Why We Started Mashi Health
A marriage of three separate experiences
Hidai (Our CTO)
After three years of physical therapy for a torn UCL, Hidai saw firsthand how broken the traditional system was. First, she saw how difficult it was to find a specialized PT for UCL injuries. Second, while she was booked for 1-hour appointments, it was really only 15 minutes of one-on-one time with the PT. Then the insurance bill came—deductions, co-pays, coinsurance—nothing felt clear or transparent. Everything felt rushed. Nothing felt personal.
Throughout her care journey, every PT she visited voiced the same grievances: they wanted to spend more time with patients and deliver more personalized care but felt the clinics they worked for were only prioritizing profit and patient volume.
Hidai’s experience wasn’t unique. These were frustrations shared by countless patients and PTs alike.
Dr. Miguel (Our Founding Clinician)
Like many PTs, Miguel graduated from Physical Therapy School and immediately began working at a clinic. Yet, again, like many PTs, he found his clinic job left him feeling unfulfilled, overworked, and underpaid.
However, Miguel was an avid rock climber. One day, he decided to set up a table at his climbing gym and offer climbing-specific physical therapy. In the months that followed, his climbing-focused physical therapy exploded into a new business, Climbing Rehab, where he was excitedly delivering superior, personalized care for climbers.
His experience led him to three questions: Why can’t more PTs become independent? Why isn’t there a centralized place for patients to discover specialized, independent PTs? Why isn’t there dedicated software for independent PTs?
Yahya (Our CEO)
After college, Yahya worked in finance where he helped advise healthcare companies. What he saw was a U.S. healthcare system held back by large corporations. Private equity firms were buying countless doctors’ offices and placing profit above all else. Large insurers seemed to care more about their stock price than patients’ health.
It felt like healthcare in the U.S. had become dominated by greed. The days of a local doctor running their own practice, providing one-on-one care, and truly caring about the patient needed a comeback.
Yahya became convinced that the only way to make healthcare patient-first again was to return power to the independent providers who make care personal.
Then we all met
When all three of us met and shared our stories, it felt like a lightbulb moment. Patients wanted better care. PTs wanted their own practice. The desires were there—but not the tools.
Our mission: Empower independence. Redefine patient care.
When we founded Mashi Health, our mission became simple: to help independent, niche physical therapists thrive and to give patients better options for personal, one-on-one care.
What we’re building at Mashi Health
Mashi Health is a platform that connects patients with independent, specialized physical therapists while giving those PTs software to run their practices seamlessly.
- For patients: discover specialized care near you
- We want to provide you with more options. How familiar does this sound: You’ve had a nagging injury, it isn’t getting better, and you can’t find someone who’s able to help. With Mashi, you’ll be able to search and find a PT who specializes in exactly what you need care for.
- For PTs: help patients find you
- We’ve seen independent PTs market themselves in countless ways. It should be easier than that. Join Mashi, get discovered, and grow your practice. It’s as simple as signing up.
The road ahead
We’re just getting started. Over the next few months, we’ll be opening our directory to NYC patients and rolling out software products made specifically for independent PTs. If you’re a patient looking for care that feels personal again—or a PT ready to build something of your own—we’d love for you to join us.
We started Mashi Health because we believe better care starts with independence—and independence starts with the right support. Thanks for being part of this journey.