Becky Beattie: Scaling LaunchBio & Democratizing Biotech Entrepreneurship (Part 2/2)

Intro - 00:00:01: Welcome to The Biotech Startups Podcast by Excedr. Join us as we speak with first-time founders, serial entrepreneurs, and experienced investors about the challenges and triumphs of running a biotech startup from pre-seed to IPO with your host, Jon Chee. In our last episode, we spoke with Becky Beattie about her pivot from lab work to real estate, how she found her way back to biotech through BioLabs, and her role in shaping the shared lab space movement. If you missed it, be sure to go back and listen to part one. In part two, Becky takes us through her time at LaunchBio, where she built a national network to support early stage founders and developed programs that connect Biotech Startups with investors and critical resources. We'll hear about the challenges of scaling a non-profit in the biotech space, what it takes to build thriving life science hubs, and how Becky is working to make entrepreneurship more accessible. She also shares insights on navigating funding hurdles, fostering strong startup communities, and the importance of mentorship in biotech innovation.

Jon - 00:01:20: But I know you eventually get back to life science.

Becky - 00:01:22: I do.

Jon - 00:01:23: I'm going to imagine I'm just like connecting dots. Because you are now, you know, basically in the real estate world, you know, you're getting exposed, you're learning, you know, you're learning the ropes. I'm going to imagine you somehow intersect and cross paths with BioLabs. 

Becky - 00:01:39: Yeah. In a very serendipitous way. And that I was not looking, I mean, I was happy and I was, we were having fun and Ron and Rock hired a bunch. I was like the old lady. I was in my mid thirties and I was definitely the old one. All the people that worked there were young and super cool, and going to the festivals, you know, going to this festival. I'm like, no, 

Jon - 00:02:06: Yeah, no, no, I'm not.

Becky - 00:02:08: Not this time. No, I'm not going to go this time.

Jon - 00:02:10: Yeah, no, my bedtime is coming up. So no, I'm going to pass. It's going to be a pass from me.

 Becky - 00:02:17: Yeah. But I met Susie Harborth. So Susie Harborth had been on the East Coast, working for a company. They started a company. Uh, with her and her partners had too much space, but we could lease this out because we don't need all this space. And this is a problem where companies get stuck in leases and then they need to shrink. And then now, now you're paying for all this. So they effectively started... You know, some shared lab space. And in short time realized that this was much needed and this could be a viable business idea. And out of that, LabCentral was born. LabCentral, wildly successful in Cambridge. It was set up as a nonprofit, and that comes into the story later. So nonprofit able to get state grants and her and her partners thought we could do this elsewhere. And so the idea of BioLabs was born. And Johannes Fruehauf, is like the original CEO of BioLabs and LabCentral. He's the partner on the East Coast. And Susie moved back out here because she grew up in Orange County. And so she was scouting for locations for the first BioLabs and starting to assemble a team. And that's when I met her because she was interested in our cool office space because it was I'm not going to name names, but some of these others shared. And it's gotten way better the last, you know, five, eight years.

 Jon - 00:03:58: For sure.

 Becky - 00:03:59: It used to be really like stiff and uninspiring.

Jon - 00:04:04: Yeah. Yeah.

 Becky - 00:04:05: She was looking for space. We started a conversation. She learned that I had this background in science and now working in real estate. And she essentially was like, come work with me. I'm going to open something called BioLabs. So I started working with Susie. And, you know, the big task was to find a location and to find strategic partners and founding partners for this new concept. But now BioLabs is. Across the U.S., and now international. This was, you know, when it's just an idea, you really have to sell it.

Jon - 00:04:41: Very punk Rock. Very punk Rock.

Becky - 00:04:43: And we're going to shared lab space.

Jon - 00:04:46: Yeah.

Becky - 00:04:46: Shared equipment.

Jon - 00:04:48: Yeah.

Becky - 00:04:48: So we were scouting the market. Biocom came on as our founding partner. The real estate market was hot at that time. So there weren't a lot of deals happening. And partners maybe weren't so interested in looking at this prospect as a strategic play. We thought, hey, you have high potential companies. We're going to vet them on the front end. These companies, there's a fair share are going to move into larger space. So this could be a strategic, play for XYZ developer. Well, when the market's hot, they just push across the lease rate, the going lease rate and say, here's what we have to offer. Like, what does that mean? What we had in mind. So we found a location and the developer phase three, who's I'm on a phase three building right now. We've maintained a relationship. They're really outstanding real estate partners. That was the first location. It was 15,000 square feet, not terribly big, but half lab, half office. And it was, you know, once the lease was signed, it was time for operations and I'm not useful in that regard. And so, you know, it's just like setting up the lab and all of that. I just wasn't, there wasn't anything for me to do. So I peeled off and worked on some other projects. LaunchBio was an idea at the time and Susie, who I'm still good friends with and the original board of directors kind of joke that it was a lunch club. There's, was nothing. There was a name, LaunchBio, and then they would go and have lunch and not really talk about it because there's nothing to talk about. So LaunchBio, that's our little known secret. It started as a lunch club.

Jon - 00:06:44: That's cool.

Becky - 00:06:45: I wasn't invited too.

Jon - 00:06:46: Yeah, that's hilarious. And I think now, obviously, BioLabs and all this kind of shared lab space is now very commonplace. Like it was very much, like you said, like five, eight years ago, was very much not.

Becky - 00:07:04: Non-existent.

Jon - 00:07:04: Non-existent. And I think that was a critical piece of, when I first started Excedr, it was around the time when Uber and Zipcar were just getting started. And the first business model iteration of Excedr was like, we can do a Zipcar Uber situation for sophisticated lab equipment. That's not how it works. Not how it works. But that was kind of like, it was kind of that moment where people were thinking about how do we make. Kind of more effective use of these assets.

Becky - 00:07:38: Yes.

Jon - 00:07:39: Because before you were either signing a massive lease that was like too much space for you. And that could be the nail in your coffin for a small baby biotech. But now it's very common. You're like, oh, well, I'm just going to get like a fraction of like a lab bench. Or like, you know, you can like fractionalize it to the point where it's like the right amount of space for what you need. But before it was like all or nothing.

