The Biotech Startups Podcast

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 3 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Shekhar Mitra, former Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Chief of Innovation at Procter & Gamble and current President and Founder of InnoPreneur, a strategic advisory firm that enables development of innovation capabilities, ideation, and organizational development for Fortune 500 corporations and new ventures. 
Prior to InnoPreneur, Shekhar spent 29 years at Procter & Gamble where he worked his way up from staff scientist to Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Chief of Innovation, becoming a part of P&G's top leadership team and a member of the CEO's Global Leadership Council. Shekhar’s time at P&G paints a successful entrepreneurial road map for those looking to learn, grow, and innovate within large corporations. Post retirement from P&G, Shekhar spent several years as a board member and strategic adviser to several Fortune 500 corporations, new ventures, and private equity companies developing transformational new ideas, business strategies, and organization capabilities to drive growth. With over 50 patents awarded in different fields, Shekhar’s an expert with an exceptional track record in creating and developing game changing technology platforms and formulating disruptive innovation strategies, whose extensive background in R&D offers unique insights that listeners can benefit from.
Join us this week and hear about:

• The challenges of building the first big innovation center in Asia
• Giving people a chance to impress you and what the whole work of leadership is
• Building emotional bonds and noticeability in your customer base 
• The importance and impact of developing emotional drivers in your customers 
• And much more!

Please enjoy my conversation with Shekhar Mitra.

Timestamps00:28 Intro01:52 Episode starts, working as Director of R&D in Asia for Procter & Gamble and the challenge of building the first big innovation center in Asia05:20 Bringing the developments and innovations learned in China to the global markets08:54 No one does it alone, and the sacrifices others had to make to support the risks they needed to take to ultimately succeed11:50 The whole work of leadership is giving people a chance to impress you, supporting them but also hold them responsible for their mistakes14:55 Needing a game-changing breakthrough every two to three years to maintain a prestige brand19:36 P&G’s cyclohexane perfume innovation and having your product’s noticeability driven through technology28:13 Developing emotional drivers with your customers through things like scent, their pets, and the comfort of their babies33:49 Outro
Find Our Guest, Shekhar Mitra, at this link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shekhar-mitra-ph-d-4b427b47/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Cyclodextrin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclodextrin 
Lab Equipment for Biochemistry Research https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-biochemistry-researchWhat is DNA Extraction?https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-dna-extractionWhat Types of Equipment is Used in Molecular Biology Research?https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-type-of-equipment-is-used-in-molecular-biology-research
People Mentioned:John Pepper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Pepper_Jr. Gordon Brunner https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordon-brunner-b38b36278/ Steve Hicks https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenjhicks/ Sumit Bahsin https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumit-bhasin-5970989/ 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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 2 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Shekhar Mitra, former Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Chief of Innovation at Procter & Gamble and current President and Founder of InnoPreneur, a strategic advisory firm that enables development of innovation capabilities, ideation, and organizational development for Fortune 500 corporations and new ventures. 
Prior to InnoPreneur, Shekhar spent 29 years at Procter & Gamble where he worked his way up from staff scientist to Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Chief of Innovation, becoming a part of P&G's top leadership team and a member of the CEO's Global Leadership Council. Shekhar’s time at P&G paints a successful entrepreneurial road map for those looking to learn, grow, and innovate within large corporations. 
Post retirement from P&G, Shekhar spent several years as a board member and strategic adviser to several Fortune 500 corporations, new ventures, and private equity companies developing transformational new ideas, business strategies, and organization capabilities to drive growth.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Shekar’s time at Columbia and Yale collaborating with top-notch physicists, and his involvement in the Jane Coffin Fellowship
• His move from Academia and laser light studies to Procter & Gamble
• Navigating the challenges, failures, and successes along the way
• His experience leading key clinical investigations and working with the FDA

