Learning With Lowell

A.I. , Synthetic Biology, Discovering Protein compounds, LabGenius, and Developing EVA an AI Evolution Engine for Discovering Protein Components. James and I talked about his inspiration, the key points that changed his life, how he developed the company, how to best make use of your team, how to notice and find the right type of investors, and much, much more. James is the CEO and founder of LabGenius where he combines A.I. with synthetic biology in a unique and interesting way. We get into all of this in the podcast. What LabGenius has built “LabGenius has developed EVA – an autonomous AI-driven evolution engine for the discovery of high-value protein components. The company uses its platform technology to develop new products in partnership with world-leading multinationals. LabGenius is based in Central London and run by a passionate team of synthetic biologists, data scientists and engineers. ” Source About James “James completed his EPSRC-funded PhD at Imperial College London where he developed a platform for targeted drug delivery using re-engineered protein nanocages. Prior to his PhD, James completed a BS in Biology with Microbiology (1st Class) and an MRes in Systems and Synthetic Biology (Distinction), at Imperial College London. James is an active member of the synthetic biology community having participated in the iGEM competition both as an undergraduate (2009), advisor (2011) and judge (2016). In 2017, James was awarded the BBSRC Innovator of the Year award for early career impact. In 2018, James was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for Science & Healthcare. James is also a fellow of the prestigious Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program (LEAP). Outside of work, James enjoys time with his daughter, reading science fiction, and drinking loose leaf Earl Grey tea.” Source Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes (only clickable on this website): * [ 02:00 ] How he handles being told no, and how he thinks about achieving his objective. * [ 03:00 ] What made him interested in Synthetic and Protein engineering (i.e. Beauty of the world and complex solutions). * [ 04:00 ] His thoughts on crisper and crisper-like technology, and its limited use. * [ 04:35 ] How IGEM was really critical in his career, and a little bit of his background. * [ 05:30 ] How IGEM changed his trajectory, and where he was going before IGEM. * [ 08:15 ] What about himself was critical to his success. * [ 10:30 ] Describing his startup and the way he thinks about LabGenius, A.I., and Protein engineering. * [ 12:00 ] How people and his team come into the equation with EVA. * [ 12:40 ] The first problem he tried solving with this technology. * [ 14:15 ] Where he gets all of the data to feed his A.I. tech. * [ 14:50 ] A simple analogy on how the system works. * [ 16:50 ] The many industries that he thinks it would be used in very successfully, and the challenges that stop widespread use. * [ 19:10 ] His thoughts on an upper limit of what we can understand, and what part he thinks A.I. will play. He spreads the germ. * [ 22:30 ] Narrow A.I. and general A.I.

Neural Engineering, Brain Computer Interfaces, BCI, Neuroscience, and Artificial Eyes Taking Neurons, combining them with 3D printed materials, and then hooking them into the brain. Dr. Ben Paul and I talk about how he built Neuroloom, how his technology is going to give people back their sight (among other applications), and who he is as a person. This is one of the all-time best conversations I’ve been lucky enough to have on the podcast. His passion and love for what he is doing is evident. This episode is for you: 1) If you want to learn about a new, cutting edge biotech Neuro engineering startup, 2) Want to hear what it takes to build a biotech startup, 3) Get great advice on breaking the mold/box you’ve built yourself into to start living your dream, and 4) If you want to learn about the science. Linkedin Company Profile  Neuroloom Website Neuroloom OPPORTUNITY For conditions such as macular degeneration, which affects 14 million people, it is possible to restore sight by stimulating the retina with an image from a camera. However, not only is the resolution of stimulation very low, but the signal loses fidelity as the 2D stimulating arrays activate multiple cell types, including inhibitory circuits which cancel out parts of the signal. This challenge is not restricted to macular degeneration, but whenever we would like to create an interface between an external sensor and part of the brain. Existing technologies suffer a seemingly inevitable trade-off between the lifetime of the solution (scarring, rejection) and the fidelity of the interface (proximity to nerves). But, if we overcome these challenges, we open up the possibility of sending and receiving information directly to the brain. SOLUTION Neuroloom use living electrodes to interface with the brain. Their approach allows exceptionally high definition transmission of information to the brain with much lower likelihood of rejection and no loss of fidelity from scarring. The team use breakthroughs in photon-scale polymeric 3D printing techniques and insights from developmental neurobiology to create adaptors for the brain. Their first application is in restoring sight.” from Deep Science Ventures website. Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes (only clickable on this website): * [ 02:10 ] *What made him choose Deep Science Ventures, what he got from partnering with them, and how they helped awaken his inner entrepreneur. Also, you will get a sense of his background in this section. * [ 03:30 ] How Deep Science Ventures helped him completely changed his perspective and gave him more lenses to view the world. Quick quote from this section: “Totally different way to view the world”- Ben Paul. * [ 05:10 ] If he has intellectual idols and the issue of meeting your heroes. * [ 06:05 ] Where Neuroloom’s name came from, the goal he is trying to achieve, and how it ties into his ancestors’ entrepreneurial spirit. * [ 07:55 ] Does he have an external versus internal locus of control, and how we view it as a spectrum. * [ 09:00 ] How sometimes we think or need something, and then we start seeing it everywhere. * [ 10:10 ] Why he choose to make Neuroloom over being an accountant and the winding road he took to get to starting it. Three big reasons. * [ 13:00 ] Why he is happy he deviated and went his own way. * [ 14:20 ] What all he needed to bring together and do to create Neuroloom (i.e. validation from people in the field and building a team of advisers.) * [ 17:00 ] **He describes what he has built in a simple, easy to understand way, and how his tech is all about specificity.

