Avsnitt
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"Sometimes you don't know what you don't know. And frankly, this is a journey that's long, and you'll learn a lot of things along the way. A lot of things, it's the first time you'll be doing that thing. Your job as an entrepreneur is to ultimately listen, then decide, and own that decision.”
In this episode, Johnny Hu, Principle at Menlo Ventures, takes us inside his journey from scientist to venture capitalist, revealing how adapting to new mindsets, operational discipline, and calculated risk-taking are crucial in biotech. He breaks down the differences between the lab and the investment world, shares lessons from mentors at Omega Funds, and explains how founder-first investing and clear communication drive his approach at Menlo Ventures.
Johnny also explores the challenges of fundraising, the realities of board dynamics, and how AI is reshaping biotech, all while emphasizing the value of curiosity and adaptability in a field defined by complexity and constant change. -
"Every technology has a shelf life. It’s just true, right? And, so, is that shelf life years? Is it months? Is it weeks? Is it days? You know, has it actually already been surpassed? That’s just progress, right? That’s great”
In this episode, Johnny Hu, Principal at Menlo Ventures, unpacks his journey through neuroscience research at Genentech and Cambridge, the electrifying early days of CRISPR, and the fast-moving Boston biotech scene, revealing how academic culture, tool-building, and intentional company culture fuel breakthrough innovation.
He offers a candid look at bridging academia and industry, the realities of risk and execution in biotech startups, and the collaborative and competitive dynamics of venture investing—showing what it really takes to thrive where science, startups, and investment meet. -
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“Every startup starts the journey at zero, and you’re just building from scratch. Day by day, you do a little bit better, and eventually, you look back and realize how far you’ve come.”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we dive into the formative journey of Johnny Hu, Principal at Menlo Ventures, tracing his path from a childhood spent on a UK university campus to the heart of biotech investing. Johnny shares how early exposure to academia, a move to Alabama near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and a deep curiosity for science and business shaped his worldview.
He reflects on pivotal moments—from hands-on research in structural biology at Harvard and a summer at Genentech, to witnessing the evolution of biotech tools and infrastructure. Throughout, Johnny offers candid insights on the power of mentorship, the non-linear nature of discovery, and the incremental progress that fuels both scientific breakthroughs and startup success. -
"If you really want to understand biology, you need to be able to represent it in the computer. If you can’t model it, you can’t really predict its behavior”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Michael Antonov, Co-Founder of Oculus and Founder & CEO of Deep Origin, returns for the fourth installment of his series to share how his vision for holistic biological simulation evolved from Formic Labs into Deep Origin.
Michael discusses the challenges of building a unified R&D platform for biotech, the current suite of Deep Origin’s products, and how the company is making advanced drug discovery tools accessible to organizations of every size. He also dives into the company’s philosophy, the lessons learned from previous ventures, and what’s next as Deep Origin continues to scale its impact on the life sciences sector. -
"My mind is analytical – so I wondered ‘what is the most exciting, impactful thing I could do?’ I felt we’re all growing older, so where is the technology of aging? How well do we understand the biochemistry of us as humans?"
In this episode, Michael Antonov, Co-Founder of Oculus and Founder & CEO of Deep Origin, shares his bold leap from pioneering virtual reality to tackling the complexities of human aging and biotech innovation. Driven by a lifelong curiosity about biology and the mysteries of longevity, Michael reveals how his software background inspired him to "debug" biology, build better research tools, and launch Formic Ventures to back high-risk, high-reward startups.
He discusses his vision for integrating computational and biological approaches, the promise of cellular reprogramming, and his mission to create a new ecosystem that empowers researchers and accelerates breakthroughs in extending human healthspan. -
"We were a small team, just a handful of people, trying to solve problems that had stumped the industry for decades. Every day felt like we were building the future from scratch."
In this episode, Co-Founder of Oculus and Founder & CEO of Deep Origin, Michael Antonov shares the inside story of how he and a small, driven team transformed virtual reality from a niche dream into a billion-dollar industry.
From his early days at Scaleform to the rapid growth of Oculus, Michael recounts overcoming daunting technical and business challenges, the thrill of their record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, and the relentless innovation that led to Oculus’s $2 billion acquisition by Facebook. Listeners get a rare look at the mindset and decision-making behind one of tech’s most remarkable startup journeys, packed with lessons for entrepreneurs everywhere. -
🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.