Shekhar’s an expert with an exceptional track record in creating and developing game changing technology platforms and formulating disruptive innovation strategies, whose extensive background in R&D offers unique insights that listeners can benefit from. Please enjoy my conversation with Shekhar Mitra.
Timestamps:00:28 Intro 01:46 From Colombia to Yale, the Jane Coffin Fellowship, and help from grants and Professors06:02 Collaborating with top-notch physicists; on track to become a faculty member 10:18 Lessons in innovation breakthroughs and the importance of multi-functional teams 13:10 Leaving academia for Procter & Gamble 18:50 P&G’s impressive research and enzyme engineering prowess; the application of research in everyday life 23:26 Navigating challenges and successes at Procter & Gamble 30:34 Learning from mistakes and getting encouragement at the right moment 34:00 Collaborating with Barry Marshall, Nobel Laureate, and leading clinical investigations 37:37 The importance of having the opportunity to take big swings in research 41:52 Consumer is the boss, but so is the FDA: Shekhar’s experience working with the agency 47:29 The value of listening to and empathizing with those around you 50:48 Outro
Find Our Guest, Shekhar Mitra, at this link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shekhar-mitra-ph-d-4b427b47/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Columbia University: https://www.columbia.edu/Yale University: https://www.yale.edu/Procter & Gamble: https://us.pg.com/Jane Coffin Fellowship: https://www.jccfund.org/Hammett Award: https://www.chem.columbia.edu/content/graduate-awardsEnzyme Engineering: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/enzyme-engineeringX-ray Crystallography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1186895/Computational Biology: https://cbd.cmu.edu/about-us/what-is-computational-biology.htmlBioinformatics vs. Computational Biology: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-bioinformatics-and-computational-biologyProtein Folding: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9843/Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 2005 (Barry Marshall): https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/7693-the-nobel-prize-in-physiology-or-medicine-2005-2005-6/Bismuth: https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/pepto-bismol/about-pepto-bismol/
People Mentioned:Richard Bersohn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_BersohnDon Prothero: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_ProtheroBarry Marshall: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barry-J-MarshallJohn Pepper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-pepper-b0a80868/Jon Moeller: https://us.pg.com/leadership-team/jon-moeller/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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 1 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Shekhar Mitra, former Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Chief of Innovation at Procter & Gamble and current President and Founder of InnoPreneur, a strategic advisory firm that enables development of innovation capabilities, ideation, and organizational development for Fortune 500 corporations and new ventures. 
Prior to InnoPreneur, Shekhar spent 29 years at Procter & Gamble where he worked his way up from staff scientist to Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Chief of Innovation, becoming a part of P&G's top leadership team and a member of the CEO's Global Leadership Council. Shekhar’s time at P&G paints a successful entrepreneurial road map for those looking to learn, grow, and innovate within large corporations. Post retirement from P&G, Shekhar spent several years as a board member and strategic adviser to several Fortune 500 corporations, new ventures, and private equity companies developing transformational new ideas, business strategies, and organization capabilities to drive growth. With over 50 patents awarded in different fields, Shekhar’s an expert with an exceptional track record in creating and developing game changing technology platforms and formulating disruptive innovation strategies, whose extensive background in R&D offers unique insights that listeners can benefit from.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Shekhar’s upbringing in a multigenerational household and the values that instilled in him
• His journey through graduate school
• The groundbreaking research he conducted investigating complex biological systems
• His diverse experiences in New York City from intense lab work to exploring the city’s vibrant cultural scene
• And much more!

Please enjoy my conversation with Shekhar Mitra.
Timestamps
00:28 Intro02:40 Episode starts, early years, growing up in a joint family of immigrants09:38 Lessons learned about leadership from managing family relationships and experience in sports 12:23 Attending the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur and focusing on biophysical chemistry, undergraduate lab experience at IIT17:43 Decision to move to New York City from India to pursue a Master’s and PhD at Columbia University, experiences in a new city as an immigrant24:57 Appreciating the difficult moments and finding joy in all circumstances in both life and business30:01 Experiences and opportunities working in the lab at Columbia studying biological proteins in cells38:58 Taking risks and being willing to fail in order to grow and make a meaningful impact43:07 Outro
Find Our Guest, Shekhar Mitra, at this link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shekhar-mitra-ph-d-4b427b47/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpurhttps://www.iitk.ac.in/Columbia Universityhttps://www.columbia.edu/National Academy of Scienceshttps://www.nasonline.org/Journal of Biological Chemistryhttps://www.jbc.org/
Lab Equipment for Biochemistry Research https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-biochemistry-researchWhat is DNA Extraction?https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-dna-extractionWhat Types of Equipment is Used in Molecular Biology Research?https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-type-of-equipment-is-used-in-molecular-biology-researchThe 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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.