Becky - 00:08:01: Yeah, that's exactly right. And I think, you know, depending on the project, if there's investors on the back end, it's a conversation of de-risking, right?

Jon - 00:08:11: Yeah.

Becky - 00:08:11: The company de-risks their commitments and then potentially investors, if that's the model, can de-risk some of their portfolio companies by living with them, seeing if they're hitting their milestones, is the team getting along? So that it can be an interesting model. I will say that shared lab space is a very hard model to make work. BioLabs has done an outstanding job at it and they're, you know, at the top of the class, without a doubt. I've talked to many, many, many people across the U.S.. Hey, we want to do this. And it's like a cautionary tale. Like, oh, you have to be willing to be in the red for the first three years. Because you're not going to fill the space immediately. And so just factor that part in. And depending on, you know, again, if you have developer real estate partners that understand that it's a long game, then it makes all the difference in the world. If you're looking to start earning revenue right off the bat or in the first even year or two, it's not the right model for you as an operator.

Jon - 00:09:27: Absolutely. And I think. During like 2020, 21, like even just driving by Berkeley, there's like right by the waterfront. Beautiful space like it was supposed to be like shared lab space, but they're like completely empty, because like they couldn't fill with tenants.

Becky - 00:09:44: Yeah.

Jon - 00:09:44:

 And I'm like, holy moly, like, this was like, this is prime, this is like super prime. You're really close to UC Berkeley, and all these things. And so it's like, the cautionary tale, so he said it's like, you know, perhaps back when, biologics were getting started, at that point, it's still punk rock and you can probably a little bit easier, less competitive. But I think now, fast forwarding five, ten years, it's a different landscape. It's a vastly different landscape.

Becky - 00:10:16: Yeah. And when you think about life science hubs, and it's really interesting to talk about dissecting things, dissect the top five hubs. And then it's pretty easy to identify the ingredients that play into making this a place where innovation really thrives and companies are starting and successful exits. But part of that is proximity and location. And so, again, real estate, depending. If you want to be in the prime markets, you're going to be paying prime rates. And so, you know, yeah, you could go put this somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but it's that model doesn't fly. And I don't think people are necessarily trying to do that. Although there are a lot of folks in some of these cities that might not have enough companies to support a project like that interested and shared lab space. Then the other thing is quantities of scale. So you were going to have to have a lab manager. You have to have a certain amount of equipment, whether that's in 15,000 square feet or 50. Some of your fixed costs are going to be the same. So you want to maximize the space to maximize the amount of tenants, but can the area support that? So it's complicated. And my hat is off to our good partners at BioLabs for doing this well and creating environments that have the right support mechanisms in place. And we're proud to be part of that as their nonprofit partner.

Jon - 00:11:58: Yeah, and I think everything I've seen is that like... They've got it dialed in. Well, they got it dialed in. And I think too, I just think exactly what you're talking about, about like, what are the ingredients for a thriving ecosystem? It really does take a village. Like one, like, can you retain talent? Two, like, is the space going to be actually in a productive space for you and your team? And then, you know, also at the same time, like you said, if it's a prime piece of real estate. The prices are going to be really high. So there's like the, there's like the underlying economics of it all. But I think when I reflect back on what it was like early days, like, oh man, it is, there's so many options now, which is like, that allows startups to really, you know, you talk about like de-risking, like you can properly de-risk before it was kind of just like, like a check and a prayer, not really de-risking. It's just like, all right, here you go. Here's the check go. But now you can write, you can really do things kind of like in a stepwise fashion, and you have flexibility with it all. And I think when that happens and you have the ability to de-risk, capital flows in and, you know, there's kind of this transition of, you know, big pharma not doing in-house R&D anymore. And now it's kind of like, it's kind of, they are just like we're going to do acquisitions and so on and so forth. I just remember too, when big pharma was like, we're just going to keep doing R&D? And you're just like the startup, like kind of community was like non-existent. And you're just like, you see it in software. Like startup was like startup culture was like a thing, but I was just like, when is it our time? Like, when will it, when will it be our time? And you know, at least the time is now.

Becky - 00:13:41: The time is now. It is. And another thing that I've kind of come to realize because of these components that make up hubs, the other element and talking about de-risking is that if you're in an area like Cambridge, if you start a company and it fails, you can literally go to a coffee shop. I mean, you know, everybody knows this. Meet somebody and have a job within a week.

Jon - 00:14:06: Yep.

Becky - 00:14:07: If you're in a market where the culture isn't a startup culture, if you leave a position as a professor to start an endeavor and it doesn't work out, you know, are you going to risk your family? And so that is an important part of a ecosystem developing to a certain point where there's enough startup activity and that thought process to be supportive for those who fail. Jon - 00:14:38: Yeah.

Becky - 00:14:39: Because that's part of starting is failing and then maybe being able to do it all over again. But if there's no safety net of other jobs or startups to work for. You know, you're less inclined to start it in the beginning.

Jon - 00:14:55: Yep. And it just reminds me all the way back to the very beginning. It's like, it's the risk tolerance of not just you as an individual, but just like of the community, the community. Right. Like I think long and hard, I haven't left the Bay Area. So I I've just been like, kind of like seared into me this kind of like startup risk on kind of like, and you'll be okay. Like you'll be okay. You'll like, failure is not the end of the road here.

Becky - 00:15:22: Yeah.

Jon - 00:15:22: You will be able to land back on your feet. Whereas I don't think every region is so lucky to have a culture like that. And I'm not to say that they are forever going to be risk off.

Becky - 00:15:33: Exactly.

Jon - 00:15:34: It can change it. Like, and we can, I can see it when I go visit. I'm like, I mean, look, even at Berkeley, like you would imagine like being born and raised in Berkeley, I've seen Berkeley change and Berkeley was not like Stanford, like Stanford was like, go, go, go start the company. Like whatever, like just who cares? Like what career risk? Like this is like the best opportunity to start a startup. And like, that's a badge of honor. Whereas like at Berkeley for a long time, like That was not it. It was like very much a separation of like church and state.

Becky - 00:16:07: Oh, interesting.

