Think FASTT

In this episode of the Think FASTT podcast, we speak with James Malone, BenchSci’s Senior Director of Engineering, Data, and Machine Learning. Topics include:

• Malone’s deep experience in bioinformatics, ontologies, and machine learning
• Big challenges in life sciences driving continued investment in computation
• Experimenting with new technologies and ensuring data quality within the healthcare space
• Algorithmic transparency, and when it’s worth the tradeoff to not have it
• How COVID research has benefited from advances in bioinformatics and data gathering

You can learn more about Malone on his LinkedIn profile.

To learn more about BenchSci, its culture, and open roles, check out careers.benchsci.com. PS: We're now actively recruiting in the UK!

BenchSci is now a remote-first company. In this episode of the Think FASTT podcast, four BenchSci team members talk about their remote experiences:

• Senior Data Engineer Jasmine Alkin moved to a cottage in the wilderness, writing code while deep in nature
• Principal UX Designer Matan Berson became somewhat nomadic, working while traveling through Canada and beyond
• Senior Scientific Liaison Stef Lucarelli moved across the country, switching locations and time zones without missing a beat
• Senior Data Partnership Manager Pratiek Matkar traveled to India to organize and then have his wedding, surrounded by family

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at careers.benchsci.com.

BenchSci is now a remote-first company. In this episode of the Think FASTT podcast, experience designer and working traveller Brad Suisham provides guidance on remote work based on living in more than 30 cities over five years. Topics include:

• Misconceptions about remote work
• The importance of introspection and experimentation to designing your remote work lifestyle
• Becoming aware of what you give up without an office, and taking steps to consciously fill those gaps
• Key factors to keep in mind when considering which cities to work from
• Tips for maximizing success while combining work and travel
• Ethical and environmental considerations of working travel
• COVID, its impact on remote work, and guidelines for restarting travel

You can learn more about Suisham on his LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/brad-suisham-a06a796/.

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at careers.benchsci.com.

In this episode of the Think FASTT podcast, BenchSci SVP of Product & Science Casandra Mangroo talks about her career path and approach to product leadership on technology involving both biomedicine and machine learning. Topics include:

• How she got interested in science, and the life event that stopped her becoming a doctor
• Lack of female role models in STEM and her passion to fix this
• Why networking is critical and how it helped her land a job at BenchSci
• How she learned to stop always saying yes—and what to do instead
• Prioritizing, breaking through barriers, and having tough conversations to drive product success
• The importance of radical candor and being direct and honest
• Exploring options and experimenting to advance your career

You can learn more about Mangroo on her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/casandra-mangroo-57573539/.

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at careers.benchsci.com.

In this episode of the Think FASTT podcast, BenchSci Chief People Officer Vanessa Ribreau talks about human resources with a perspective informed by more than a decade’s experience in fast-growing companies. Topics include:

• Why she’s so passionate about HR
• How HR has evolved over the past decade
• Unique HR challenges of hypergrowth companies
• Long-term implications of the pandemic on the workplace
• The benefits of mindfulness and meditation for focus
• Best practices for work-related learning
• Increasing hiring speed without sacrificing quality
• Finding the right balance of transparency and privacy
• Building resilience

You can learn more about Ribreau on her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaribreau/.

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at careers.benchsci.com.

In this episode of the Think FASTT podcast, BenchSci Chief Platform Officer Eran Ben-Ari provides insights into product management from his anthropology academic career and experience leading product development for some of the country's biggest technology success stories. Topics include:

• Why anthropology is extremely relevant to product management
• Keeping product teams focused while capitalizing on unexpected opportunities
• The importance of listening to customers as the foundation of product management success
• Where the best ideas for new products and features come from
• Rest and rejuvenation as essential and underappreciated factors in long-term team effectiveness
• A simple technique to give product teams key context in five minutes per week
• How different levels of an organization should focus on different time horizons

You can learn more about Ben-Ari on his LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/eran-ben-ari/.

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at careers.benchsci.com.

In the third episode of the Think FASTT podcast, we dig deep into a topic important to our values of focus and advancement: subtraction.

Leidy Klotz, author of Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, talks about:

• Subtractive problem solving, including concrete examples
• The human bias to add and overlook opportunities to subtract
• How frequent and widespread the bias is, including across cultures
• Some possible origins for our additive tendencies
• Ways to increase your use of subtraction

You can learn more about Leidy Klotz and Subtract at https://www.leidyklotz.com.

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at www.benchsci.com/careers.

In the second episode of the Think FASTT podcast, BenchSci Independent Director of Leadership Kari Sulenes talks about:

• Her home in the mountains (and why she moved there)
• Three levels of leadership
• The importance of self-awareness to leading people
• Unexpected examples of great leaders
• Damaging myths about leadership
• Self-organizing companies, and whether they can work
• And more!

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at www.benchsci.com/careers.

In the inaugural episode of the Think FASTT podcast, BenchSci CEO Liran Belenzon talks about:

• Entrepreneurship nature versus nurture
• Finding domains you can dominate
• The importance of dedicated business-oriented cofounders
• The essential role of culture in scaling startups
• The importance of BenchSci's FASTT values ("Focused Advancement with Speed, Tenacity, and Transparency") to its success
• And more!

Like what you heard? Be sure to learn more about BenchSci at www.benchsci.com, and about our culture at www.benchsci.com/careers.