Part 4 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Nathan Clark, Founder and CEO of Ganymede. Ganymede is the modern cloud data platform for the life sciences and manufacturing. Their Lab-as-Code technology allows you to quickly integrate and harmonize lab instruments and app data, automate analysis, visualize all your data in dashboards built over a powerful data lake, and ultimately speed up your operations to accelerate science or production.
Prior to founding Ganymede, Nathan was Product Manager for several of Benchling's data products, including the Insights BI tool and Machine Learning team. Before Benchling, Nathan worked at Affirm as a Senior Product Manager and was also a Trader at Goldman Sachs.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Nathan’s experience with data integration and automation in the life sciences and building a product for bioinformatics engineers and data scientists 
• His experience building the technical team and creating a go-to-market motion
• His vision for Ganymede in the years to come
• The challenges biotech companies face managing and analyzing large amounts of data 
• The importance of streamlining processes through automation and data integration

Nathan’s extensive background in machine learning and data systems across financial and lab technology and knowledge of their applications in the life sciences offers unique insights for founders to benefit from. Please enjoy my conversation with Nathan Clark.
Timestamps:00:28 Intro01:56 Empowering bioinformatics engineers with data integration and automation 04:38 The vision for Ganymede’s developer platform; automating wet lab data 06:39 The key to Ganymede’s quick growth: faster integrations 08:18 Nathan’s go-to-market motion at Ganymede; explaining your product 10:29 Which companies benefit the most from Ganymede? 14:23 Data strategies, modern data stacks, and building a data lake 20:21 Future vision for Ganymede; expanding platform features and reducing bugging cycles 27:02 Automating complex workflows to unlock the next level of R&D 29:40 Shout-outs and advice for 21-year old self 33:29 Outro
Find Our Guest, Nathan Clark, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-clark-4b850134/https://www.ganymede.bio/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Ganymede https://www.ganymede.bio/Ganymede Products https://www.ganymede.bio/productsSalesforce https://www.salesforce.com/Hubspot https://www.hubspot.com/Ramp https://ramp.com/Benchling https://www.benchling.com/Data Science & Analysis https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/data-science/Bioinformatics https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/BioinformaticsAutomating Wet Lab Data https://blog.ganymede.bio/4-data-first-strategies-for-lab-automation/FCS Files https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Cytometry_StandardData Lakes & the Modern Data Stack https://blog.ganymede.bio/the-essential-lab-data-tech-stack-for-every-stage-of-drug-development/
People Mentioned:Benson Lee https://www.linkedin.com/in/benson-lee-69980745/Nicholas (Nicky) Ksiezopolski https://www.linkedin.com/in/nksiezopolski/Sanjay Saraf https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjaysaraf/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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.

Part 3 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Nathan Clark, Founder and CEO of Ganymede. Ganymede is the modern cloud data platform for the life sciences and manufacturing. Their Lab-as-Code technology allows you to quickly integrate and harmonize lab instruments and app data, automate analysis, visualize all your data in dashboards built over a powerful data lake, and ultimately speed up your operations to accelerate science or production.
Prior to founding Ganymede, Nathan was Product Manager for several of Benchling's data products, including the Insights BI tool and Machine Learning team. Before Benchling, Nathan worked at Affirm as a Senior Product Manager and was also a Trader at Goldman Sachs. Nathan’s extensive background in machine learning and data systems across financial and lab technology and knowledge of their applications in the life sciences offers unique insights for founders to benefit from.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Parallels between Benchling and Salesforce
• How solving problems his customers didn’t even know were there encouraged them to fully adopt his products
• The importance of managing the writhing snake of data for scientists
• Ganymede’s journey to achieving escape velocity type growth
• And much more!

Please enjoy my conversation with Nathan Clark.
Timestamps00:28 Intro01:51 Episode starts, working as a product manager at Benchling, Benchling vs Salesforce08:21 How spending time seeing what customers built helped to identify their critical pain points11:31 Showing customers things they didn’t realize they wanted and other tactics to encourage customers to fully adopt your product 17:05 The original spark behind Ganymede and the importance of managing the “writhing snake of data” for scientists23:19 Watching people rebuilding the exact same tech stacks in labs over and over again inspiring Nathan to create Ganymede26:33 Ganymede finds product resonance and reaches escape velocity growth 28:25 Outro
Find Our Guest, Nathan Clark, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-clark-4b850134/https://www.ganymede.bio/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Data Stack fore Scientists https://blog.ganymede.bio/the-essential-lab-data-tech-stack-for-every-stage-of-drug-development/ Open Source Data https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_data Wet Lab https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_lab 
Lab Equipment for Synthetic Biology Research https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-synthetic-biology-researchLab Equipment List for Forensic Analysis https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-forensic-analysisLease Financing vs. Debt Financing https://www.excedr.com/blog/lease-financing-vs-debt-financingThe 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.

