Part 1 of 4.
My guest for this week’s episode is Sandy Paige, co-managing director of the Seabright Ventures Fund, a search fund investing in the US middle market, with a focus on life sciences and cleantech. Sandy is an expert CEO, most recently leading and scaling Explora BioLabs before its acquisition by Charles River Laboratories for $295 Million dollars.
Prior to Seabright, Sandy led The Jackson Laboratory as a Site Director and a Director of International Distribution from 2008 to 2018. Before The Jackson Laboratory, Sandy spent time as a general manager, consultant, and financial analyst, gaining extensive experience in a wide range of industries outside of the life sciences.
Join us as we sit down with Sandy to talk about his childhood watching his father as a CEO, and how he learned to leverage his hustle and found value as a team player. Sandy also discusses the benefits of multifaceted education and how a wide range of experiences can lead to more opportunities. Lastly, we cover his time going from politics to industry, his journey to getting an MBA, and his path into corporate entrepreneurship.
Find Our Guest, Sandy Paige, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielsandypaige/
https://seabrightventuresfund.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
01:56 Episode start, Sandy’s childhood growing up in Maine, watching his father as a CEO
04:53 Deciding not to become a zero-to-one entrepreneur, the value of hustling and being a team player
07:05 The benefits of a multi-disciplinary liberal arts education and of having a varied background of experiences
09:41 Taking the opportunities provided and taking things job-by-job, how a letter led to a job opportunity
13:20 Working for Angus King, following up on things people recommend and saying yes at critical moments
18:42 Moving into industry, going to Fairchild Semiconductor, getting an MBA
23:16 Benefits of exposure to broader business operations, corporate entrepreneurship as a career path
26:43 Entrepreneurship as risk aversion, managing risk-return profiles to find a path
28:35 Outro
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
Entrepreneurship https://www.excedr.com/category/entrepreneurship
Liberal Arts Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_education
Laboratory Management https://www.excedr.com/category/laboratory-management
Minimize Overhead Costs https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-minimize-overhead-costs
Managing the Impact of Rising Interest Rates & Inflation https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-manage-the-impact-of-rising-interest-rates-and-inflation
Explora Biolabs https://ir.criver.com/news-releases/news-release-details/charles-river-laboratories-acquires-explora-biolabs
Salzburg Seminar for American Studies https://www.salzburgglobal.org/multi-year-series/american-studies
Bath Iron Works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_Iron_Works
Fairchild Semiconductor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Semiconductor
VC Term Sheet Glossary https://www.excedr.com/resources/vc-term-sheet-clauses-and-terms
Writing a Startup Business Plan https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-write-a-business-plan-for-biotechs
Business Entities & Their Differences https://www.excedr.com/resources/what-are-the-differences-between-business-entities
Babson College https://www.babson.edu/
Funding an R&D Startup https://www.excedr.com/resources/rd-startup-funding-first-steps
People Mentioned:
Buzz Fitzgerald https://www.c-span.org/person/?36913/BuzzFitzgerald
Angus King https://www.king.senate.gov/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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