Jon - 00:16:08: Like when I talked about like the gall of me talking about business on campus.

Becky - 00:16:14: In an academic environment.

Jon - 00:16:16: Yeah. Believe me, I had some nasty conversations. I won't name names, but like some of these labs now are very entrepreneurial, but it took them like 10 years. And I was like, holy moly. And Berkeley is very supportive of it now. Like there's public private like partnerships and a lot of like companies are spinning out of Berkeley, but even the Bay Area. And I think. Life science is a little bit slower than kind of like. Your traditional like software startup-

Becky - 00:16:43: For sure.

Jon - 00:16:43: It's like, we're kind of slower in that way, but Oh man, like, yeah, even the hotbeds were, you know, for, I can still remember like, like it was yesterday that it was like risk off.

Becky - 00:16:53: Yeah, I guess I didn't know that about Berkeley. I mean, I knew Stanford from the beginning was on fire.

Jon - 00:17:00: Yeah, absolutely on fire. And I think what gets me fired up is as... I talked about how like the scar tissue I built up from going out and doing it in person and someone thinking I was like a high schooler. I no longer have that maybe a little bit SLAS is coming up. So I kind of have to like shake off, like shake it off a little bit, but I'm going out to regions that are not the hotbeds and seeing the transformation where they're starting to that kind of like embrace the kind of startup kind of culture is really great to see. And then that's not to say living the startup way in entrepreneurial ways, like the only way, but having that as an avenue, it's an awesome kind of outlet for anyone who has that appetite for it.

Becky - 00:17:46: Yeah. And I think too, that for both of us, living in top life science hubs, startup hubs. There's a lot that we could lend other regions, you know, this knowledge of ecosystems and... Not only through observation, but really through work experience. We've been there. We see what works and what doesn't work. And so that's been fun with LaunchBio too, because we've gotten into some economic development work and post-COVID hub development.

Jon - 00:18:20: Yeah. And I think too, like it's economic development, the research institutions that we found also like, they're like, come help US like understand what it means to do this. And I love being able to exactly what you said, kind of like be able to port over some of these learnings. And it kind of like, it's a little bit different for every region. But yeah, it's like, these are not like exclusive to like San Diego and Berkeley. These are like portable concepts, which I think are, can be beneficial to every region. But okay. So you've spent time at BioLabs and you're, you know, you're like this lunch club thing. There's really some, there's some legs to it. Tell me about when you decided this is going to be the main, the main focus, the nonprofit, or kind of like partner of BioLabs. Talk a little bit about that decision and, you know, the early days.

Becky - 00:19:12: Yeah. So in 2017, Susie reached back out and said, okay, remember the lunch club? We're ready to launch it. And we've hired a CEO, Joan Rose out of North Carolina. Are you interested in joining and helping to get it off the ground? I'd love to have the conversation. So about Joan, who is really a phenomenal leader and to date, one of the more impressive professionals that I've had the pleasure to work with and learn from. She was very patient with me because we met over a summer, like many, many, many times and had these long conversations. And I was wanting to be careful with my next step to make sure that this was aligned with what I wanted to do. So I had lots of questions and lots of critical questions. And really understanding where would this organization fit within the community and what's the regional play. And the end result was I realized that although there were and are a lot of startup support organizations or mechanisms, at least in San Diego at the time, there was none that solely focused on early stage Life Science Founders. Those that were supporting early stage biotech founders we're half tech and half life science. And really, in that scenario, in my opinion, the life science folks get overshadowed because tech is sexy. It's easy to understand. The thesis is more straightforward. The timelines are quicker. So coming from a science background and my love of science and innovation, I thought this is an interesting prospect. And as a nonprofit, which I know nothing about. It seemed very like approachable. Like we're not trying to sell anything. We're trying to give away knowledge. We're trying to give away connections. So I decided to join the team. And I'm on the phone with Joan, who's in North Carolina. And trying to, my first week, want to do a good job and hit the ground running. And, okay, Joan, what's our marketing budget? So we're going to do these monthly meetings. We're going to start off there. What's our, what are we calling that? Well, I don't know what we're calling it. Like, that's your job. But I say this with a lot of heart because I really do love Joan. Okay, well, what about marketing budget? Because we're going to have to, you know, get some logos going. And there is no marketing budget. Just get it done. I remember I was like... Yes, ma'am. I got off the phone and I was like, Canva. That's where I found Canva in the beginning. And by the way, our first event is next month. What are we doing? You figure it out. So get it done.

Jon - 00:22:11: Yeah, yeah.

Becky - 00:22:12: I think it's good to be thrown in the deep end because you learn a new way of swimming. It's like survival.

Jon - 00:22:21: For sure.

Becky - 00:22:22: We started programming right away. And I came up with these educational segments that one was like communication based. One was finance and raising money. And I forget the other one. And made these logos and kicked it off. So LaunchBio was very much a startup. We had some seed money. And it was Joan's job to fundraise as the CEO and knock on doors and see what grants we could get. And then it was my job to put the programs together and start expanding the brand and awareness about LaunchBio. So we started in San Diego. It seemed to be well received. And I would say that from the beginning, and this is probably part of what has helped us to be successful, is just really staying very focused on what our mission is. Which is to connect early stage life science founders, to resources and capital. That's our North Star. We always come back to that. And I think a lot of organizations and companies, for that matter, they might pick up some steam and then they start expanding and then it gets dilute. Everything gets diluted. Just keep it really clear.

Jon - 00:23:41: Keep it tight.

Becky - 00:23:42: Keep it tight. What are we doing here?

Jon - 00:23:44: Yeah.

Becky - 00:23:44: Don't deviate too much. And so as BioLabs was expanding, we expanded alongside with them. The next big project was in North Carolina. That's really cool. Building called the Chesterfield, which was an old tobacco plant. Within a couple of years, we were having monthly events and all these major hubs alongside BioLabs that depending on the building size, we were maxing out at like 250 people. Well. So it grew quickly and almost like, how are we going to manage all of this? And that's when COVID hit.

 Jon - 00:24:22: There we go.