Part 2 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Nathan Clark, Founder and CEO of Ganymede. Ganymede is the modern cloud data platform for the life sciences and manufacturing. Their Lab-as-Code technology allows you to quickly integrate and harmonize lab instruments and app data, automate analysis, visualize all your data in dashboards built over a powerful data lake, and ultimately speed up your operations to accelerate science or production.
Prior to founding Ganymede, Nathan was Product Manager for several of Benchling's data products, including the Insights BI tool and Machine Learning team. Before Benchling, Nathan worked at Affirm as a Senior Product Manager and was also a Trader at Goldman Sachs.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Nathan’s move from Goldman Sachs to a Product Management role at Affirm
• His experience managing several data products at Benchling
• The importance of understanding user needs, aligning product development with real-world problems, and accelerating scientific progress by addressing the challenges researchers face today.

Nathan’s extensive background in machine learning and data systems across financial and lab technology and knowledge of their applications in the life sciences offers unique insights for founders to benefit from. Please enjoy my conversation with Nathan Clark.
Timestamps:00:00 Intro: Recap & Episode Overview01:51 Nathan's realization at Goldman Sachs; transitioning to Affirm04:05 Discussion on securitization and capital markets06:28 Differences between Fintech and Wall Street10:31 Nathan’s introduction to product management and data infrastructure14:18 Understanding user needs; aligning product development with real-world problems18:14 Nathan’s decision to leave Affirm19:35 Frustration with scientific progress; wanting to help accelerate Biology research24:28 Joining Benchling: new responsibilities and experiences26:33 Outro
Find Our Guest, Nathan Clark, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-clark-4b850134/https://www.ganymede.bio/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Goldman Sachs https://www.goldmansachs.com/Affirm https://www.affirm.com/UC Berkeley https://www.berkeley.edu/Benchling https://www.benchling.com/Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/clo.aspCapital Markets https://www.stlouisfed.org/education/tools-for-enhancing-the-stock-market-game-invest-it-forward/episode-1-understanding-capital-marketsSecuritizations https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/securitization.aspProduct Management 101 https://www.atlassian.com/agile/product-managementMoore's Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_lawAutomated Liquid Handling https://www.excedr.com/blog/guide-to-automated-liquid-handlingFunding Markets & Stages https://visible.vc/blog/startup-funding-stages/Product-Market Fit & Solving a Problem https://stripe.com/resources/more/what-is-product-market-fit-what-startups-need-to-knowThe Slowing of Scientific Progress https://phys.org/news/2023-01-scientific-breakthroughs.htmlCost of Developing a New Drug https://vial.com/blog/articles/drug-development-costs-explained-why-is-it-so-expensive/ People Mentioned:
Patrick Collison (Founder of Stripe) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_CollisonThe 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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 1 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Nathan Clark, Founder and CEO of Ganymede. Ganymede is the modern cloud data platform for the life sciences and manufacturing. Their Lab-as-Code technology allows you to quickly integrate and harmonize lab instruments and app data, automate analysis, visualize all your data in dashboards built over a powerful data lake, and ultimately speed up your operations to accelerate science or production.
Prior to founding Ganymede, Nathan was Product Manager for several of Benchling's data products, including the Insights BI tool and Machine Learning team. Before Benchling, Nathan worked at Affirm as a Senior Product Manager and was also a Trader at Goldman Sachs. Nathan’s extensive background in machine learning and data systems across financial and lab technology and knowledge of their applications in the life sciences offers unique insights for founders to benefit from.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Nathan’s childhood and the influence of his entrepreneurial father
• His experience studying business and finance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• His role at Goldman Sachs and the importance of liquidity, risk management, and attention to detail in the fast-paced trading environment
• Transferable skills and lessons that can benefit entrepreneurs in any industry
• And much more!

Please enjoy my conversation with Nathan Clark.