Penguin expert, TED speaker, and author of the award-winning book, The Great Penguin Rescue. She lectures internationally about penguins, and is a sought-out expert on radio and TV, including appearances on BBC and CNN. A participant on the inaugural Homeward Bound expedition, she returns to Antarctica next year as a lecturer for Lindblad/National Geographic. A four-times TEDx speaker, Dyan’s inspiring TED talk about saving 40,000 penguins from an oil spill can be viewed on TED.com. She is on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as The Penguin Lady. Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 02:00 ] Why did she decide to give a care about animals, penguins, and nature. * [ 04: 48 ] *What made her decide to go back to school at 30 to live her dreams * [ 06:45 ] *How she managed fears of being behind schedule compared to her peers, and how she has grown to be a Ted talk, international speaker, and amazing author with the specific thing she told herself that made her take the leap. * [ 9:27 ] Henry Ford Quote on those who believe they can and cannot do something are both correct. * [ 9:45 ] She answers whether it was worth it going back to get her degree. * [ 10:48 ] Plastics pollution and it’s affects on penguins and other aquatic animals, and other huge issues facing penguins today. * [ 13:40 ] *How she is inspired by younger generations drive to change the world, and how young people still feel they can make a difference. * [ 16:25 ] How there are some really good things from having social media and how it can help boost change. * [ 18:25 ] *How you can gain the knowledge and identify ways to get involved with conservation. * [ 21:00 ] *Specific places you should check out if you want to specifically help out penguins. * [ 22:10 ] *What she is currently doing that excites her,  a sample of her past work, the creation of her education company., and her first international talk with Nat Geo. * [ 24:15 ] International talks vs local talks and it’s benefit in networking. * [ 25:40 ] *Other great organizations that help out penguins and conservation. * [ 27:30 ] *Where are the beautiful places that she loves and why she loves them. * [ 30:15 ] *The things she tells people at a hypothetical cocktail party. Basically, Penguin Facts! * [ 32:40 ] Hidden old journal of penguin sex/aggression and her thoughts on those topics. * [ 35:43 ] *Hopeful things that you will not hear in the news because it is not gloom and doom. * [ 36:57 ] Thoughts on donating to charities to help out penguins and how great they all are. * [ 38:50 ] Great books and resources to learn more about conversation  and penguins. * [ 40:35 ] How plastic adds up and people doing great work to reduce their plastic waste. * [ 42:15 ] *How to tell if conservation if is something you are passionate about it. Quick experiment she advises you try out. * [ 46:45 ]  What are the next big things she is working on. * [ 48:45 ] Listen to me pitching a special event where people have to dress up as penguins to listen to her speak and how that kind of happened one time. * [ 49:57 ] Great ways to follow along with her on her journey and final thoughts on things we can do to help. Links from the Episode: Penguin Conservation Groups: SANCCOB (seabird rescue center in Cape Town that we worked with during the Treasure oil spill rescue): 

