The Biotech Startups Podcast

Part 3 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Steve Visco. Steve is the Co-founder, CTO, and CEO of PolyPlus. Before PolyPlus, Steve worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as a Principal Investigator, running several programs in the field of solid state ionics, developing an extensive patent portfolio, much of which has been licensed to industry.

Join us as we sit down with Steve to discuss how to stay true to your North Star when applying for and receiving government grants.

Steve also offers tips on how you should consider choosing your grants, offers guidance on writing the grants themselves, and doubles down on storytelling as core competency for STEM founders.

Learn more about his thoughts on when and why to choose VC investment over other options out there, the differences between generating corporate interest with US and international companies, and how to build an innovative team and culture that makes your job a place you want to go to every day. Please enjoy my conversation with Steve Visco.

Find Our Guest, Steve Visco, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-j-visco-2910b57/
https://polyplus.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
01:35 Episode start
03:18 Staying true to your North Star when utilizing government grants, dealing with auditing
05:28 Grants are inflexible, being careful when writing research plan proposals
06:26 Grant writing tips, the importance of a solid team, storytelling as a core competency
09:24 Remedying STEM programs’ lack of emphasis on writing, why communication is key
11:52 Choosing not to take venture capital, pros and cons of working with VCs, government grants for manufacturing (not just R&D)
14:39 The importance of Founders knowing their funding options, how to gain corporate interest
16:56 Government grants & the importance of your reputation, finding ways to differentiate yourself, government grants vs corporate financing
20:26 Differences between US & international corporate strategic collaborations, lack of startups abroad
22:34 Building an innovative team, employee retention, balancing the pace of hiring with the amount of onboarding required
26:44 Hiring methodologies, where to look for irreplaceable industry-specific talent, new considerations when advancing from R&D to manufacturing
31:08 Advice to younger self, choosing the uncharted path, having a job you want to go to
33:03 Shoutouts to those that have helped Steve along the way, building a good company
36:05 Outro

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Non-Dilutive Funding https://www.arkkapital.com/basics/non-dilutive-funding
Grant Funding https://www.excedr.com/resources/grants-public-funding-biotech-startups/
SBIR Grants https://www.excedr.com/blog/sbir-grants-guide/
ARPA-E https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPA-E

People Mentioned:
Rudy Hurwich https://hurwich.com/ 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.

Part 2 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Steve Visco. Steve is the Co-founder, CTO, and CEO of PolyPlus. Before PolyPlus, Steve worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as a Principal Investigator, running several programs in the field of solid state ionics, developing an extensive patent portfolio, much of which has been licensed to industry.

Join us as we sit down with Steve to discuss PolyPlus’ decade of experience as a licensing company during a time of rapid industry change.

Steve also covers how important intellectual property is for defending and monetizing your technology, how to deal with patent trolls and spurious lawsuits, and the benefits of scientists understanding patent legalities.

Learn more about his thoughts on why having multiple patents on a technology is important, and how crucial it can be to have an immediate global IP strategy as a startup. Please enjoy my conversation with Steve Visco.

Find Our Guest, Steve Visco, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-j-visco-2910b57/
https://polyplus.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
01:39 Episode start
02:01 Stanford’s tech transfer advice to Berkeley, finding an investor and CEO in Rudy Hurwich
03:55 Rudy’s business experience, the 4 members of the founding group
05:15 Lithium ion’s emergence, PolyPlus’ decade as a licensing company
07:12 American companies trying to catch up to Japan, batteries as the new oil
09:30 Intellectual property & the importance of patents, evaluating patents as part of M&A
12:54 How PolyPlus found their patent attorney, dealing with patent trolls & spurious lawsuits
16:48 Preparing for the interference lawsuit, benefits of a scientist understanding patent legalities
19:27 Licensing patents as a source of income, the dangers of over-licensing your portfolio
22:19 Learning about deal structure, the importance of having multiple patents on a technology
24:39 Choosing where to patent, patenting tech in the United States vs. Overseas
27:39 Startups & the importance of having an immediate global IP strategy
30:39 Outside IP attorneys & choosing when to bring one in-house/train one up
33:00 Outro