Timestamps: 00:28 Intro2:18 Episode starts, early years, the influence of his entrepreneurial father, understanding there is no secret to business besides putting the work and effort in7:23 The decision to move from a traditional career path to building a startup, developing a passion for life sciences and biology11:19 Decision to attend University of North Carolina and focus on business finances15:34 The fundamentals of trading and the role of working as a trader19:53 The intricacy and importance of liquidity to both early-stage ventures and corporations 25:52 Experience and opportunities while working at Goldman Sachs and the importance of transferable skills31:37 Working in the fast-paced environment of bond trading while evaluating risk management 35:42 Outro
Find Our Guest, Nathan Clark, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-clark-4b850134/https://www.ganymede.bio/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:OpenWorm Sciencehttps://openworm.org/science.htmlThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hillhttps://www.unc.edu/Goldman Sachshttps://www.goldmansachs.com/index.html Bonds 101 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bond.asp Are Bonds a Good Investment?https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/as-bank-stress-mounts-are-bonds-a-good-investment.html

Lab Equipment for Synthetic Biology Researchhttps://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-synthetic-biology-researchLab Equipment List for Forensic Analysishttps://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-forensic-analysisLease Financing vs. Debt Financinghttps://www.excedr.com/blog/lease-financing-vs-debt-financingThe 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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 4 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is David Li, CEO and co-founder of Meliora Therapeutics. Meliora's goal is to develop life-saving cancer therapies using cutting-edge science and machine learning. The company derives a comprehensive picture of how drugs interact with cancer biology by combining biofunctional readouts from numerous modalities using advanced machine learning and other computational techniques. 
Before Meliora, David was Chief Business Officer at Everest Detection, an early detection liquid biopsy startup, and led commercial operations at Benchling, a life sciences software platform valued at $6 billion with over $500 million in funding.
David started his career in Goldman Sachs Healthcare Investment Banking Group and KKR's Private Equity Group, advising and investing in transactions exceeding $10 billion. His diverse financial and life sciences background offers valuable insights for founders.
Join us this week and hear about:

• David’s transition from private equity to co-founding Meliora and using AI/ML in drug development
• His fundraising experiences for Meliora and current outlook on the fundraising landscape in 2024 
• His advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and reflections on “thinking big” in biotech
• Identifying mischaracterized mechanisms of action and establishing Meliora as a drug development company and computational platform

Please enjoy my conversation with David Li.

Timestamps: 00:28 Intro 02:00 Jason Scheltzer identifies mechanisms of action, the beginnings of Meliora 05:08 David meets Jason Scheltzer, forming Meliora with a thesis, as David becomes founding CEO and initial fundraising begins 07:20 David’s serendipitous meeting with Jason, getting on board as more than an investor09:16 Building the early founding team at Meliora, establishing Meliora as a drug company12:05 How Meliora is disrupting the status quo in drug discovery and development 17:24 David’s approach to building an internal pipeline and BD partnerships 19:49 David’s experience fundraising and his outlook on fundraising in 2024 22:21 Meloria’s 2-year vision, transitioning from Seed to Series A 24:03 Shoutouts and advice to 21-year old self 26:23 Outro
Find Our Guest, David Li, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-li-9aa210bhttps://www.melioratx.com/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:KKR https://www.kkr.com/Benchling https://www.benchling.com/Meliora Therapeutics https://www.melioratherapeutics.com/Everest Detection https://everestdetection.com/AstraZeneca https://www.astrazeneca.com/Tagrisso https://www.tagrisso.com/Drug candidates that were mischaracterized https://ergobio.substack.com/p/meliora-therapeutics-is-buildingSeed Rounds https://www.excedr.com/resources/seed-round-funding-explainedSeries A, B, & C Rounds https://www.excedr.com/resources/series-funding-explainedBiotech Fundraising https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-startup-funding-optionsComputational Platforms in Biotech https://www.nfx.com/post/bioplatforms-computational-biology
People Mentioned:Jason Sheltzer https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-sheltzer-ba0086234/Joan Smith https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanclarasmith/Claudio Chuaqui https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudio-chuaqui-5612381/Andrew Coopersmith https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-s-coopersmith/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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 3 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is David Li, CEO and co-founder of Meliora Therapeutics. Meliora's goal is to develop life-saving cancer therapies using cutting-edge science and machine learning. The company derives a comprehensive picture of how drugs interact with cancer biology by combining biofunctional readouts from numerous modalities using advanced machine learning and other computational techniques. 
Before Meliora, David served as Chief Business Officer at Everest Detection, an early detection liquid biopsy startup, and was head of commercial operations at Benchling, a life sciences software platform company which has achieved a $6 billion valuation and has attracted over $500 million in funding from firms such as Altimeter Capital, Tiger Global, Lone Pine Capital, Benchmark, Sequoia, Excel, Lux, and numerous others. David began his career in Goldman Sachs Healthcare Investment Banking Group and KKR's Private Equity Group, where he advised and invested in transactions worth over $10 billion in enterprise value. David's multifaceted experiences in the financial and life science sectors give him a wide range of experiences that founders can learn from.
Join us this week and hear about:

• Working at Everest Detection and developing a blood-based lung cancer test
• Excelling in a non-iterative work environment
• How software and biotech companies think about product market fit differently
• Why money is a super power for biotech startups today
• And much more!