Paths in Science, Preserve the environment, Homeward bound a South Pole Odyssey, and What her goals are for the future just to name a few examples. More about her Heidi Steltzer, Ph.D. Heidi is an environmental scientist, an explorer, and a science communicator, sharing her passion for science with others. She is an Associate Professor at Fort Lewis College, Colorado. She studies how environmental changes affect mountain watersheds and Arctic systems and their link to our well-being. Heidi’s research has been published in Nature and featured in the media, including the New York Times. Find her on social media and Medium.com @heidimountains. Here is her website as well and the Reddit AMA she was apart of. Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes( “*” next to ones I recommend): * [ 02:15] When was the last time she was surprised, Soil Water content in Colorado, Winter Drought, and how her student’s proved one of her assumptions incorrect. * [ 07:15 ] The two different ways to determine soil water amount. * [ 08:35 ] What’s the fun science name for the better way to determine soil water content. * [ 09:45 ] *What is her purpose, how finding your purpose helps you make choices, and how she loves traveling. * [ 13:15 ] *Her thoughts on how being alone in nature can help her reflect and become more self aware to become more courageous and doing what she loves. * [ 15:35 ] What she did after getting her PhD at 21/22 years old. * [ 17:10 ] *She asks what I care about and tells me a story about science to get us more excited about the sciences. A story involving Lichen, Tundra fires, The Lichens of Alaska. * [ 22:00 ] What we can do to impacting climate change. * [ 26:48 ] Making a lichen garden and how great /s Heidi is at growing things. * [ 28:00 ] How things that taste good, in her opinion, tend to end up being good for us with an example of her and her allergies. * [ 29:30 ] Reddit AMA, Homeward bound, and large marine sanctuaries * [ 32:20 ] The world as a small snow globe, which we can influence. * [ 34:00 ] *What she is currently working on, excited about, and the biggest experiment she has run yet. * [ 36:50 ] The American Geophysical Union and her new role with them as a Voice for Science. * [ 38:22 ] What she was doing when I was born. * [ 38:50 ] *How you can get involved in research and conservation with/without a PhD, and how she is working on creating animations of the research as it is being conducted. * [ 42:15 ] *How time lapse cameras pointed at plants can show how our plants dance very slowly throughout are day. * [ 43:55 ] How she loves to take notes, how she got into science, and how she broke out of the box she built for herself. * [ 47:17 ] *Where does she go to get the hopeful news about the world over the doom and gloom of the traditional news cycle. * [ 49:38 ] *Key scientists she recommends we check out. * [ 50:00 ] Her full name and how it sort of hinted at her being a mountain expert her entire life. * [ 51:23 ] Recommended books and how she doesn’t require textbooks in her classes. * [ 53:55 ] *Female Einstein type people and books. * [ 55:14 ]  How scientists care and they’re people too.

Aquarium of the Pacific Education Coordinator at , and he takes people out on trips to see the whales as they swim around in the Pacific. They get to see a lot of different marine life while on these trips. In this talk, we get into where he is from, how he found his love for whales, things you can do to help marine life, and a great sense of who he is as a person. This is a great talk, and by the end, everyone can stop saying “Oh-whale” whenever there is a problem, and start being involved with the solutions! Editorial note: The name of the scientist doing work from SDSU on whale acoustics (about 8min 45sec mark and 9:15min mark), is Dr. Ted Cranford. James accidentally spoke the wrong name. Hyperlinked Show Notes (Top 10 have “*” Next to the Timestamps): [ 2:30 ] *Thoughts on whales and the Pacific White Sided Dolphin. [ 5:30 ] Thoughts on naming marine life after himself. [ 6:30 ] *Blue whale quick fact and whale hot spots, such as Point Conceptions and Monterey Bay. [ 9:00 ] *Fun whale facts, such as the age of a whale. [ 15:00 ] How smart whales are. [ 19:00 ] How long whales and dolphins live to be. [ 21:50 ] How he knew marine life was the life for him. [ 24:30 ] People who are excited or not excited about whales when he does a Whale Watch tour. [ 27:30 ] Where he would go if he moved on from whale tours. [ 30:00 ] *How whale populations are trending. [ 32:55 ] *How whale behaviors have changed. [ 34:00 ] Whale gestation period. [ 35:30 ] Transition into conservation practices. [ 40:45 ] *Rules of thumb on things to do, such as seafood. [ 44:30 ] *What happens when whales die (Whale Fall). [ 47:00 ] *Great conservation stories. [ 48:50 ] *LA green port initiatives. [ 51:45 ] Where to go to learn more about how to be a conservationist.   [ 56:00 ] What he wishes people would be more active in. [ 1:00:00 ] *How not to say “OH-Whale” and do something instead. [ 1:04:00 ] Where you can learn more, his blog and AOP website.

