Sam MacGregor did not just need another startup role. He wanted work that felt closer to the real world.
Before SimCare, Sam had worked at a company he described as tech on top of tech. The work was interesting, but the mission felt further away from the people using the product. He wanted a smaller team, more day-to-day ownership, and a company where the product's impact was easier to see.
SimCare made sense in a way most roles do not.
Sam had studied neuroscience at the University of Chicago on a pre-med track. SimCare, a YC S24 company, builds AI client simulations for healthcare and behavioral health training. Students and providers can practice clinical conversations with AI patients, get feedback, and build real skills before working with real people.
The overlap was unusually clean. Same school as the founders. Healthcare training mission. Early stage. Real product usage in the field.
"I really liked the mission of the company and what they were doing." - Sam MacGregor
Pluto connected parts of Sam's story that would normally sit apart: neuroscience, mission, ownership, and growth.
"It helps that they went to the same school and had shared experiences, but that did not make or break anything." - Sam MacGregor
The real pull was the work itself.
"When I was doing neuroscience, I was on a pre med track. In my previous company before SimCare, it was tech on top of tech, and I did not really see the mission or the real world application." - Sam MacGregor
"Coming to SimCare, you see a lot more impact. You see people really liking your product and seeing it in the field." - Sam MacGregor
The stage mattered too. SimCare was still early enough that a growth hire could shape the company, not just operate inside a narrow function.
"Smaller team was part of it. I wanted to have more impact on the day to day." - Sam MacGregor
Pluto helped make that connection happen by turning Sam's background into context a startup could actually use. He was not just a growth profile. He was a neuroscience major who wanted mission, real-world application, and a role where his work would matter every day.
"When you are going through the recruiting process, you have the same intro call with every recruiter, and then you have that same intro call with every company you talk to. It is really repetitive." - Sam MacGregor
SimCare was not just another opportunity in that loop. It was the role that made his background feel useful in a new way.
Sam joined as Head of Growth. Today, he is helping an early company bring AI healthcare training into the field, with a product tied directly to the kind of clinical and behavioral health work he had studied before.
That is the Pluto promise at its best. The right opportunity should not feel random. It should make your background click.
Tell Pluto your story. Find the work that makes your background click.