaways
- Singh took delivery of the van in December 2023 and did not run a trip until August 2024, paying $1,200 a month on the lease while fear of rejection kept him parked.
- He led with 14 years as a hospital respiratory therapist when he walked into facilities cold. Case managers and social workers responded to the clinical background before the pitch.
- When he is double booked, Singh calls other local operators to cover the trip rather than tell a facility no. He says he does not gatekeep trips.
- The second van plan is a handoff: his part-time driver takes over the current vehicle along with the attendants, and Singh moves to the new van and repeats.
- He ran the whole operation on a Google Sheet of names, weights, pickups and drop offs. One day into Bambi he estimated it would cut that workflow 30 to 40 percent.
Chapters
- 0:04 Cold open: apply for the 2026 scholarship
- 0:45 A van bought in December 2023 sits six months
- 3:01 Walking into facilities with 14 years of clinical experience
- 4:17 Safe Lift Transport in Ventura County
- 4:56 The facility connection that fell through
- 5:59 Five contracted facilities and deliberate growth
- 6:37 Referring trips out instead of saying no
- 8:02 Jose Mktari, Essential Health and treating rivals as partners
- 10:47 Why brokers wait until vehicle two or three
- 12:11 2026 goals: three vans and a first broker
- 13:30 Off the spreadsheet and onto software
- 19:16 A second 2026 scholar on nearly losing a caller