Saliva to detect disease,  A Startup, Daeki, and Founder, Amanda work to create innovated technology to make self monitoring and detecting as easy as figuring out if your pregnant.  In this episode, we get into how she moved from Chile to the UK to start this company while getting her undergraduate degree, the things she has learned, why she has built the company, and how big of a nerd she is about anime (the name of the company is a big giveaway). Also, she was a part of RebelBio Cohort V, which is what brought her to the UK. Diabetes Saliva Disease Self Monitoring and Screening by Biotech Startup, Daeki, and Talk about Startup life and Development with Founder and CEO Amanda   Amanda, CEO – From Freshman Courses in Chili, to Moving to the UK, to Joining RebelBio, and Founding Daeki Here is her website: www.daekitech.com   Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 2:10 ] *What her background is, and how she got started much earlier than most people. Still in undergrad! * [ 2:45 ] How she at first did not want to be an entrepreneur, where the idea behind the startup came from, and how she slowly navigated her way into creating this great startup. * [ 6:10 ] *How they ended up in London, how the first product they made involved saliva, and how she got into Rebelbio. She has traveled quite a lot. * [ 9:15 ] How Europe compares to other places, and how she loves traveling throughout Europe. * [ 10:22 ] *How she learned to pitch, and what she has been doing to gain XP to level up her skills. * [ 11:25 ] *Strategies to help people who are going to pitch to others, and how a friend of hers kept acting like Barney from HIMYM. * [ 12:30 ] *The balance between people who are open to talking vs not talking with her. * [ 13:10 ] Thoughts on mentors. * [ 14:00 ] Suggestions that advisers have given her, such as confidence. * [ 15:05 ] *How does the science work with her product and some learning hurtles she has gone through to find something that works. * [ 17:30 ] *Something she used to never think about, but now thinks about a lot so she can troubleshoot problems before they come up. Quick example of how they lost materials one time, and how they adapted to ensure that doesn’t ever happen again. * [ 20:45 ] *What she is going to do after successfully pitching to investors, and her plans to get things churning out by late 2018. * [ 21:20 ] How to spell her startup and why she picked a Japanese name for the company. * [ 22:10 ] Her “guilty pleasures” and what she does on Friday nights, which sounds like fun to me! * [ 23:00 ] Our mutual love of One piece the Manga and we talk about it a little bit. * [ 26:40 ] Other anime that she loves and her anime recommendations. * [ 29:00 ] *How effective her saliva technology is at monitoring A1C levels, and over the next 3 months she will have much better data. * [ 30:15 ] *Advice for people who want to start a biotech company. * [ 31:30 ] How she finds grants, and her history with getting funding through grants, and her thoughts on the process. * [ 32:30 ] Her recommendations on setting yourself up for success, like finding people who know things you don’t so you both can grow. * [ 34:20 ] *Best ways to keep up to date with her and her company. * [ 35:15 ] The literal meaning of Daeki. * [ 36:25 ] *Don’t let age stop you. She started at 19!

Polar Bears Unmasked with facts and stories from the cold north. These two lovers of polar bears have dedicated their lives to understanding them and we are lucky enough to sit down with them to learn what they have learned, hear what they’ve seen, and downloads some of their wisdom. Brief Background About Each of the Guests: BJ Kirschhoffer Director of Field Operations “BJ began working with PBI’s remote broadcasting needs in Churchill in the fall of 2007 and quickly proved himself an invaluable member of the team, able to trouble-shoot technical problems in extreme conditions with no corner hardware store. He now ensures the smooth working of our field operations, from our Maternal Den Studies in Svalbard and Alaska to our Tundra Connections Webcasts, which link scientists in the field with people around the world. BJ also works to test and refine new technology that aids in polar bear research and contributes to cutting-edge fieldwork. He also oversees our Polar Bear Cam with explore.org, as well as the Beluga and Northern Lights Cams. BJ has a degree in wildlife photography from Montana State University. ” As seen on Polar Bear International.  Alysa McCall Director of Conservation Outreach and Staff Scientist  “Alysa is the director of conservation outreach and a staff scientist at Polar Bears International. She has a B.Sc. (Hon.) in Animal Biology from Thompson Rivers University and an M.Sc. in Ecology from the University of Alberta where her thesis focused on the polar bears of western Hudson Bay. She gained hands-on experience with polar bears from multiple fall and spring field seasons in Tuktoyaktuk and Churchill, and has been heavily involved in the collaring and tracking of Hudson Bay polar bears. Before joining our staff, Alysa volunteered in multiple capacities, including being a panelist on the Tundra Connections program, blogging, and assisting with the Polar Bear Tracker. She is passionate about science education and polar bear conservation, and is dedicated to ensuring that future generations inherit a healthy planet.” As seen on Polar Bear International. Brief synopsis of the episode: BJ and Alysa talk about what they do, how they worked themselves into their positions (career progression), ways we all can be helpful to polar bears and climate change in general, amazing polar bear facts, fat popsicles (this is a funny one), and what interests them the most about what they do. Links Mentioned in the Episode: Website: Polar Bear International.  How to get involved at Polar Bear International.  Twitter, Instagram, Facebook , Google Plus, and where to check out the live streams (Explore.org). Timestamped Show Notes (I have to say, BJ has a really great voice. Also, my top 10 favorite sections have ** next to the timestamps): * [ 03:15 ] **What originally got them interested in polar bear science and proactive conservation? * [ 06:00 ] Thoughts on danger and how they prepare for the north. * [ 08:15 ] **Their thoughts on the movie The Thing,

