Part 2 of 3.
My guest for this week’s episode is James Evans, Founder and CEO of PhenoVista Biosciences, a contract research organization that works with biopharma clients of all sizes, from start-ups to established global companies.
Before starting PhenoVista, James spent a decade at MIT’s Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research as a Postdoc, a Research Scientist, and finally, Director of the Bioimaging Center.
Join us as we sit down with James to talk about his choice to leave MIT and the job that initiated his move to San Diego where he met his co-founder. James also offers insight into what the early days at PhenoVista were like, and how important it is to learn to tackle miscommunication early.
Hear firsthand about the difficulties of running a bootstrapped business, how company growth leads to recurring issues that need solving, and how James forged a business model in the real world. Please enjoy my conversation with James Evans.
Find Our Guest, James Evans, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesgevans/
https://phenovista.com/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
https://www.excedr.com
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/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:44 Episode Start
02:37 Choosing to leave MIT, the hard way of learning how to defend your data
04:53 Moving to San Diego, meeting PhenoVista’s co-founder (Tony), early days of the company
06:28 Gathering momentum, making the first outside hire (Erika), learning how to handle miscommunication
09:19 Hard lessons learned from moving from academia into a startup
11:06 Experience moving from East Coast to West Coast, creating a truly diverse company culture
13:34 Running a business is incredibly hard, solving recurring problems as the company grows
15:54 Biggest driving factor for creating PhenoVista, democratized access to phenotypic screening
17:40 Being bootstrapped vs. venture capital backed, forging a business model in the real world
20:35 Outro
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
High-Content Imaging https://www.excedr.com/blog/an-introduction-to-high-content-imaging Phenotypic Screening https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenotypic_screening
Spinning Out of Academia: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-spin-out-of-academia-and-into-a-startup
Creating a Budget for Your Startup (VC or Bootstrapped): https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-create-budget-biotech-startup
A Guide to Grant Funding: https://www.excedr.com/resources/grants-public-funding-biotech-startups
Financing Options for Your Startup: https://www.excedr.com/resources/debt-equity-options-funding-startup
How to Limit Co-Founder Disputes: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-limit-co-founder-legal-disputes
How to Write a Lean Business Plan: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-write-lean-business-plan
How to Bootstrap Your Biotech Startup: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-bootstrap-biotech-startup
Fuji Film https://www.fujifilm.com/us/en
EBITDA https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ebitda.asp
People Mentioned:
Paul Matsudaira https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-matsudaira/
Anthony “Tony” Essex https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-essex-ph-d-85671846/
Erika Martin https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-martin-b357327/ The 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 company—from pre-seed to IPO.
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