It became a kind of game.

Doug Hirsch, cofounder and co-CEO of GoodRx, needed to get a prescription filled. His pharmacy said it would cost a whopping $500. On a whim, Doug crossed the street to check out a different drugstore, and found the price offered was half as much. Intrigued, he went to another pharmacy and found yet another price.

In conclusion, there was no clear reason why the drug prices fluctuated so much. Pharmacists could not explain why.

The discovery of unpredictable and opaque prescription drug pricing led Doug to co-found Santa-Monica based GoodRx in 2011. It's a company that compares prescription drug prices and allows members to use free coupons to purchase steeply discounted prescriptions. Doug says GoodRx has saved Americans over $20 billion in prescription drug fees.

On this episode of my Office Hours podcast, hear Doug and I discuss how he built his business slowly and steadily, the ways in which paranoia keeps him on his toes — and why naiveté is an entrepreneurial strength.

dot.LA Sr. Podcast Producer & Editor Laurel Moglen contributed to this post.

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