The Biotech Startups Podcast

Excedr
  • 4.7 (23)
  • LIFE SCIENCES

The Biotech Startups Podcast by Excedr features weekly conversations with founders, scientists, and investors driving biotech innovation. Host Jon Chee dives into the challenges of building biotech startups, from pre-seed to IPO. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.

  1. 🧬 The Hidden Advantages of Starting Up in a Downturn | Eswar Iyer (Part 4/4)

    4D AGO

    🧬 The Hidden Advantages of Starting Up in a Downturn | Eswar Iyer (Part 4/4)

    "If you lose that passion, why would somebody else do this? And it comes down to how hungry you are. How bad do you want it?" In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee talks with Eswar Iyer, co-founder of Aikium, about launching a biotech platform during a market downturn and building a resourceful, mission-driven team focused on data-rich therapeutic design. Eswar shares hard-won lessons on blending computational and experimental innovation, maintaining intentional focus, forging the right partnerships, and fostering a culture of resilience and critical thinking. They also explore fundraising strategies, the rapidly evolving biotech landscape, and the personal leadership philosophies that shape success in early-stage company building.

    34 min
  2. 🧬 Innovation & IP Strategy: The Blueprint for Success in Biotech | Eswar Iyer (Part 3/4)

    SEP 8

    🧬 Innovation & IP Strategy: The Blueprint for Success in Biotech | Eswar Iyer (Part 3/4)

    "If you gain so much knowledge in each of your respective fields, you should be pushing something deeper. Yes, it's harder, but isn't that what you really want to do?" In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Eswar Iyer shares his journey from George Church’s groundbreaking lab to launching spatial biology at 10x Genomics and founding Aikium, candidly revealing how mentorship, bold decision-making, and cross-functional teamwork drive innovation and company creation. He explores navigating tough challenges, learning the business side of biotech, and embracing risk to tackle unsolved problems in drug discovery using AI and high-throughput data, delivering an insider’s perspective on both technology evolution and startup disruption in the life sciences sector.

    31 min
  3. 🧬 Breaking Moore's Law: The Multiplexing Revolution | Eswar Iyer (Part 2/4)

    SEP 4

    🧬 Breaking Moore's Law: The Multiplexing Revolution | Eswar Iyer (Part 2/4)

    "If you're not fearful, what is something that you could do? If you're not worried about just publications or things, you could really spend a few years. What could you do?" In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee explores Eswar Iyer’s dynamic journey from an inquisitive graduate student in India to a trailblazing builder at Harvard’s Wyss Institute. Eswar reveals how hands-on problem-solving and a commitment to non-transactional relationships fueled his scientific evolution, leading to transformative roles where serendipity, mentorship, and neurodiversity powered groundbreaking innovation and fostered a vibrant, high-performing lab culture in biotech’s most exciting environments.

    36 min
  4. Cultural Adaptation: A Secret Weapon for Biotech Success | Eswar Iyer (Part 1/4)

    SEP 1

    Cultural Adaptation: A Secret Weapon for Biotech Success | Eswar Iyer (Part 1/4)

    "I was just very naive, and I just wanted to get down and do things. I was not thinking of how to finish my PhD fast; I just wanted to do something that was meaningful." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Eswar Iyer takes us from his curious childhood in India through academic ups and downs at BITS Pilani and George Mason University to co-founding Aikium, a leader in AI-driven synthetic biology. Eswar shares how creative problem-solving, building custom scientific tools, and resourceful learning environments fueled his growth, while supportive mentors and cultural adaptation guided his path. His story reveals how adversity and persistence, combined with a resourceful “startup” mindset, inspire innovation and resilience for biotech founders at every stage.

    38 min
  5. 🧬Reinventing Leather: How SynBio Is Transforming a $100B Industry | Michael Newton (Part 4/4)

    AUG 28

    🧬Reinventing Leather: How SynBio Is Transforming a $100B Industry | Michael Newton (Part 4/4)

    "We're not making a more sustainable leather. Yes, we do that. What we're making is a better leather. It's real leather, but it comes completely uniform in rectangular sheets that you can then work with super efficiently." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Qorium CEO Michael Newton reveals how his mission-driven team is reinventing leather through synthetic biology and tissue engineering, producing uniform, high-quality material. He draws on his Nike experience to discuss the realities of scaling deeptech, overcoming fundraising and market-entry challenges, forging key partnerships, and stresses the value of mentorship and bold early-career risks.

    42 min
  6. 🧬 How We Scaled Nike Innovation from the Shoelace Room | Michael Newton (Part 3/4)

    AUG 25

    🧬 How We Scaled Nike Innovation from the Shoelace Room | Michael Newton (Part 3/4)

    "Hard things are hard. But we gotta go do them, or we gotta go try." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Michael Newton shares his journey from private equity and finance to launching a pay-per-mile auto insurance startup, leading groundbreaking innovation at Nike, and taking on the CEO role at Qorium, a biotech venture in the Netherlands. He reflects on building Nike Innovation, driving sustainable initiatives like Flyknit, and navigating the leap from corporate life to startup challenges—offering sharp insights into scaling big ideas, evolving as a leader, and staying true to mission-driven work across every stage of his career.

    38 min
  7. 🧬Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Fails - How Context Creates Success | Michael Newton (Part 2/4)

    AUG 21

    🧬Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Fails - How Context Creates Success | Michael Newton (Part 2/4)

    "A true superpower is being able to ask for help. Always... It amazes me how responsive people will be to that." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Michael Newton recounts his unconventional journey from Dartmouth to Wall Street, revealing how lessons learned in private equity—and the challenges of being a generalist—ultimately led him to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. He reflects on bold career decisions, the power of mentorship, and the importance of continuous learning, offering listeners an inside perspective on early ambition in New York City and how authentic, context-driven leadership shapes successful teams in biotech and beyond.

    37 min
  8. 🧬The Diamond of Success: 4 Traits Every Leader Needs | Michael Newton (Part 1/4)

    AUG 18

    🧬The Diamond of Success: 4 Traits Every Leader Needs | Michael Newton (Part 1/4)

    "Attitude is by far number one… because you just aren’t gonna achieve anything in life if you don’t bring the right energy." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jon Chee sits down with Michael Newton, CEO of Qorium, to explore the early influences that shaped his perspective on leadership, resilience, and innovation. From growing up in a gritty yet vibrant Chelsea in the 1980s, to helping in his father’s tech-focused publishing business, to finding his academic spark at Saint Ann’s and Dartmouth, Michael reflects on how his upbringing and mentors shaped his belief in the power of attitude as the foundation of success.

    41 min
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4.7
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

The Biotech Startups Podcast by Excedr features weekly conversations with founders, scientists, and investors driving biotech innovation. Host Jon Chee dives into the challenges of building biotech startups, from pre-seed to IPO. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.

Information

  • Creator
    Excedr
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    172
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyrights © 2025 All Rights Reserved by Excedr
  • Show Website
    The Biotech Startups Podcast

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