March 2026 Newsletter -- Building in Public
March 2026 -- Monthly Dispatch from Amir Khela
If you're reading this, you subscribed because you want signal, not noise. Here's what's been on my mind this month.
What I'm Building
The compounding pharmacy is moving. I completed hands-on non-sterile lab training in Montreal in late February — two days of formulation work, SOP walkthroughs, and equipment calibration. I'm now deep in location scouting for downtown Toronto. Target opening: late summer 2026.
This isn't just a new service line. It's the first step toward a multi-location pharmacy network. Compounding serves patients the mass market ignores — dermatology, pediatric, hormone therapy, pain management. That's where precision medicine lives, and it's where I'm planting the flag.
What I'm Thinking About
On delegation: I've been refining how I think about what to own and what to offload. The rule I keep coming back to: if it doesn't require my judgment, it shouldn't require my time. Building systems around that principle has been the most leveraged work I've done in Q1.
On compounding capital: Profit First changed how I relate to money — not just in business, but personally. Every dollar that comes in gets allocated before it can be spent. The discipline is in the system, not the willpower. If you haven't read Mike Michalowicz's book, it's worth an afternoon.
On healthcare in Canada: There's a gap between what the system provides and what patients actually need. That gap is a business. Cloud Pharmacy and Cloud Care Clinics exist because of that gap. The compounding lab is the next iteration of the same thesis.
What I'm Reading
Working through The Obstacle Is the Way again — different chapters hit differently depending on where you are in building something. Marcus Aurelius stays relevant.
One Thing Worth Your Time
If you run a business with employees, read about operator vs. owner thinking. Most entrepreneurs stay operators too long. The shift to owner — where you build the system instead of running it — is the hardest and most important transition you'll make. I'm still making it.
That's March. More updates on the compounding build as things move. Stay sharp.
-- Amir
Reply to this email or find me at amirkhela.com
Written by Amir Khela
Entrepreneur, pharmacist, and author building businesses across healthcare, tech, and media from Toronto. Writing about the intersection of business, personal growth, and building a meaningful life.
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