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This episode is part two of our show with Mark Farmery, founder of Biotech Bikers and Chief Development Officer at Swedish biotech firm, Anocca. In part II Mark tells us about how his urge to apply scientific education led him from academia into pharma and biotech business development. Mark also explains biotech venture basics, as well as the T cell therapies his employer, Anocca, is pioneering to address pancreatic cancer, which is usually fatal. Stay tuned to learn quite a bit, as the subject matter ranges far from our well worn topics, and check out part I to hear about how Mark founded an international network of Biotech Bikers.

Mark Farmery:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfarmery

Anocca:
https://www.anocca.com/

Chapters

• Mark's Journey: From England to Sweden
• Understanding Microbiology and Biochemistry
• Transitioning from Academia to Industry
• The Role of Pharmaceuticals in Healthcare
• AstraZeneca: Navigating the Patent Cliff
• The Power of Collaboration in Biotech
• Transitioning to Business Development
• Understanding Pharmaceutical R&D Challenges
• The Biotech Venture Model Explained
• Innovations in T Cell Therapies
• Anocca's Clinical Trial Milestone
• Role of Chief Development Officer at Anocca

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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The key metric for measuring Hill Climbers success is engagement - but I’m not talking about likes, comments and shares. The show with Eric Min from Zwift was a big milestone for us because Eric’s a known quantity in our world, and deep down I was hoping for recognition in the form of connecting with NEW folks over a shared passion for bikes and business. 

On January 9th I received a message from Mark Farmery that read “Hey Sam, it's fantastic what you're doing with Hill Climb. It would be great to connect, tell you more about BiotechBikers, the cycling-centric bioscience community I founded, and explore synergies.” I didn't even notice the typo, because here was someone who has been cultivating a cycling business community for years, and he managed to find me through the show! Honestly I didn’t know any other like minded communities existed and I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying response to my #1 KPI.

It turns out, Mark is Chief Development Officer at Anocca, a cutting edge Swedish T Cell therapy biotech that’s focused on treatments for pancreatic cancer, which is wildly fatal and therefore on the list of more menacing cancers…more on that in a future episode. It also turns out that Mark is a huge believer in the power of networking to bring the right people together to solve extremely complicated challenges like altering the body’s immune system response to cancerous cells. It was this urge AND his lifelong love of cycling that compelled him to bring his bike to big biotech conferences, and encourage others to join him. What started in 2018 with just three people has grown into an international biotech and pharma networking community with chapters all over the world! Stay tuned to meet Mark and learn how Biotech Bikers became a thriving community online and IRL.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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To help spread the word about the show, my friend Rey Madolora put me on an email with a bunch of Austin cyclists that are also notable in the business community. One by one I was able to meet most of them, but Rob Taylor was elusive. When I followed his Strava I noticed that he was regularly climbing mountains in Europe…like really frequently and his trips had names like, “Epic Three Nations.” Needless to say this piqued my interest but he’s not on the group ride scene here so I wasn’t going to just run into him. I did run into his brother, Chris, at The Red Fridge Society, which he opened as a membership club and event space for founders. When I told Chris that we had started promoting live events, he said, “you should interview my brother, here.” And that’s how you stalk a podcast guest.

Rob’s ride through the dot com bubble and bust got him started in triathlon as an outlet to channel frustration - not exactly a joyful pursuit. Gradually, during his high flying career taking companies public, reaching a 9 figure exit and becoming a VC, Rob discovered a passion for European bike trips HEAVY on the climbing because the experience distills his complicated life down to basic pleasures: fitness, suffering, outdoors, local cuisine and companionship. We had a blast at the Red Fridge exploring Rob’s leadership insights as far as team building, communicating, and relishing the adventure as opposed to coveting the outcome. No topic was off limits for the audience Q&A, including Rob’s glorious hair. Now, enjoy the show.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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We could have interviewed Allison Morrison fresh off her World’s debut in Olympic distance triathlon as a UT MBA student and full time Meta employee. However this podcast has a strong entrepreneurial theme (you, reader, are about to feel inadequate), and sure enough, Allison made room for her startup, Ralli, on top of 15hr weekly training blocks, coursework and the day job. Ralli launched in 2022 as a web app to help athletes match with training buddies, and is expanding to include club messaging features with an imminent native app release. The special sauce in this episode is the LIVE AUDIENCE! We hosted Allison at the Meteor in Austin with 40 other guests, our first public event, and the authentic laugh track takes this podcast energy to the next level. Do not miss the second half which covers the audience Q&A, because the questions about righteous selfishness, scaling the app for critical mass and fundraising were WAY better than ours! Enjoy.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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Zwift cofounder Eric Min was a tantalizing and wildly obvious guest candidate for a number of reasons that we'll enumerate, however, we did not think he'd join us so soon! Last year Eric turned up in the Breakfast Club slack, to our delight, and agreed to hop on a call to discuss an interview. We scheduled the interview for the fall, after the Zwift Ride bike launch, and Eric stayed true to his word. This is a milestone for us because of Eric's prominence in the cycling industry, his role in bringing virtual riding and racing to the masses, the unicorn status achieved after the last funding round, and selfishly, our joy using the product. The interview covers a range of topics from challenges Zwift faced after making bets on a pandemic spike that did not last, to the origin story of the Tour De France Femmes Avec Zwift, to Eric's recommendations for folks that are just getting started on the platform, so there's something for everyone. RIDE ON.