Becky - 00:24:23: So COVID, you know, there's a lot of bad things that we can say about COVID. I'm a glasses half full pretty much all the time person. And so I look back at COVID and although I'm not dim, like I recognize it was devastating in so many ways, but, you know, for us and our organization, one, it gave us the opportunity to force stop and reassess. And then putting everything, like everybody else, becoming an expert. I remember having the call, like, your job is no longer whatever you're doing. We have to become experts at virtual meetings and community building. That's our laser focus right now. So we transitioned and I thought it was a good transition. We maintained our audience. And then the silver lining was you didn't have to be in San Diego or Boston or RTP to participate. You could be anywhere. And once we caught our breath and got into the cadence of what we were doing in the programs, and we started to expand the focus of the programs within life science education for founders, we really recognize that this is an opportunity to firmly take our place as the largest national nonprofit serving broken record, early stage life science startup companies. And so that's what we did.

Jon - 00:25:51: That's freaking awesome.

Becky - 00:25:53: Yeah, so COVID hit, you know, that was like March, right? And then we kind of made our way to the fall. And then in fall of 2020, Joan and the board chair approached me and said, for some specific reasons, we're looking to change leadership. And we'd like you to consider this role. And, you know, looking back, it's like, oh, we're in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and that organization that carries out its mission by in-person events. Yeah. I took some more time to consider it, but it was a lot to bite off. And I have two kids that were home doing school and all of it. But I really believe in the organization and our mission. As I mentioned, Joan Rose is an amazing leader and she agreed to help me with the transition. I was probably a little bit naive because I said, I'll do it on an interim basis. And if a few of these, we need three different funding things to come through that I have no control over because I'm stepping in. Well, when you take on a role like the CEO, some things happen like bank accounts get changed to your name and there's some legal things that happen, grants. We applied for a big EDA, Economic Development Administration, Build to Scale grant. It was a second year we applied for it for Dallas region. The first year we narrowly missed it. That was just awarded and the CEO's name goes on top of this big grant and you are the lead. So anyways, it was a teeny bit naive, like, well, if these three things don't happen, then I'm not sure I'm interested. Well, I was already in and none of the three things happened. So I was, you know, I had to commit. But I think some people saw that like interim, like we would love to see that become a permanent position. I'm like, oh, if only you knew what the backstory is. But yeah, I'm just kind of the stand in for now.

Jon - 00:28:04: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Becky - 00:28:06: Yeah. So then at the beginning of the year, none of the three funding things happened. It was very challenging, but I took it as a, just that a challenge and some immediate things needed to happen to keep our head above water. Some mid planning had to happen to take steps to work towards more stability and then long-term planning, which is a little bit putting chips, you know, on, you know, cards in Vegas, you try to make some good bets, but understand some are long bets and some will work out and some won't, but that's was kind of my plan. And Joan continued to work with us and still does. I'm happy to say every year, you know, she, it would become the end of the year and well, I think I'm moving on to that. I totally respect that. But if you want to just focus on these things, which I know you enjoy doing, and then I want to take off your plate, the things that aren't so enjoyable and reallocate those, would you consider staying? No pressure. So now it's been many years.

Jon - 00:29:13: That's amazing.

Becky - 00:29:13: We continued to work together and I really value her. She's a strategic advisor for LaunchBio.

Jon - 00:29:22: That's awesome. And I love, I mean, when we talk about getting like airdropped into just like kind of the deep end and this is like a culmination of that. Just like, all right, we're going to just drop you in and there you go, figure it out. And I love your kind of approach and kind of perspective when it comes to these setbacks, when it came to being airdropped into the CEO role and the funding not panning out, but not letting that be a permanent obstacle. And you saw it as a challenge because I think. In any entrepreneurial venture, there's going to be setbacks inevitably, but the really what matters at the end of the day is like, are you going to give up or not? And I think a lot of. A lot of companies and a lot of, you know, initiatives really just like supernova out, not because they're not like smart or they're not like, you know, really good at what they do. It's just like, I don't have the energy to, I'm going to let this define me. And I'm just like, I don't have the energy to keep going. And then the towel is thrown in. So I love that you're like. It's a challenge. I'm going to get through this. And I think that's incredibly important.

Becky - 00:30:33: I agree. And also respect that at different times in your life, you're more ready to take on, you know, that's also know thyself.

Jon - 00:30:42: Yes.

Becky - 00:30:43: But it's this interesting combination of being willing to work really hard and you, you take a lot of ownership for a project that you take on. And so you're, you own it. But then, and my mom had to point this out because there's been points in my life where the work balance is very off. I'm at many points. I'm pretty much always teetering on the edge of off balance, if not totally off balance. But she said, this isn't your baby. You did not birth this organization. And I don't know why it just really hit me because I do have children and that's something you put your life on the line for. So it's like taking it very seriously, ownership for it, but also I didn't birth this. And if say, if it all fell apart, and I think you just mentioned something about defining you. Would that define me? You have to have that conversation with yourself because yeah, failure would feel real bad and you would take it real personally and feel like you're professionally. But at the end of the day, is that going to be the worst thing in the world? You have to have that real delicate balance of two perspectives that it's they're both kind of keeping each other in check. Stay driven, but don't let it drag you down.

Jon - 00:32:03: Yep, absolutely. And it's a hard balance to strike.

Becky - 00:32:06: Yeah, it is.

Jon - 00:32:07: I can't even pretend to like have that figured out on my side either. Like I like, is it is kind of like a tug of war or just like kind of like a pendulum. This kind of like swings that I feel myself in. But I think and that's just like the kind of the leadership journey is going in, you know, and especially, you know, I see all the time if you're like spinning technology. Out of your graduate studies and your thesis, it almost feels like you're maybe, it almost feels like you birthed this thing. You've spent an inordinate amount of time kind of like focusing on that. But I think the perspective is really important to keep. And so, okay, your former CEO is now the advisor and you have like a Avengers kind of. Backing you. You have a team of partners, you know, on this journey. Tell us a little bit about like how you got through it and tell us more about like all the cool initiatives you're kicking off right now. You know, because I'm going to assume, you know, we're here speaking today. You guys got through it.

