Part 3 of 3.
My guest for this weekās episode is Fengru Lin, Founder and CEO of TurtleTree, a biotech company revolutionizing food for good. Having raised a 40 million dollar Series A, TurtleTree is creating cell-based milk, with a current focus on releasing LF+, the worldās first sustainably produced lactoferrin made with cutting-edge precision fermentation technology.
Prior to TurtleTree, Fengru worked at UL, Salesforce, and Google, gaining a tremendous amount of experience in sales and business development. Her breadth of experience makes her insights invaluable to life science companies looking to create opportunities for themselves in their verticals.
Join us as we sit down with Fengru to talk about TurtleTreeās early days and how focusing on HR early was crucial to their success. She talks about creating a people-first work culture and how having a business-centric leadership team can be advantageous. She also discusses her experience refocusing TurtleTreeās efforts to reach earlier commercialization and touches on navigating fundraising for series A and B in volatile markets. Please enjoy my conversation with Fengru Lin.
Find Our Guest, Fengru Lin, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fengru
https://www.turtletree.com
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
https://www.excedr.com
Timestamps:
00:20 Intro
01:13 Episode starts, TurtleTreeās vision and mission, building TurtleTreeās team and focusing on HR early
03:42 Creating a people-first company culture, the importance of a business-centric leadership team
06:34 TurtleTreeās pivot to creating lactoferrin to commercialize earlier rather than later
10:12 The idea of refocusing on something new vs pivoting completely
12:03 Planning go-to-market strategy and commercialization efforts, understanding market fluctuations
16:02 Navigating fundraising for TurtleTree, tips and tricks for fundraising efforts, raising Series B funding
18:27 Biggest challenges and triumphs for TurtleTree, empowering your team to get their buy-in
23:14 What is in store for TurtleTree in the next couple of years
26:06 Fengruās shout-outs, advice to her 21-year-old self
27:35 Outro
Social & Website
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr
Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
TurtleTree https://www.turtletree.com
Staffing Your Startup https://www.excedr.com/blog/staffing-your-startup
Abbott Laboratories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_Laboratories
Fonterra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonterra
Precision Fermentation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_fermentation#Precision_fermentation
Lactoferrin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactoferrin
Gross Margin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_margin
Lab Equipment Leasing https://www.excedr.com/leasing
Bioreactors https://www.excedr.com/general-lab-equipment/bioreactor
Choosing & Collaborating with a CMO https://www.excedr.com/blog/contract-manufacturing-organizations
Financial Modeling & How Can It Help with Fundraising https://www.excedr.com/resources/what-is-financial-modeling
What Is Due Diligence https://www.excedr.com/resources/what-is-due-diligence
What Is Series A, B, & C Funding https://www.excedr.com/resources/series-funding-explained
What Is Patent Licensing https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-patent-licensing-works
Intellectual Property 101 https://www.excedr.com/resources/intellectual-property-guide
Understanding Intellectual Property Rights https://www.excedr.com/resources/intellectual-property-rights-for-biotechs
IFT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Food_TechnologistsThe Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science companyāfrom pre-seed to IPO.
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