As a TBSP listener, you can get exclusive perks through Excedr’s partner network—special savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners. -
"It's not about avoiding failure. It's about avoiding every scenario where you look back and say, ‘I could have done this differently and we wouldn't be here.’"
In this episode, host Jon Chee talks with Bogdan Knezevic, co-founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope, about how smart R&D infrastructure decisions can make or break biotech startups. Bogdan shares his journey from scientist to founder and explains how Kaleidoscope empowers teams to harness their data, streamline collaboration, and extend their runway.
The conversation spotlights real-world examples of how operational efficiency and the right tools create compounding advantages, why time is the true currency in biotech, and how accelerating drug development can have a profound impact for patients. Bogdan also reflects on the importance of learning by doing and paying it forward in the entrepreneurial journey. -
"Until you experience a thing, you don’t know a thing. That’s something that bothers me a lot with the investor world-unless you’ve done it, you don’t really know what the grind feels like."
In this episode, Bogdan Knezevic, co-founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope, unpacks how hands-on experience-from the grind at Frequency Therapeutics to launching the Rhodes Incubator-shaped his passion for biotech startups and team building.
He shares the pivotal role of serendipity and authentic networking at Creative Destruction Lab and Entrepreneur First, which ultimately set the stage for founding Kaleidoscope. Bogdan dives into the challenges of innovating biotech R&D infrastructure, the importance of collaboration, and why tackling meaningful problems drives his mission in a rapidly evolving industry. -
"If you think you're above whatever-taking out the proverbial trash or doing the proverbial dishes or the laundry, whatever-that's when a company is cooked."
In this episode, Bogdan Knezevic shares his journey from undergrad in Calgary to winning a Rhodes Scholarship and pursuing a PhD at Oxford, reflecting on the personal motivations, cultural shifts, and tough choices that shaped his path-including stepping away from elite swimming and ultimately realizing academia wasn’t for him. He opens up about the isolating yet magical environment of Oxford, the challenge of redefining his identity, and the gritty realities of working in early-stage biotech, emphasizing the importance of humility and hands-on work for startup founders.
The conversation offers a candid look at how self-discovery, setbacks, and a willingness to “do the dishes” can shape a leader’s growth in biotech. -
"You have to do what you have to do to get to where you want to be, and work under the constraints you have. That means swallowing your ego and just realizing that's just the reality of it. You have to grind away if you're going to hit that success."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Bogdan Knezevic, co-founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope, shares how his family’s escape from war-torn Serbia to Canada forged his relentless work ethic and sense of purpose. He recounts adapting to a new culture, the foundational support of family and mentors, and how his passion for science and math flourished in Canada’s diverse schools.
As an elite swimmer and academic standout, Bogdan learned discipline and balance, skills that now drive his mission to make scientific research more collaborative and impactful. The conversation highlights his commitment to paying it forward by building supportive ecosystems in science and business for future generations -
"If you are that person, if you feel like you can't find your box and you're off doing these random things that no one else seems to find interesting, it's okay. Embrace it. It's who you are and it's going to be your superpower someday."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee sits down with Rabia Khan, founder and CEO of Serna Bio, to discuss her journey from Sensyne Health to building a data-driven biotech company pioneering RNA-targeted drug discovery. Rabia shares how she overcame scientific and operational hurdles, navigated contract research limitations, and boldly moved Serna Bio from the UK to San Francisco. She also reveals her intentional approach to company culture, frugality, and long-term impact—emphasizing her vision to create a biotech business built for enduring innovation, not just acquisition. -
"You have to be curious. You have to enjoy the problems as opposed to view them as problems. You can view them as puzzle pieces that you get to put together, which is a lot of fun."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Rabia Khan shares the pivotal experiences that shaped her approach to biotech innovation, from her time at BenevolentAI and Sensyne Health to building and leading high-performance teams at the intersection of biology, machine learning, and clinical data. Rabia discusses the challenges of aligning scientists and engineers around a shared language, the importance of integrating platform and program development, and the cultural shifts needed to drive real innovation in drug discovery. She also reflects on the value of curiosity, risk-taking, and the lessons learned from managing major pharma partnerships and scaling teams under intense pressure. -
“I wish someone had told me when I was starting my PhD to sit down and say, ‘what do I want out of this?’ and [then] write it down. Because, unlike the UK, where PhDs are three years and time bound, in Canada, they are neither time bound nor three years. And so you can meander."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Rabia Khan, founder and CEO of Serna Bio, joins host Jon Chee to reflect on her unconventional journey through academia, business, and biotech innovation. Rabia shares how her curiosity, resilience, and embracing uncertainty shaped her journey through a PhD in genetics and an MBA. She discusses the emotional challenges of working with animal models, the benefits and limits of business school for scientists, and personal struggles, including her father’s illness.
