10/10 Founder Series — Part 3: Journey Reflections
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Alix Ventures: Supporting Early Stage Life Science Startups Engineering Biology to Drive Radical Advances in Human Health
Calling All Innovators — Click to Reach Out 🚀
We are honored to feature Founders at:
Ovid Research, Rejuvenate Bio, MedRhythms, Mythic Therapeutics, Unnatural Products, Segmed, Coral Genomics, Pair Team, Circularis Biotechnologies, & 64-x
These companies focus on solutions including digital therapeutics combating neurological disorders, tools optimizing gene therapies, molecule design/optimization, and the creation of new life forms.
We asked our guests:
“Looking back on your founder journey, what do you wish you knew when you started?”
“A lot of the time, especially when you’re just starting out, things can feel pretty lonely. Do your best to have a network of other people you can rely on.”
Matt Krisiloff — CEO/Co-Founder @ Ovid Research
“Picking the strategy is a small element; execution and surrounding yourself with good people are far more difficult.”
Daniel Oliver — CEO/Co-Founder @ Rejuvenate Bio
“Celebrate more wins along the way. I’m the type of person where once I reach one summit, I instantly move on to the next one. Building a company is hard: it requires perseverance and a component of luck (e.g. you can’t predict something like COVID-19), so when you reach a summit, celebrate it, then get back to work. :)”
Owen McCarthy — President/Co-Founder @ MedRhythms
“Connecting with the right experts can save a lot of time and effort. An innate understanding of what different investors want allows company positioning relative to those needs. Unfortunately, the only way to really know this is to get out there and pitch.”
Brian Fiske — CSO/Co-Founder @ Mythic Therapeutics
“Everything is negotiable and there are no right answers. I think as a first-time entrepreneur, at first it’s tough to recognize what are hard lines in the sand and what’s a starting point for negotiation. In hindsight it’s almost always the latter! The other thing is, when you’re starting out everyone has advice and if you get enough of it, chances are you’ll have a bunch of conflicting opinions, often from qualified individuals. But at the end of the day, if you’re building something new and innovative, there’s no well-trodden path to follow — it’s up to you to synthesize the advice and forge your own trail.”
Cameron Pye — CEO/Co-Founder @ Unnatural Products
“The emotional roller coaster is real and it takes some getting used to. Prepare for elation and depression 5x in one day, and learn to separate your worth and value as a person from whatever is going on in your company at any given time.”
Cailin Hardell — CEO/Co-Founder @ Segmed
“The best startups create new markets, rather than react to existing markets.”
Jacob Borrajo — Co-Founder @ Coral Genomics
“I wish I had truly understood to always keep an even keel. Lots of things are going to get thrown at you, and sometimes these situations seem “make it or break it” for your company. But they rarely are and you will never regret the brief time it takes to balance yourself before making a decision.”
Neil Batlivala — CEO/Co-Founder @ Pair Team
“Everything is negotiable so don’t be afraid to push hard. Everyone is flawed — try not to idealize too many people, but instead be yourself and be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Also, find ways to unplug from work and take a step back from the stress, since it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
“Starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down. I believe that’s Reid Hoffman’s quote and it’s spot on. With every step of the company-building journey, there is at least one thing out of equilibrium, and all your energy is focused on getting it back to equilibrium, only to reach a new state where something else is out of equilibrium. That’s what building a company is, by definition. If you accept that this is the process up front, you’ll stop trying to fight it in unproductive ways and quickly learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
Alexis Rovner — CEO/Co-Founder @ 64-x
Insights
Our guests drop a few golden nuggets for up-and-coming HC/LS founders and highlight the importance of surrounding yourself with a supportive network, as building a startup can be a lonely journey filled with emotional ups and downs. Critically, keep in mind that the success of your startup as a company does not equate to your worth as an individual. Prioritize your own well-being and take the time to balance yourself before making big decisions.
Founders also reflect that they wish they had learned to be comfortable with being uncomfortable sooner. There are not always “right answers”, particularly when building something new that has never been explored before — a characteristic of some of the best companies. At a certain point, additional advice will conflict and you will need to make your own decisions. When you do, don’t be afraid to negotiate for what you need.
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Alix Ventures, by way of BIOS Community, is providing this content for general information purposes only. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Alix Ventures, BIOS Community, or its affiliates. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Alix Ventures employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the view of Alix Ventures, BIOS Community, affiliates, and content sponsors.
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