Topics Covered: 

• Eric Min's background and the founding of Zwift 
• The evolution of virtual cycling and the remarkably efficient training it delivers
• Zwift's initiatives to promote women's cycling and Zwift Academy's success
• New Zwift features like steering and the cycling community 

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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The legend of Masters World Champion Joe Wentzell loomed large because Joe was a Temple University lineman and my brother in law has been coached by him on the bike for some time. Various versions of, "Joe will tear your legs off" were bandied about for the last decade, and I only briefly met him in person once, with few words exchanged.

Joe has been a person of interest for Hill Climbers since we launched because he owned Philly's premier bike shop, Breakaway Bikes, while pioneering power meter based group training sessions, and has gone on to various executive revenue roles (currently Talaria) within the bike and cannabis industries. So when Joe agreed to come on the show - to a bit of a surprise - his imposing stature belied a gentle power and wisdom that comes with decades of coaching and entrepreneurial experience.

Look no further than this interview for insights into what made Joe a Masters World Champion, all while running a business and raising children, and what methods he translates from training to his executive roles.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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Earlier in the spring my buddy, Chas, told me that he trained with a guy named Scott Baldwin who was building a social media platform dedicated to endurance athletes. On top of that, Scott hails from the Philadelphia area, so I had to meet him. On the Meteor patio, Scott shared his vision for Front Pack Sports, a social hub where athletes can gather and do what they do - seek friendly competition and training buddies, pontificate on gear and get exposure to physical therapists, trainers and new products. As I racked my brain, I realized that a purely social experience like this does not exist and there could be blue sky for an entrepreneur like Scott to nail the value proposition. This is way easier said than done, so admittedly I was a bit dismissive with Scott’s pitch taking into account his lack of experience building consumer web businesses. 

However, I did subscribe to his newsletter…and I was immediately hooked. Scott boldly covers ALL notable endurance stories each week and he does so in his authentic voice, which is goofy and earnest at the very same time. So when Scott shared some impressive newsletter growth numbers, I was super impressed and instantly regretted my dismissive first impression. In fact Scott’s spirit and his business development growth initiatives are so complementary with what Hill Climbers supports, that we conceived a live audience podcast event for him on the spot. What ensued was a podcast taping with a small but mighty studio audience, which asked fantastic questions during the Q&A at the end of the show. In the spirit of our first live event, we’re front loading the Q&A portion of the interview to put you in the studio with us. Now enjoy the show.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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A few months ago I introduced a Hill Climbers ride in Austin for folks to connect with each other over some soft pedaling, in addition to some hard pedaling. All of a sudden, our little Hill Climbers brand that had a digital presence, had a REAL WORLD presence! Crazy, I know. This brand extension is just as thrilling to me as shipping new episodes and he best part is providing an IRL platform for new friendships and business connections. I dive into how this IRL initiative dictated a new path for Hill Climbers, one that includes live audience podcast tapings, happy hours and of course, continued weekly Thursday morning group rides.

But that's not all. My buddy and guest on this bonus episode, Franco Martins, has come on board to co-produce the show, a THRILLING development for this humble brand. Franco is wildly overqualified for the job, coming off three years 3D printing housing communities (you read correctly) with ICON, Austin's buzziest unicorn. Tune in to meet the new guy, and survey blueprints of what the future holds for Hill Climbers.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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Starting an American kit company in a sea of established competitors may seem like a daunting undertaking to some. Ryan Cady, however, became a bike shop owner at nineteen years old during college, raced bikes full time and then ran a sock company before he stepped up to the plate. Cady gravitates toward detail-oriented challenges and he met his match after launching Eliel Cycling in 2014. This episode contains an abbreviated master class in Eliel’s craft - from ordering a spectrum of italian fabrics, to panel choices, sublimation dying, laser cutting, and masterful hand sewing. Cady also shares both his pride in establishing an American heritage brand as well as the challenges of Southern California manufacturing. At the heart of Eliel is a founder and CEO who started a cycling brand because he loves the sport and knows he can improve the experience. Keep listening and judge for yourself.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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One of my lasting impressions of Will Bryant, the Austin-based artist and brand collaborator, is from a photo shoot in which he’s modeling his own endo customs collab with a few other models. The colors and patterns are true to Will’s artwork - colorful, outrageous and fun - think PeeWee’s Playhouse (more on that in the show). The other models mostly conjure the blase, indifferent blue steel even though they’re rocking the VERY playful outfits and kits. Will, on the other hand, has a big smile in almost every photo like he couldn’t possibly contain the fun he was having. This was an observation I made without knowing much about Will and I am pleased to say that his spirit similarly shines through our interview. Although Will's creative process is not all fun and games, his mission is to make the work make YOU feel good. There are some gems in here including the story behind Will’s Breakfast Club collab and how cycling impacts his work - so stay with us and enjoy the first artist interview on Hill Climbers.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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