Founder and CEO, UWORLD
GROWING UP IN INDIA, DR.
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Chandra S. Pemmasani didn’t plan to become a CEO. He wanted to be a physician. Dr. Pemmasani attended Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad after ranking 27th out of 60,000 on the medical school entrance examination (EAMCET), recognized as one of the most competitive examinations in India. After graduation, he was set to complete his residency in the United States. All he needed was to pass the notoriously difficult United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). Undeterred by his lack of financial means, he borrowed thousands of dollars for exam prep tools but didn’t find them to be useful in providing the kind of active learning that would ingrain concepts into his mind. Several fellow as-
piring physicians were in the same position and were looking for help. This inspired him to write 200-plus pages of case-based scenarios for the USMLE. Dr. Pemmasani sent his guide to publishers, but they told him to come back when he had finished medical training. Wanting to help his colleagues as soon as possible, Dr. Pemmasani turned to the internet. With the support of family and friends, he developed several online exam review products—all while maintaining his full residency schedule. At the age of 25, he founded his company, USMLEWorld (rebranded as UWorld in 2014), with his brother, Ravi, a software engineer, playing a key role in building the technology systems and managing company operations. After completing his
residency in internal medicine, Dr. Pemmasani earned the highest percentile scores on most board examinations. He moved to Dallas in 2010, where he established the corporate headquarters of UWorld. A company that started from a university dorm room now employs 350-plus people and has evolved into the leading force for healthcare education, achieving more than 90% market penetration in the educational segment. UWorld has since moved into highstakes preparation for other verticals, such as accounting, college prep,
finance, graduate school, legal, and pharmacy. According to Dr. Pemmasani, the success of UWorld was built upon hard work, dedication, focus, and a passion for training future professionals well. To serve the learning needs of more individuals, UWorld recently acquired Themis Bar Review for law students, Roger CPA Review for accountants, and RxPrep for aspiring pharmacists. UWorld intends to grow to reach a wider span of students across multiple verticals. uworld.com
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