Becky - 00:33:04: Yeah. Got through it. Yeah. I think that having a working board is really important. And so when I stepped in and it took me a long time, cause that was one of the, you know, I knew I had to do it. The board that I adopted wasn't mine, although there are some really strong players, but they had been on the board for a number of years and they were probably a number of them were ready to do something new. I felt really. Uncomfortable asking people to be on my board. You know, I think I had unsure footing that first year and I was focused on keeping the organization afloat and making sure we could pay everybody at the end of the month. But it took me like six months and some good mentoring, really. Kelly Huang in town, she's an excellent mentor, really respect and appreciate her support. But she advised me on how to approach a board conversation with somebody that I thought was maybe way to accomplish to join the board. But her perspective was, they will get something out of it. There's a reason why they would possibly want to be on the board. So that's essentially how you approach it. It's not asking for a favor. It's asking for a collaborative relationship that they will then be able to work with your network and highlight what they're doing and, once I got over myself, really, I made a list and I approached these amazing people and everyone said, yes, it was such a good feeling.

Jon - 00:34:43: Hell yeah.

Becky - 00:34:44: And so we assembled this working board and that word is really important because I think there's a lot of different boards and your job isn't to report to them and get a report card back if you're doing a good job or not. I mean, it's important to have a certain amount of respect slash fear.

Jon - 00:35:05: Of your board, you know? Yeah, yeah.

Becky - 00:35:08: But also to, at the end of your board meetings, say, no, this is what I need help with. And this is specifically what I'm going to be asking for, which has been hugely helpful with LaunchBio and building it. That's the intention, you know? And that's me personally. And I think most people doing stuff that's stagnant and the same is not interesting. It's not inspiring. And so if I'm not building something, then I'm probably not going to be doing it for long. That's the fun part. So yeah, getting a working board in place, appreciating the relationship with BioLabs, but also recognizing that they had grown tremendously and so have we. So restructuring that so it's not exclusive. So then now we could work with other co-working centers. And, you know, as a national organization, there's a lot of different, real estate partners that are housing these high potential companies. And so as a nonprofit, again, North Star, we want to help as many startups as we can. Who do we need to go and, approach outside of our founding partners. So that was really pivotal. And then taking the original concept and then creating new products, I would say. And so Investor Connect is a newer product. It's two years old. And so utilizing these relationships with VCs that it took a lot of years to even get their attention. In the beginning, it's like, forget it. We're just the same as the startups knocking on their doors and there's no answer. But after working in the major hubs, developing relationships, and then recognizing that companies, as they're fundraising, it's not their fault, but it's not strategic at all. They're just looking for any VC to pitch to.

Jon - 00:37:02: Yes.

Becky - 00:37:03: And they'll show a list of, and I was like, well, I could tell you that 50% of those aren't looking at what you're developing.

Jon - 00:37:10: Yeah.

Becky - 00:37:10: So that's...

Jon - 00:37:11: These are non-starters.

Becky - 00:37:12: Non-starters, right off the bat.

Jon - 00:37:13: Yeah.

Becky - 00:37:15: Either technology or stage or various other reasons. So your time is valuable. That's always your time. And for VCs to be pitched when it's not appropriate is not what they're looking to do. So developing this curated, using this national reach to have applications come in, fairly detailed. We understand what you're working on, what stage you're at, same application for investors. And then we present the investor based on their investment thesis, with 30 companies that might be appropriate. And also getting it down so it's not arduous for anybody to do this. The easier you make it for people to participate, the more successful it's going to be. So presenting them, they choose 10 to 15. And we have this very productive online meeting for an hour and a half. And what we're promising is warm introductions on both sides. So branching out and kind of getting more granular with the introductions we're making and the education that we're doing has been really fulfilling and successful. And then, like I mentioned earlier, some of this ecosystem building. So in Dallas, we've been working there for five years. We just finished a three-year EDA, Build a Scale grant, and utilizing our knowledge and other major hubs, the top five hubs, to bring that into Dallas. We're one of many partners. And we're really lucky to have a foundational partner that we work closely with. And we're hoping that we like what they're doing. We really like working with them. And our job there is to be connective tissue between the resources that exist, but also bring in what doesn't exist. And part of that in Dallas is outside investors. So once a year, we have this big event with UT Southwestern and bring in investors that aren't based, in Dallas to help make those connections. So with that said, we just reapplied for another EDA grant we should hear in the next month or two. It's a co-application with Texas A&M.

Jon - 00:39:28: Cool.

Becky - 00:39:28: So we're pleased to have that partnership. It's definitely a step up. And then starting to talk to other regions that are interested in doing what Dallas has really been successful at doing. It's pretty amazing. If anybody wants to go to Pegasus Park with me or have introductions, reach out. A couple of years ago, lots of parking spots. Now you go and it's like no parking spots.

Jon - 00:39:51: Yeah. It's like back. Yeah. Yeah. You know, this is amazing to hear because, I think you talk about the connective tissue. And I think I've seen the same thing too, where founders are just like spray and praying. Yeah. And I get it. It's like, it's hard to find that information. They don't want to do that.

Becky - 00:40:12: Yeah. It's not their fault.

Jon - 00:40:14: It's not their fault. And it's just like, so I think what you guys are doing is incredibly important because it's like, you're, you're connecting the dots. And it, you know, everyone who's on the entrepreneurial journey can empathize with the, what it feels like to be on this hamster wheel of like capital raising.

Becky - 00:40:31: Yeah.

Jon - 00:40:32: And I'll be honest, a lot of it's a big waste of time. Like, yeah, it's a big old waste of time when you should be working on, your thing.

Becky - 00:40:42: Yeah.

Jon - 00:40:43: And not to say I'm not trying to diminish the value of... The other side of the equation of the balance sheet, the capital providers are very important, but that, that seeking, that kind of like the connecting of the dots and just like, and just like chasing dead ends.

Becky - 00:40:59: A lot of energy.

Jon - 00:41:01:Tons of energy when like that could be more productively allocated elsewhere.