Please enjoy my conversation with David Li.

Timestamps:00:28 Intro01:54 Episode Starts. Starting at Everest Detection and developing a early detection blood-based lung cancer test05:04 Learning to work with scientists and experiencing a non-iterative business cadence that is more like a rifle shot07:19 How David approaches projects where you do not have as much room for error or experimentation10:01 Difference in how software and life science companies think about product market fit14:30 Using parallel experiments to optimize your learnings rather than just, swapping chairs on the titanic16:19 The difference in mentality of raising money in a software company vs a biotech company and why money is a super power18:34 How the size and scale of your business changes how you view your preclinical tests19:08 Outro
Find Our Guest, David Li, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-li-9aa210bhttps://www.melioratx.com/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Everest Detection https://everestdetection.com/ Meliora Therapeutics https://www.melioratherapeutics.com/
Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups https://www.excedr.com/blog/marketing-sales-strategies-for-biotechsLab Equipment for Biochemistry Research https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-biochemistry-researchStrategies for Better Cash Flow Management https://www.excedr.com/blog/cash-flow-management-strategiesHow do Core Labs Support Life Science Research? https://www.excedr.com/blog/core-labs
People MentionedBrian Slingerland https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-slingerland-a7a14b35/ 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.

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 2 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is David Li, CEO and co-founder of Meliora Therapeutics. Meliora's goal is to develop life-saving cancer therapies using cutting-edge science and machine learning. The company derives a comprehensive picture of how drugs interact with cancer biology by combining biofunctional readouts from numerous modalities using advanced machine learning and other computational techniques. 
Before Meliora, David served as Chief Business Officer at Everest Detection, an early detection liquid biopsy startup, and was head of commercial operations at Benchling, a life sciences software platform company which has achieved a $6 billion valuation and has attracted over $500 million in funding.
David began his career in Goldman Sachs Healthcare Investment Banking Group and KKR's Private Equity Group, where he advised and invested in transactions worth over $10 billion in enterprise value. His multifaceted experiences in the financial and life science sectors give him a wide range of experiences that founders can learn from.
Join us this week and hear about:

• David’s pivot from finance roles at Goldman Sachs and KKR to early-stage entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences
• The challenges of moving from private equity to startups
• Aligning personal values with career choices, building solid teams, and the role of luck in success.
• His time at Benchling as Head of Commercial Operations and at Everest Detection as the Chief Business Officer

Please enjoy my conversation with David Li.
Timestamps:00:28 Intro01:56 Working in Finance at Goldman Sachs and KKR, rethinking how to make an impact04:59 Switching to early-stage entrepreneurship, prioritizing team strength and market dynamics06:25 Experience at Benchling, data software issues & digitization in the life sciences11:09 The role of luck in success, figuring out what you can and can’t control14:02 Challenges and lessons working in startups, maintaining internal conviction17:43 Contemplating a new role after Benchling, joining Everest Detection20:25 The different skills David learned while building a team, getting wins early on23:56 Outro
Find Our Guest, David Li, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-li-9aa210bhttps://www.melioratx.com/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: 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:Goldman Sachs https://www.goldmansachs.com/KKR https://www.kkr.com/Benchling https://www.benchling.com/Everest Detection https://everestdetection.com/Salesforce https://www.salesforce.com/Digitization of Life Sciences https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/Industries/life-sciences-health-care/perspectives/gx-digital-transformation-in-life-sciences.htmlVesting https://etonvs.com/startup-101/vesting-101/Go-to-Market Motion/Strategy https://www.wrike.com/go-to-market-guide/faq/what-is-go-to-market-motion/Marketing & Sales Strategies & Tools https://www.excedr.com/blog/marketing-sales-strategies-for-biotechsStructuring Sales Comp at a Startup https://www.vouris.com/blog/sales-compensation-plan-for-startupsContent Marketing https://mailchimp.com/marketing-glossary/content-marketing/Product Marketing vs. Growth Marketing https://userpilot.com/blog/product-marketing-vs-growth-marketing/
People Mentioned:Bryan Slingerland https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-slingerland-a7a14b35/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.