Dr. Rob Douk’s entrepreneurial instincts have led him into a number of lines of business.
Primary among them is Anaheim-based Behavioral Health Works, which specializes in helping children and adults with autism change their behavior in ways that can improve their lives.
Douk also is a cofounder of ClinicSoft LLC, a software firm that offers practice management tools for clinicians, and of Sekai Investment Group LLC, a real estate investment company. He tops off his resume with some volunteer work as cofounder and chief clinical adviser of the nonprofit Hope Out Loud Foundation.
‘Unique Place’
“As entrepreneurs, we have a unique place in this world to carry out a series of seemingly small acts that can yield great impact in this world,” Douk said. “And when the right motivation is behind an innovative business idea, then it has the potential to answer some of the world’s most challenging problems. Entrepreneurship has been a pivotal tool that has allowed me to play my small part in bettering this world, whether that is through autism treatment, software to help clinicians work more effectively, or the social entrepreneurship work through my nonprofit.”
Douk was among seven winners of the Business Journal’s 14th annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards on March 18 at Hotel Irvine (see related coverage, pages 1, 7, 8, 10 and 14).
Privately held Behavioral Health, which recently moved its headquarters from Garden Grove to Anaheim, has about 250 employees in the local office, including over 125 therapists who serve more than 275 families a day in Orange County. It has smaller operations throughout the state, including offices in Long Beach, San Diego and Pleasanton.
The company also has launched satellite locations in Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Florida, among other states.
Behavioral Health is certified by the California Department of Education and contracts with school districts to provide various services for people with autism. Its service lineup includes a brand of psychology known as applied behavior analysis, which uses certain techniques to change a person’s behavior. The company said applied behavior analysis can be used with autism patients to limit what it calls “challenging behavior,” such as aggression and tantrums.
Douk told the Business Journal in 2013 that applied behavior analysis is a form of therapy that’s “been around for hundreds of years, but it’s gained its popularity because there really is no other treatment out there that’s effective.”
Behavioral Health was established in 2008 out of Douk’s kitchen with a pair of part-time therapists and less than $2,000 of his own savings.
“My dream is that [Behavioral Health] will always continue to feel like a startup because we have the understanding that although we’re doing great work now, there is still, and will always be, room for more improvement,” Douk said. “We embrace innovation and don’t mind failing along the way, as long as we learn from our mistakes. But to ensure that we preserve our culture and continue to be nimble, we have implemented initiatives such as our Total Quality Management Program, where we look for ways to deliver higher quality services, better utilize our current resources, and continue striving for operational excellence.”
The company in 2013 was honored at the Business Journal’s Family Owned Business Awards in the Up & Coming Business category.
At the time, Douk estimated 2014 revenue to be about $18 million. More recent numbers weren’t available, but Douk said the organization has been “blessed with continued success” and attributed the growth to “the community of collaborative partners.”
Cambodia to U.S.
Douk has followed his entrepreneurial path a long way from the war-torn world of Cambodia at the time of his birth. He immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 2 in 1981.
“My mom says I’m a miracle baby,” he said in 2013. “We escaped the land mines of Cambodia when I was born. I was only 2 months old.”
Douk’s family ended up in the Bronx before moving to Long Beach, which had a growing Cambodian immigrant community.
He came to Orange County to study at the University of California-Irvine, where he got his undergraduate degree. He also received a master’s degree in counseling from California State University-Los Angeles and a doctorate in psychology from Southern California University.
Douk said he’s continuing his post-doctoral work, this time around at University of California-Los Angeles as an MBA student in the school’s global executive program.
“I am a life-long learner,” Douk said. “And [I] hope to gain global business insights to further the work that [Behavioral Health], ClinicSoft and Hope Out Loud is doing locally and globally.”