Becky - 00:41:06: Right. And yeah, and this isn't the end all be all, but I think it's, I think it's positive. I think it's productive. And I think also we try to remind our, you know, visiting companies that no, not now is not a bad thing because more often than not when it's no, not now, but we would like to see where X, Y, and Z goes in the next six months, that's a productive meeting. And so, yes, I know we won't be on the Capitol right now, but typically doesn't work like that. So yes, we're a little bit of cheerleaders. We're educators, we're connectors, and we're fully supporters of our scientists founders. So Investor Connect, we still do larger than life science events, which are, you know, panel discussions on topics that pertain to building your company outside of your science. And those seem to be successful. And it's really half networking, half education. And our philosophy is, you know, if you fill the room with 30% of people that know each other and, you know, 70 that don't, that's a pretty good equation. We just, Sasha Farina, we were just talking about that, that there needs to be a few people that you know, that you could say, hey, Jon, Jon, I want to introduce you to, you know, Cindy. And if you don't know anybody, it's uncomfortable. And if you know, everybody is not productive.

Jon - 00:42:36: Yeah, it's not productive. I haven't heard it like distilled down to that, but that is the exact feeling. I think I get a lot of anxiety when just going into rooms where I just know nobody.

Becky - 00:42:46: Yeah.

Jon - 00:42:47: I'm just like nursing a drink in the corner.

Becky - 00:42:51: Yeah, you have to know a couple people. And then, you know, be okay with I didn't think JP Morgan is such a good. Training for this to walk into a room of 1500 people. And I'm like, I know, I know at least five.

Jon - 00:43:05: Yep.

Becky - 00:43:07: But I probably, even though I'm tall, I'm like a giraffe. I can spot people in a crowd. Very useful in that regard. But, you know, it's like everybody's there doing the same thing. And it was really, I don't know. I thought it was sweet. It was a sweet reminder that we're all in the same boat when it comes to going to these things and wanting to meet new people. And people that, hey, you know, what are you working on? You know, my name's so-and-so. And, you know, how was your day? How is JP Morgan going for you? And just being open to connecting with strangers.

Jon - 00:43:41: Yep. And I think that especially is kicking off the year, like, because JPMs in the beginning of the year, it's kind of like, kind of like that shock therapy, just like, all right, let's do this. If I can, if I can get this done, the rest of the year is like, it's gonna be a breeze. Like, this is at least for me as an introvert. It's like, all right, this is the hardest part. Like, let's get through this. And so, you know, in addition to the kind of programming that you've. Architected and launched and are managing now. You mentioned at the beginning of our discussion, your announcement tomorrow and also the Rare Disease Forum. Can you talk a little bit more about these other initiatives? I don't know how you get sleep, but I'd love to learn more about what's kind of like the other things you have, the other irons in the fire you have.

Becky - 00:44:28: Yeah, well, the most immediate is tomorrow's announcement on the 23rd. HiveBio is a hybrid accelerator that we're launching in Philadelphia with the generous support of the Knight Foundation. If you're not familiar, they're a newspaper legacy that really are devoting funds to freedom of speech and communication and very positive public initiatives. I'm not saying it very eloquently, but they do a lot. And so they have got behind us for this project that is an accelerator for underrepresented founders. And that's pretty broad. We're talking women, Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ, first to the country, immigrants, people that don't tend to have maybe the mechanisms, behind them that if you start a company that maybe there's seed money there for you or you have connections to other business folks that would support you. So that's what this. Who this is for. Applications open tomorrow. And we have a really stellar selection committee of investors and executives from around the country who will help us select 10 companies. This is pre-seed and seed. And the life science is it's not just therapeutics. We're accepting diagnostic and device as well. And then those companies will be in a formal curriculum program program through partners that we have in Philadelphia and meet weekly, be matched with mentors, have investor meetings, have pitch training. There's built-in SBIR grant writing support. And this is all free for the companies to participate. And the end goal, it will run for 12 months. And the end goal is to help with the next round of funding, whether that's non-dilutive or other. So that's pretty big. We've been working on it for almost two years. And we knew that it was something that needed to happen. We built it. We shopped it around. It's been built for a while. And it took the right partner to get the pilot program off the ground. So we're going to be very careful and decided and meticulous with this first one to collect all the data. And the hope is maybe in 12 months, we'll have this conversation again. And I can tell you, hey, these companies, this is what happened and they're well on their way. And if a fair percentage of them are able to move on in funding, we think we did our job well.

Jon - 00:47:14: That's awesome. And really, really exciting. I love that.

Becky - 00:47:17: Thank you.

Jon - 00:47:17: I'm like, I'm like, damn, I wish I wish that Reese, like that type of resource was available when I was starting Excedr. I was like, God dang, like, you know, we're talking about it before it, it takes a village and like, this is kind of like. Giving back and like contributing to the community that you're a part of. Giving people a shot when they may have not been given a shot or even seen the opportunity, I think is really, really important because like there's like talented people all over the place.

Becky - 00:47:50: Yeah.

Jon - 00:47:50: Just opportunities aren't necessarily equally distributed. So I love that you're democratizing it.

Becky - 00:47:56: Yeah, thank you. We're excited. I'll point out that the website, if anybody's interested in learning more, it's HiveBio.io.

Jon - 00:48:04: There we go.

Becky - 00:48:04: Because, you know, how it goes. It was either expensive or taken.

Jon - 00:48:08: Yeah.

Becky - 00:48:10: So that is in the near future. And we're excited to get that off the ground. We also next month are hosting Invest in Cures in collaboration with UCSD and their gene therapy initiative. This is a form that we've put on for five or six years. Maybe it's seven, minus two with COVID, maybe five. But we've done it all over the country. And we initiated it recognizing that rare disease foundations were starting their own venture arms. And it was an interesting model when you look at access to patient information and then collaborations, potential collaborations with advocacy groups. So it's like this three-legged stool. And some Cystic Fibrosis Foundation have been very, very successful. And so we thought, well, this is an opportunity to connect. And these are founders that not only, Life Science Founders is hard enough, but it really is. When you're working in rare disease indications, your field for funding becomes even smaller. So an opportunity to connect these founders, which many of which get into it because a family member is affected. So it's very mission driven with new funding opportunities, but also create a platform and opportunity for investors to learn from each other and get to know each other and learn from what's working. And so, yes, this... We're really excited to be partnered with UCSD. And we did it with UCSF last year. And yeah, the gene therapy initiative, it seems very promising for rare disease work. And there's already a company that has spun out of that that's being funded by a new fund. And it's not called new fund because that's something different. A new fund, a TL fund in San Diego, which is connected to Connect. And that's an interesting story as well, because the fund is created to stay in San Diego and build and reinvest in the region. So we're excited to tell that story. So those are the two immediate things happening. You know, again, the podcast, we continue to have interesting guests. We hope that you'll be one of them one day.