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Intellectual Property/IP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
Dymo Industries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymo_Corporation
DuPont https://www.dupont.com/
Dow https://www.dow.com/en-us
Panasonic https://www.na.panasonic.com/
Sony https://www.sony.com/en/
Patent Trolling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll
Interference Patent Lawsuit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_proceeding
Patent Cooperation Treaty-PCT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Cooperation_Treaty
CRISPR Patent Dispute
https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/08/crispr-patent-fight/
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/breakthrough-gene-editing-technology-belongs-harvard-mit-us-tribunal-2022-03-01/

People Mentioned:
Rudy Hurwich https://hurwich.com/
Michel Armand https://cicenergigune.com/en/michel-armand
Meilin Liu https://www.linkedin.com/in/meilin96332354/
Jim Simons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Simons_(mathematician) 
John Goodenough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Goodenough
Joe Siino https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephsiino/ 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.

Part 1 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Steve Visco. Steve is the Co-founder, CTO, and CEO of PolyPlus. Before PolyPlus, Steve worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as a Principal Investigator, running several programs in the field of solid state ionics, developing an extensive patent portfolio, much of which has been licensed to industry.

Join us as we sit down with Steve to discuss why being a skillful writer is important for scientific entrepreneurs.

Steve also covers how he balanced his family’s needs with professional endeavors, the origins of the tech transfer process, and what tech transfer meant for researchers in government and academic labs.

Learn more about his thoughts on leveraging expertise in negotiations with companies in industry and the potential pitfalls of conflict of interest.

Please enjoy my conversation with Steve Visco.

Find Our Guest, Steve Visco, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-j-visco-2910b57/
https://polyplus.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
02:16 Episode start
04:01 The cross-section of literature and science, excellent writing as a lifelong benefit
06:25 Modern push for specialization, growing up with the renaissance approach to learning
08:30 What spurred the pursuit of chemistry, 70s-80s grad school differences
11:29 Researching at Brown University, moving to UC Santa Barbara
15:13 Large grants and the benefits they bring, working with industry pioneers
18:35 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the shift toward commercialization
21:22 Origins of the tech transfer process boom, research and its benefits to the economy
23:35 Industry money and how it differs from grant funding, leveraging expertise in negotiations
26:38 Licensing patents out to companies vs. spinning out companies
29:18 Spinning out PolyPlus from LBNL and the pitfalls of conflict of interest
32:29 Going through the early-days tech transfer process, inventor’s percentage for licensing technologies
34:15 Outro

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Louis Pasteur https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur
The Scientific Method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory https://www.lbl.gov/
PolyPlus https://polyplus.com/
Bell Labs https://www.bell-labs.com/
Manhattan Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project
Tech Transfer Process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_transfer
DOE National Labs https://www.energy.gov/national-laboratories
Cooperative Research and Development Agreements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_research_and_development_agreement

People Mentioned:
John Kennedy https://www.chem.ucsb.edu/people/john-h-kennedy
Newt Gingridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_GingrichThe 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 4 of 4.  
 
My guest for this week’s episode is Jacob Glanville. Jacob is the Founder, CEO, and President of Centivax and was formerly the Co-founder, CEO, and President of Distributed Bio. 

Join us as we sit down with Jake to discuss: how important it is to understand a venture capital firm’s investment thesis and values, tips to successfully pitch to them, the perks of viewing potential VC relationships as “dating,” and how that mindset can help you find the right partner. 

Jake also covers the importance of finding a win-win for all parties during VC negotiations. Learn more about his thoughts on the benefits of a VC’s network, which emulates a “polishing engine” for a startup, and how it can be just as valuable as the money itself. 

Finally, listen to some of the incredible things that Centivax is working on currently and where they plan to be in the near future. 