She recounts early setbacks, like rejected consulting jobs, and how a cold email landed her at Meta (now part of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub). Rabia emphasizes “manufacturing serendipity,” differences between founder and employee mindsets, and lessons from her work at BenevolentAI, highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary communication and challenging industry norms -
"I was born and raised in a developing country. I was born and raised in Pakistan. And it's very interesting when you're born in a developing country. That's your world. Right? That's all you know."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we delve into Rabia Khan's remarkable journey from her childhood in Pakistan to founding Serna Bio, an AI-enabled drug discovery company. Rabia shares how her early experiences in a developing country, her aunt's battle with schizophrenia, and the sequencing of the human genome in 2000 sparked her passion for genetics and healthcare. She recounts how her career options were either medicine or engineering, setting her on a path that would eventually lead to pioneering work at the intersection of AI and biotechnology.
Rabia describes her transition to McGill University in Montreal, facing the shock of -40°C weather with only a leather jacket while navigating life as an international student with no support system. Despite these challenges, she pursued dual interests in biology and economics, finding her first research opportunity in a schizophrenia lab where she started by pipetting water and washing dishes. -
"Focus and commitment to niche ideas have huge payoffs."
In part four of our conversation with Alfredo Andere, co-founder of LatchBio, we explore how the company evolved from a simple workflow orchestrator into a comprehensive platform serving biopharma companies and solution providers. Alfredo shares his approach to enterprise sales, emphasizing the importance of speed, focus, and building strong relationships with customers. He also delves into his philosophy on fundraising and the pivotal role of iterative development in creating impactful biotech solutions.
Alfredo reflects on the challenges and rewards of working in niche markets, explaining why deep commitment and loyalty to specific problems are essential for long-term success. Whether you’re a first-time founder or an experienced entrepreneur, this episode is packed with actionable insights on building, selling, and scaling in the biotech space. -
"A lot of decisions when you're doing a startup come down to being naive enough to not know how hard it's going to be—and taking that leap of faith."
In part three of our conversation with Alfredo Andere, co-founder of LatchBio, we dive into the early days of building a biotech startup from scratch. Alfredo shares how his team’s chemistry and blind faith led them to drop out of college and fully commit to solving biotech’s data infrastructure challenges. He details their rigorous market research process, which involved conducting hundreds of user interviews, and how this groundwork helped them raise an oversubscribed $5 million seed round led by Lux Capital.
Alfredo also reflects on the stark contrast between cutting-edge data tools at tech giants like Google and the outdated methods still used in biotech, emphasizing the massive opportunity to revolutionize life sciences. -
🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.
As a TBSP listener, you can get exclusive perks through Excedr’s partner network—special savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners. -
"I had to make a decision because I knew that if nothing changed, I was just gonna fail out of EECS. I remember EECS actually sent me a letter where they were like, 'Hey, if your GPA continues this low, you will be kicked out next semester.'"
In part one of our conversation with Alfredo Andere, we delve into his journey from Mexico to the prestigious EECS program at UC Berkeley. Alfredo shares his early fascination with technology, the challenges of adapting to a new educational system, and the pivotal moments that shaped his academic and personal growth.
Raised in various cities across Mexico, Alfredo's passion for technology was sparked by reading biographies of tech leaders like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. His entrepreneurial spirit emerged early when he organized a forum that attracted high-profile speakers, including former Mexican presidents, to his all-boys Catholic high school. Despite initial struggles with calculus at Berkeley, Alfredo's determination and commitment to his studies ultimately led to his success in the competitive EECS program. -
"I see myself as a player coach. I really try to do what I can to be in the trenches as much as I can. I'm out on the field."
In the final part of our conversation with Michael Paliotti, we delve into his extensive experience in biotech sales and leadership. Michael shares insights on the nuances of working with different types of clients, from academia to large pharma and emerging biotech companies. He discusses his transition into management during the COVID-19 pandemic and his approach to leading and developing his team.
Michael's leadership philosophy emphasizes building strong relationships, both with clients and team members. He stresses the importance of empathy, trust, and removing barriers for his team to succeed. His approach to management is rooted in his own experiences as a sales representative, allowing him to relate to his team's challenges and provide meaningful support. - Visa fler