Jon - 00:50:31: Say my name and I'll be there. I was like, I'll be there. No worries.

Becky - 00:50:35: And that it's called NextGen VC podcast. And the idea there, it really spun out of a forum that we started with Wilson Sincini called the NextGen VC Forum, identifying that venture associates are learning as they go. And so there's an opportunity to provide venture ed, as we're calling it, education, board governance, a number of due diligence, all these things that you learn as you go, but that you can bring in these really experienced speakers and attorneys to educate associates. And again, provide an opportunity for them to get to know each other from across regions, because they're going to be the ones that are syndicating deals in the future. They will be. Not the baby VCs, they'll be the big kid VCs.

Jon - 00:51:24: Yep, absolutely. And one thing, as you're describing your podcast, I think I would even expand it to listeners should listen even if you don't want to become a VC. Like, I think it's incredibly important. And I think I've learned a lot. It's kind of the empathy thing. You got to know what they are optimizing for, prioritizing. And I think the more you know about VC land as a founder, you're going to have way more productive conversations when you know what they care about.

Becky - 00:51:58: Oh, yes. And so learning about funds, who they're investing in, what their investment thesis is, you know, how these people, which they tend to be wildly impressive that end up as VCs, but how they got into those positions, it really brings to life what seems like that's behind the glass window, you know? So that's the idea behind it is to humanize the biotech VC world, help, you know, create some color around it. And these are really good people too, doing good work and seeing amazing companies and getting to invest and be part of them.

Jon - 00:52:40: Absolutely. And the thing that stood out to me when you talk about Investor Connect and a meeting where a VC might say. Like, no, but let's stay in touch or no, but not now.

Becky - 00:52:51: Yeah.

Jon - 00:52:52: And when I talk to founders, of course, like, you know, you wish you can have the check now. But I also think that those are great meetings and they're productive ones. It's all a creative. But also, if it makes anyone who's on the fundraising, you know, journey right now is like. He's kind of, you know, when you're dating, he's like. It's not you, it's me kind of thing. Like it kind of is like that sometimes where it's like, maybe they're at the end of a fund life. Like maybe they just can't, like maybe they are very interested in what you are doing, but the fund is wrapping up and there's nothing to invest from.

Becky - 00:53:26: There's nothing there.

Jon - 00:53:27: There's nothing there. It's not you, but like maybe that six months, let's check back in the six months, because the new fund is closing. So don't take it as like, you know, them saying your baby's ugly. Like that may not be the case. They maybe have just other things. And if you listen to the VC podcast, the education around it. You can maybe feel a little bit better that it might actually be there or perhaps you're optimizing for the, like a different thing. So.

Becky - 00:53:57: Yeah.

Jon - 00:53:58: I think that's like really important because like definitely. Coming from the bench finances, like this weird, funny world. And don't even get me started on the world of finance that I'm in because I'm in credit and like, and that's like this weird, like, so I'm like, okay. So that's why education has always been a thing for me is because perhaps it's because out of necessity, like I've always had to like, explaining what Excedr does and it's like most fundamental pieces has been like, and that's kind of like the marketing. And I'm like, now that I'm just talking about this out loud, I'm like stitching my own journey together where it's like, I've had to just like continuously educate the whole time because people are just like scratching their head. Like, what is it you say you do? Like, what is this? And I thought I would like, I was like, maybe like, you know, fast forward many years, like this will be common knowledge, still not common knowledge. This is a drum that you have to continuously beat.

Becky - 00:54:48: Yes.

Jon - 00:54:49: As there are always new people coming on, you know, the startup scene. So Becky, this has been amazing. Like I'm, I'm having a blast and I'm learning a lot about you and myself.

Becky - 00:54:59: Yeah, I know. It was great. This was awesome. You're coming to San Diego next, so.

Jon - 00:55:05:Yes, I will be in your neck of the woods. So we definitely need to link up. And, you know, I think everything that you've described is like, I always was like, I'm like fist pumping in my head because it's like kind of the it is like the same North Star that we at Excedr have also. So it's kind of you talk about like this focus kind of situation where it is easy to just kind of like like gas in a room, just like fill up the room.

Becky - 00:55:29: Yeah.

Jon - 00:55:29: It is kind of there's like this natural like entropy to it. But I think focusing on North Star of like supporting early life science, you know, entrepreneurship, I think aligns very much with why I get out of bed to to do all of this. So thank you so much for your time. And I, you know, in traditional closing fashion for the podcast, we have two questions for you. So first question, would you like to give any shout outs to anyone who supported you along the way?

Becky - 00:55:58: I'm going to do the good old fashioned, but it's standard for a reason. My parents, that they taught me hard work and we're really close, loving family. And that's my foundation in life. And as far as professionally goes, I mentioned this earlier, Joan Rose has really been, one of the first people, I mean, I've had lots of people I've learned from and, you know, I've, I've liked, but my respect for her supersedes anyone else in a professional realm. And we have a personal relationship. So I really appreciate that deeply. So I would say Joan Rose and then the team at LaunchBio, we've worked together. People don't tend to feel off. And so we get to work together. Caroline Okun, she's an amazing design director. Meredith Martindale is just a super talented marketing and PR. I've had the pleasure of working with one of my college friends, Melissa Schmidt, who is taking a step back and doing some other work. But who knows? I talked to her yesterday. I'm like, you know, I'm going to knock on your door again.

