Building technology for high-stakes environments requires patience, institutional knowledge, and a tolerance for complexity that most founders are not trained for. Justin Fulcher spent years developing exactly those qualities first by launching a telemedicine company across some of Asia’s most underserved markets, then by taking those lessons into one of the world’s largest bureaucratic institutions: the U.S. Department of Defense.
RingMD and the Problem of Healthcare Access
When Fulcher co-founded RingMD in 2013, he was 21 years old and focused on a gap that most Western tech companies had overlooked. Across Asia, mobile internet access had expanded far faster than physical healthcare infrastructure. Patients in rural or underserved areas could access a smartphone but not a physician. RingMD built a platform to bridge that gap, connecting patients with doctors remotely and operating across multiple countries. The model required engineering systems robust enough to function where internet connections were unreliable and regulatory environments varied widely by jurisdiction. The company’s trajectory caught the attention of Forbes Asia, which named Fulcher to its 30 Under 30 list in the Healthcare and Science category in 2017. He later stepped back from operational management at RingMD while retaining a board seat and minority stake.
Defense Procurement and the Push for Efficiency
Justin Fulcher’s move into the public sector came in early 2025, when he was appointed Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense. His work at the Department of Defense zeroed in on acquisition reform the slow, rule-bound process through which the military procures technology and software. Justin Fulcher contributed to changes that brought software procurement timelines down from years to months, a shift with concrete implications for how quickly the department can deploy modern tools. He has written about the philosophy guiding this kind of work: “Execution over narrative. Accountability over optics. Durability over speed.” Now pursuing a doctorate at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies, Fulcher’s current interests include defense technology innovation and the resilience of supply chains for rare-earth elements and other critical materials. Read this article for additional information.
Learn more about Justin Fulcher on https://www.facebook.com/JustinLFulcher/