An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Start with “WHO” — who are you.
Taking Responsiblity
Empathy
Authenticity
Honor
In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Bloch, D’Box.
Andrew Bloch MSPT, Dipl.Ac., L.Ac is the creator of the new, lightning fast pain relief system called Reflexive Pattern Therapy (RPT TM ). Where traditional pain relief systems take anywhere from 30–40 minutes per grueling session, with numerous sessions required for relief, the RPT TM system takes only 3–4 minutes and the pain relief is immediate. Andrew has spent the past 25 years studying with mentors in Eastern and Western medicine to create Reflexive Pattern Therapy TM .
First, he studied Sports Medicine and received a BS from Delaware University to become a Certified in Athletic Training (ATC). After getting his Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from University of Miami, Andrew continued his educational pursuit in Eastern Medicine at the Community School of Traditional Chinese Medicine to become a licensed acupuncturist. That’s what makes the RPT TM system so unique and powerful: a skillful blending of the Eastern and Western understanding of the body, its energy flows and the effects on your nervous system. Currently Andrew is consulting, educating and working with the athletes and sports medicine departments of the University of Texas and Georgetown University on the principles of his RPT TM system. Numerous professional coaches and athletes have already experienced ultra-fast pain relief from RPT TM .
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up most of my formative years in a middle class family 30 miles outside of New York City. How I “grew” up is very relative to how I choose my life path which has led me to eventually founding D’BOX a 501(c)3 non-profit. You see I didn’t “grew” like all my other classmates, I was very short in stature. That might not seem like a huge issue to most as “great things come in small packages”, that never helped me feel better. For me it was torturous causing me at a young age of 12 to start to seek some type of solution. I started reading, learning everything about the body, anatomy, and exercise. Unlike most of my friends i knew by age 14 I wanted to be a physical therapist to learn how to be stronger, faster and healthy. Unbeknownst to me at the time I was forging my purpose in life eventually becoming a physical therapist, athletic trainer and an acupuncturist. My upbringing, while very emotional straining, taught me a valuable lesson of persistence. My passion was and still is to help people that are suffering with pain. I have owned & operated holistic many facilities throughout my 30 years of practicing holistic heathcare. Founding D’BOX is way to give back especially to a community of people that are financial disadvantaged.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
Being in private practice for 30 years i had no experience as a non-profit and I had to find a space to see clients on a very tight budget. I met with a local business that was going to allow us to start and a few days before we were set to open he informed me that his business was closing. It was major set back so I decided just to drive by storefronts with signs for leasing to see if I could rent a room. Crazy coincendence when I called the first place the landlord told me he has a tenant that also is a non-profit and might be subleasing a room. Within a few days I had a room that was closer to my home in a much better location and we were up and running.
We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?
I believe when you speak about learning from your mistakes I first look honestly inside myself about my intentions. What I learned if my intentions were not in the best interest of purpose in life that I must adjust to realign myself. An example of this is when I had to medical office that I had to close due to many reason and when I reflected back looking at my intention I was too focused on the financial rewards. This reflection has given me the motivation to forge forward to become the Founder of the D’BOX where the focus is on helping communities and the money is not at the forefront.
As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?
While some of my core values are integrity, empathy, and kindness the one that stands out the most is my value of how to treat others. I believe that everyone should be treated the same regardless of financial stature, ethinicity, gender, age or any other variable. I seen in healthcare all to often that staff or practitioner identify the status of the client to see how they will be treated. While I might not agree with every client I’m unwavering and will comprise to treat everyone the same way with integrity, empathy and kindness
What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?
When I had a traditional for profit medical practice we would do a lot of marketing for knee pain as we had an unique system to help. Unfortunately, in a for profit business we were unable to provide care for any client who was financially disadvantaged. My business partner came to me about a specific woman who had Medicaid, so she didn;t have the finances to afford care. He asked me if we could see her as she was suffering for so long and she was unable to work to provide for her family. Of course I said YES as I love to make a difference in someone’s life with my proprotiery systems for treating pain. After her treatment she broken down just sobbing and her appreciation nourished my soul. While I was unable to begin D’BOX at that moment, my clients response definitely planted the seed.
Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?
In business the there are so many days that do not go easy. There is financial issues, client satisfaction, employee management, taxes, government & medical professional regulations etc… Meaning days get long and can often be frustrating & unsatisfying. Knowing my purpose, like a flashlight in a dark cave, is invaluable. Sometimes it’s not even a flashlight it’s a match. Knowing that I’m making a difference in a persons life fuels when I’m running low of energy or things are not going smoothly. I believe having a purpose driven business is vital.
How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?
As we are just beginning the journey of holistically relieving pain for people that are financially disadvantaged we do not have a lot of data. There are many metrics using some pain scale, functional levels, and return to work forms that clients fill. While metrics are very important I also believe it’s important to get testimonials as I believe its a better way to look at the impact of your non-profit. If your client are spreading the word and getting involved in our mission it gives us immediate feedback that we are making a difference.
Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?
While I was getting my new office ready to see clients my good friend wanted to help by offering to have her cleaning person Maria come over to clean. I was very grateful and I wanted to say hello to Maria and let her know our mission as she was the exact type of client D’BOX is looking to serve. I asked her if she knew of anyone that is suffering with chronic pain and she smiled saying yes I do — ME. I smiled and said she has been suffering with low back pain for years. She was blown away that after 2 visits her pain was gone and she was radiating with gratitude so much that she sent in 2 of her friends. We are just getting started in our mission and we have no doubt D’BOX is going to make a significant impact.
Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?
We never had a clash between profitability and social impact or have been challenged by anyone on our team. Fortunately for now we have had cohesive and miraculous beginning to our non-profit. While I know challenges will arise and I believe that surrounding D’BOX with other successful people in business that all believe in our purpose will definitely to solve challenges with the best possible outcome for profitability and our commitment to our social impact.
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business?
The best advise I would give budding entrpreuneurs is to know what you are really an expert in, focus on that and then surround yourself with other mentors / experts to help guide the rest. Bottom line who you surround yourself with will help determine your results. I would also recommend thick skin as it’s important to get real honest feedback to help see things you can correct. Humbly I give this advise having suffering nurmerous for profit business failures in my past.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . Start with “WHO” — who are you.
2 . Taking Responsiblity
3 . Empathy
4 . Authenticity
5 . Honor
I believe there is belief in business about starting with “why” and while I do believe there is a place and time to know your why I believe that Who AM I is where to begin. Knowing who you are never changes unlike your why which might change with the social times, location, financial issues, etc…. The next 4 things represent Who I AM which might be different for each person I just believe that identifying who you are will give you a road map when things are not going well. Meaning one “thing” for me is taking responsibility so if a problem arises the first act to resolve the issue is to look inside myself to see I AM taking responsibility. I would suggest you take some time to get to know Who AM I as this came be your roadmap for success.
I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute? Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
Two years from now I see D’BOX with multiple locations helping thousands of people who are in chronic pain to finally feel better especially people who are financially disadvantaged.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Our movement is to make a huge difference in lives of people suffering with pain, using holistic proprietary pain relieving systems that are financially disadvantaged. Sadly, according to the NIH, ⅓ of Americans suffer with chronic pain and that does not include children. There is an epidemic of people suffering along with the current financial strain on our communities. D’BOX wants to inspire a movement to overcome the current model of relieving pain that is accessible and affordable to EVERYONE.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
Purpose Before Profit: Andrew Bloch Of D’BoxOn The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.