Jon - 00:57:09: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Becky - 00:57:11: And then Sasha Farina, she's working with us now in the Bay Area, and she's very talented, and driven. And Nirav Shah is another newer player to our team. But he came to me saying, hey, I want to intern. He's getting his PhD in Houston. And I said, okay, if you want to intern, I'll give you stuff to do. And then a year later, a position opened up. And I did interview. And he was at the top of the pile. And he's very positive and has an infectious smile and is very bright. And I feel appreciative to work with him. So I would say, you know, those people outside my husband and my kids, which are my North Star. But yeah, I'm fortunate. And I think as time goes on, you want to work with people that you like and that you respect. And if you encounter people that are other, that's fine, too. But you tend to kind of navigate around those. And. So I'm really happy to have met you. And I think that there's a lot of synergies with our organization and what you're doing. And so I think this is the beginning of a great friendship.

Jon - 00:58:22: Yeah, absolutely. And everything you said, I completely agree with. And life's too short to work with assholes, to be honest.

Becky - 00:58:29: It is. Yeah. Sometimes you do it when you're younger because you don't know any better. And then you're just like, nope. And so that's something Joan has taught me too. Like, we only want to work with people that are nice to work with.

Jon - 00:58:42: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And likewise, Excedr, like you mentioned, you're working with someone who you went to college with. A number of... Excedr teammates of mine, I've known since I was like three or four.

Becky - 00:58:56: Wow.

Jon - 00:58:57: Yeah, yeah. So like we were like basically in diapers.

Becky - 00:59:00: Oh my gosh, that's so awesome.

Jon - 00:59:04: And, the craziest part when people figure that out or like we tell them, they're like, how are you not at each other's throats? When I was like, no, it's fun. It's fun. Like you get to work with your friends. I don't know. It's fun. Obviously, you know, sometimes it's kind of like, you know, it's like, yeah, sometimes like we butt heads, but that's okay. It's all coming from a place of love and this is fun. And like, you know, we keep doing it. So I love that. And the last closing question, if you could give any advice to your 21 year old self, what would it be?

Becky - 00:59:32: I would say that, you know, careers and life in general are always evolving. And when you're young, you think you're working towards a destination, but there is no destination. It's like a really big realization.

Jon - 00:59:48: Yep.

Becky - 00:59:48: And to, you know, enjoy the experience that you're in. And also know that if you're showing up in an authentic, very present way, that the next day will present a new opportunity. And it's, you can say that and say, well, that's a theory. And then I'm really big into, if you have a theory about life, then put it into action and don't even focus too hard on it. Just act it out, play it and see what happens. That's the scientist in me, experiment. See what happens. And I've learned showing up, being present, being authentic, opportunities unfold. And so, you know, it's just ever evolving. And so this is what I'm doing now in 10 years. I'm not sure, but if I keep showing up and being authentic and present, I'm pretty sure I'll be at a place where I've learned a lot. I've met a lot of good people. I've accumulated friends and colleagues that are meaningful in my life. And that, yeah, but it might look different. I'm not sure, but that's okay. And just being okay with it.

Jon - 01:01:02: Yeah, absolutely. I could have used that advice when I was 21 because I was definitely overly fixated on this, like, you know, just whatever it might've been. Like, it was like this-

Becky - 01:01:13: Getting somewhere.

Jon - 01:01:14: Getting somewhere, yeah. And then you're just like, wow, like I just wasn't present. And there were probably opportunities that I could have like seized and actually like actioned if I had only been like more in the moment rather than overly fixated. So I love, you know, I love that perspective. Well, Becky, thanks again.

Becky - 01:01:34: Thank you.

Jon - 01:01:35:I will be in San Diego very soon. So I'll give you a shout.

Becky - 01:01:38: And for the listeners too, if you're ever in San Diego, the LaunchBio office is always open. We have room. Like I mentioned, we're housed in this beautiful phase three project, Genesis Del Mar. I have more space than I can use. So I always like workmates to come.

Jon - 01:01:59: Del Mar is great too. Del Mar is beautiful. It's beautiful. The dream.

Becky - 01:02:04: And connect with me on LinkedIn. And this is what we're here to do is help. And we have a ton of conversations and connecting people to folks that we know that might be helpful across the US. So I would love to connect with any new people that I don't already know.

Jon - 01:02:20: Becky, thanks again. I will see you soon.

Becky - 01:02:23: Thank you.

Jon - 01:02:23: And I'll be on your podcast soon.

Becky - 01:02:26: Perfect. We're going to get that scheduled. I already have a date in mind.

Jon - 01:02:30: Awesome. Talk to you then.

Becky - 01:02:31: All right. Thanks.

Jon - 01:02:32: See ya.

Outro - 01:02:35: That's all for this episode of the Biotech Startups Podcast. We hope you enjoyed our two-part series with Becky Beattie. If you did, consider subscribing, leaving us a review and sharing with your friends. Be sure to join us for our next series featuring Stavros Papadopoulos. Founder and CEO of TileDB. TileDB is a foundational software that structures all data types, including data that does not fit into relational databases built for structured tabular data. Built on a powerful shape-shifting array database, TileDB handles the complexities of non-traditional, unstructured, multimodal data such as genomic variants, bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics, biomedical imaging, as well as the frontier data of the future. Before founding TileDB, Stavros was a senior research scientist at Intel's Parallel Computing Lab, a member at the Intel Science and Technology Center for Big Data at MIT's CSAIL, and a visiting scientist at MIT and the Broward Institute. He also served as a visiting assistant, professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he earned his PhD in computer science. Stavros also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. With his extensive background in big data, parallel computing, and innovative database technologies, Stavros offers insight about data management in biotech and beyond that founders certainly don't want to miss. The Biotech Startups Podcast is produced by Excedr. Don't want to miss an episode? Search for The Biotech Startups Podcast wherever you get your podcasts and click subscribe. Excedr provides research labs with equipment leases on founder-friendly terms to support paths to exceptional outcomes. To learn more, visit our website, www.excedr.com. On behalf of the team here at Excedr, thanks for listening. The Biotech Startups Podcast provides general insights into the life science sector through the experiences of its guests. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from the podcast is at the user's own risk. The views expressed by the participants are their own and are not the views of Excedr or sponsors. No reference to any product, service or company in the podcast is an endorsement by Excedr or its guests.