Jordan Sarmiento built America First Healthcare out of the hardest stretch of his life: a music career that evaporated during COVID, a hospitalization that nearly killed him, and a $100,000 medical bill waiting on the other side. On this episode of the Digital Social Hour, he joins Sean Kelly to tell the full story behind one of the fastest-growing conservative-aligned healthcare companies in the country.
The conversation moves from the mechanics of scaling a business to the cost of holding unpopular opinions in public — being canceled in Los Angeles, turned away from restaurants during the mandate era, and facing backlash over a single photo posted from Israel — a frank look at conviction and the price of saying what you think online.
About Jordan Sarmiento
Jordan Sarmiento is the founder of America First Healthcare, a company born from his own collision with the medical system. After a near-fatal COVID hospitalization left him with a six-figure bill and a hard education in how healthcare billing really works, he set out to build an alternative — and grew it to 25,000 clients in two years.
Before healthcare, Sarmiento had a music career that disappeared during the pandemic, along with his footing in Los Angeles, where his politics made him a target. Those losses — career, health, and social standing — became the raw material for the company he runs today and the perspective he brings to this episode.
What Jordan Sarmiento and Sean Kelly Talked About
- How Jordan Sarmiento scaled America First Healthcare to 25,000 clients in just two years
- What a near-fatal hospitalization and a $100,000 bill taught him about medical billing
- His experience of being canceled in Los Angeles during the era of vaccine mandates
- Why he believes propaganda shapes audiences on the political left and right alike
- The Israel debate he sees dividing the MAGA movement from within
- His argument that foreign aid is more complicated than the headlines suggest
- What meeting Alex Hormozi shifted in his approach to scaling a company
- Lessons from losing money in crypto and sports cards before finding his lane
Why This Conversation Matters
Plenty of founders can talk about growth; far fewer can explain what it costs to build in public when your politics make you a lightning rod. Whether or not you share Jordan Sarmiento's views, this episode is a revealing look at how adversity, conviction, and one brutal hospital bill became the foundation of a business — and at what it means to voice an opinion online today.
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube
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About Sean Kelly & the Digital Social Hour
Sean Kelly is an entrepreneur and the host of the Digital Social Hour, one of the fastest-growing interview podcasts in the world, where he sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and cultural voices for candid, long-form conversations. The show draws over 100 million views a month across platforms. Explore more guest features on SeanKelly.io.
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