Please enjoy my conversation with Jake Glanville. 
Find Our Guest, Jacob Glanville, at these links: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobglanville 
https://twitter.com/CurlyJungleJake
https://www.centivax.com
https://twitter.com/centivax

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  
01:54 Episode start 
03:05 Understanding VC’s “investment thesis”, know what your future partner values 
04:06 Art’s power to convey ideas without words, relaying truth without language 
06:13 Fundraising as “dating”, friendliness after rejection, ask for advice & feedback
09:03 Choosing the right VC, dollar amount, expertise, & network 
11:32 Respectful of time & interests, reputation checks, market comps, fair deals  
14:09 Having VC options to choose from, NFX, GHIC & working toward global health 
15:41 VC investment and resources, the role of lawyers during fundraising 
17:50 Finding the win-win, the value of networking, getting to the next level 
21:05 What’s in store for Centivax, RNA/LNP, getting Universal Vaccines into people 
25:55 Excedr’s role in allowing an inflection point launch for Centivax 
26:47 Making friends, Jake’s shouts out those who have supported him
30:11 Outro  

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Distributed Bio https://www.criver.com/charles-river-acquired-distributed-bio
Centivax https://www.centivax.com/
Venture Capital https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital
Investment Thesis https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investment-thesis.asp
Tzʼutujil People https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tz%CA%BCutujil_people
Precedent Transactions https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/precedent-transaction-analysis.asp
Comparables https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/comparables.asp
NFX Ventures https://www.nfx.com/
Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC) https://ghicfunds.org/
Twist Bioscience https://www.twistbioscience.com/
RNA/LNP Delivery System https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-021-00358-0
Contract Research Organizations (CROs) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_research_organization
In-Vivo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vivo
HAI Titer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemagglutination_assay
Building Backward to Biotech Book https://www.amazon.com/Building-Backwards-Biotech-Entrepreneurship-Cutting-Edge-ebook/dp/B09VCRFNPD

People Mentioned:
Omri Amirav-Drory, Ph.D. https://www.linkedin.com/in/omri-amirav-drory-50572727/
Emily Leproust https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-leproust/
Sawsan Youssef: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sawsan-youssef-b274b010/
Stephanie Weisner https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-wisner-5aa4556a/
Nicholas Bayless https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-bayless-07862722/
Mark Davis https://med.stanford.edu/davislab.html
Sarah Ives https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivessarah/  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.

Part 3 of 4.

My guest for this week’s episode is Jacob Glanville. Jacob is the Founder, CEO, & President of Centivax and was formerly the Co-founder, CEO, and President of Distributed Bio.

Join us as we sit down with Jake, discussing his three-part plan for building Distributed Bio without traditional venture capital, how reality differed from the plan, and how the acquisition by Charles River Laboratories occurred.

Learn more about his thoughts on natural team growth and how to handle process drift. Hear Jake’s view on how equipment leasing provided a solution for growing a business when cash was tight and needed for investing in internal operations.

Discover Jake’s insight into what he calls “the respiration model” of leadership, balancing hierarchical and organic structures to promote organization and innovation. Hear more about his experience spinning out Centivax.

Please enjoy my conversation with Jake Glanville.

Find Our Guest, Jacob Glanville, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobglanville https://twitter.com/CurlyJungleJake https://www.centivax.comhttps://twitter.com/centivax 


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/ 
Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:47 Episode start
02:11 Building a biotech without traditional venture capital
05:29 How reality differed from the 3-part plan
07:25 The difficulties of having to get lab space
09:16 Natural team growth & the relationship with the University of San Francisco
12:30 Equipment leasing, how to grow a business when cash is tight and needed for growth
14:40 Jake’s challenges & experiences that were the toughest, managing your partners
17:01 The process drift problem & implementing a buddy system
18:56 Realizing what you really need, when to spend vs. save
20:30 The biotech VC ramp, striking a balance between the hierarchical vs. organic models
22:05 “The respiration model” of leadership
24:20 Moving on to the next thing, what made the SuperHuman-2.0 special
28:00 Spinning out Centivax, winning the Gates Foundation Award
31:10 Focusing on what is most important, the importance of the universal vaccine
33:15 Outro

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:Distribute Bio https://www.criver.com/charles-river-acquired-distributed-bioCentivax https://www.centivax.com/ Synthetic Libraries https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22735944/Polyspecificity https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22903677/Broad Oak https://broadoak.com/ Arpa H https://www.nih.gov/arpa-h Jlabs https://jnjinnovation.com/jlabs Poisson distribution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Charles River Laboratories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_River_LaboratoriesSuperHuman Antibody Library https://www.criver.com/products-services/discovery-services/antibody-discovery-services/biologics-discovery-and-protein-engineering/antibody-discovery/superhuman-antibody-library-discovery
People Mentioned:
Sawsan Youssef: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sawsan-youssef-b274b010/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.

