“Tolerate failure but don’t tolerate incompetence. Till this day, I regret how I let a company go bankrupt— I’ve learned from that”
From microbiome manipulation, to genomic sequencing, biotechnology promises an unprecedented future.
But what does it really take to build a biotech company that will last?
This week, we chat with, Brian Conn, serial biotech CFO, who has raised over $300M, completed 20 M&A deals and is currently CFO of genomic sequencing company, Quantapore, co-founder of synthetic biology company, Levadura and advisor to VC firm, General Inception.
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👊🏻 5 THINGS YOU’LL LEARN:
– How a non-technical founder can play a big role in building biotech
– How an unfocused strategy, is a strategy
– The evolution of biotech – have we leapfrogged?
– Navigating competition
– Key fundraising tips – should you care about dilution?
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⏳ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Intro: What’s on tab for this week: biotech, role of startup CFO, fundraising
02:49 – Brian’s lucky start in biotech
07:47 – The lousy accountant turned CFO
11:49 – The long road of biotech
14:45 – Biotech vs non-biotech
19:34 – Dilution, funding “and then we’re done” – hard lessons
24:10 – Evolution of biotech, have we leapfrogged?
33:01 – Dealing with competition
36:20 – Special! Cameo from Dr. Sarah Richardson, CEO, MicroByre
50:20 – Billion Dollar Questions
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PODCAST INFO:
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