Part 2 of 4. 
My guest for this week’s episode is Jacob Glanville. Jacob is the Founder, CEO, & President of Centivax and was formerly the Co-founder, CEO, and President of Distributed Bio. 

Join us as we sit down with Jake, discussing his time at Rinat Labs, a Pfizer company, and how he found a way to leverage his skills and experience to create new bioinformatic processes. 

Learn more about his initial idea for a universal vaccine and why he chose to pursue a PhD at Stanford. Hear Jake’s view on how to be excited about what you do, and leveraging that excitement to pursue your goals, entrepreneurial or otherwise. 

Please enjoy my conversation with Jake Glanville.
Find Our Guest, Jacob Glanville, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobglanville https://twitter.com/CurlyJungleJake https://www.centivax.comhttps://twitter.com/centivax 

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://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 01:49 Episode start03:42 Finding how to make yourself most useful05:22 Why Big Pharma buys small biotechs07:00 A lack of bioinformatic tools and solving for that issue09:29 Collecting data on experiments and conducting meta-analysis11:08 Analyzing antibody libraries and mice immunizations12:14 Synthesizing the data to better understand antibodies and vaccination14:09 Leaving Rinat/Pfizer, the idea of a universal vaccine16:06 Getting a PhD and launching a company simultaneously21:03 Starting Distributed Bio and navigating time at Stanford25:29 Find out what makes you excited and pursue it27:43 Tech transfer and keeping DB and Stanford work separate30:08 Outro 
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:Phage Display WikipediaHidden Markov Model WikipediaHybridoma Technology WikipediaVector NTI WikipediaEpitope WikipediaMeta-Analysis WikipediaWhat is Technology Transfer?
People Mentioned:Andrea Rossi, PhDWenwu ZhaiJavier Chapparo-RiggersSawsan YoussefThe 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 1 of 4.

My guest for this week’s episode is Jacob Glanville. Jacob is the Founder, CEO, & President of Centivax and was formerly the Co-founder, CEO, and President of Distributed Bio.

Join us as we sit down with Jake and talk about how our upbringing and experiences shape us, helping us find success in life science careers. Learn more about the surprising ways that the hospitality industry can relate to biotech entrepreneurship.

Gain insight into Jake’s view on fair negotiation practices and how building a strong set of translational skills can benefit founders. Please enjoy my conversation with Jake Glanville.

Find Our Guest, Jacob Glanville, at these links: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobglanville 
• https://twitter.com/CurlyJungleJake 
• https://www.centivax.com
• https://twitter.com/centivax 

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
• https://www.excedr.com

Social & Website

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ 
• Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/ 

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Intro 
• [00:01:25] Jake’s resume
• [00:02:07] Episode start 
• [00:02:42] Growing up in Guatemala 
• [00:05:52] Unexpected experience crossovers from childhood 
• [00:06:47] Focusing and its true meaning 
• [00:08:17] Cheap and scrappy, contingency planning
• [00:09:31] Fair negotiation and why it matters, building relationships 
• [00:13:16] Meeting a wide range of people and learning to be gracious 
• [00:14:48] Being likable but not a pushover, being pushy and smooth 
• [00:16:36] Listening but deciding intentionally, learning to say no 
• [00:17:37] What landed you in Berkeley 
• [00:19:24] Interest in immunogenetics, programming hobby 
• [00:20:20] Population genetics, and the translation of skill sets 
• [00:22:41] Cross-training, learn general principles with wide applicabilities 
• [00:23:21] Outro 

Enriched Notes:Your Guide to Bargaining in GuatemalaThe 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.

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.