Company, what they did to get started, the success and hurtles they have had, what they hope to accomplish, some of the science behind everything, and last of all, the things they are nerds about. Overall they are decent scientists. Who they are and what they are working to fix: “Erica Barnell (MD/PhD Candidate, Washington University School of Medicine) and Andrew Barnell (MBA, The Wharton School) are siblings that co-founded Geneoscopy, a startup focused on developing diagnostic tools to prevent, detect, and treat digestive diseases. Geneoscopy was founded on the belief that a noninvasive diagnostic test using human RNA biomarkers in stool samples would provide a screening alternative that could improve colorectal cancer screening compliance, facilitate early-stage detection of colorectal cancer neoplasms, and reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the 2nd deadliest cancer in the United States and the 4th deadliest cancer worldwide. However, no methodology existed to reliably isolate and preserve human RNA from stool. Over the past two and a half years, Geneoscopy has developed a nucleic acid extraction method that amplifies the human signals and degrades bacterial noise in stool. This allows for sensitive extraction of human RNA that can be used as biomarkers to noninvasively evaluate gastrointestinal health. Geneoscopy has filed three provisional patents and one utility patent to protect this technology and has leveraged it to develop a multi-target RNA biomarker panel for the detection of precancerous lesions and colorectal cancer. Geneoscopy has executed two clinical trials and tested over 340 patients, and the results of these studies have demonstrated our test’s differentiated accuracy profile, particularly for the identification of advanced adenomas (95% sensitivity). Geneoscopy is currently enrolling patients in a 1,000-patient trial to complete the development of this colorectal cancer diagnostic test, and has formed partnerships with two academic medical centers to leverage its extraction platform to develop diagnostic tests for other digestive diseases.” Taken from their post on Medium. Brief synopsis of the episode: In this episode, we get into how they came up with their company, what they did to get started, the success and hurtles they have had, what they hope to accomplish, some of the science behind everything, and last of all, the things they are nerds about. Hyperlinked Show Notes Timestamps: My top 10 Favorite sections have “**” next to the time stamps. [ 02:00 ] ** Erica’s background as an MD/Phd doing rotations, and how she first got passionate about colon cancer. [ 3:45 ] A talk over dinner: how the interest became a startup business. [ 4:30 ] What caught Andrew’s eye about the healthcare space and the benefit of Geneoscopy. [ 5:30 ] What made this idea come to the forefront over the dozens of other business ideas they thought of. [ 7:30 ] With Andrew with an MBA and Erica with a MD/PhD – what is with their family and being overachievers?  [ 8:30 ] Does it take an advanced background to identify a problem? [ 9:30 ] **Following up with the last timestamp, what makes the best entrepreneurs? [ 11:15 ] What are things that surprise them about each other that makes them proud? [ 12:55 ] **Andrew compliments Erica.

Today we are joined with Dominic Falcao, a founder of Deep Science Ventures which is an early stage venture builder where they bring together the business and science aspects to help form amazing teams with the ability to impact all of our lives. It is a relatively new venture. It’s fun in that it’s under two years old, but there is a lot of knowledge and wisdom that Dom shares about venture capitalism, about life, how to de-risk situations, how to preempt issues, and how to hustle to get what you want. Also, how to set up tranches to benefit you if you ever seek money from a VC, book recommendations, and much, much more. I think everyone is going to get something from this episode. Additionally, if you have an interest in starting a biotech company, then definitely reach out to Dom and his team at Deep Science Ventures. There are very few places of the world that they cannot sponsor a visa from in order to have you head to the UK or work to set things up remotely. Here are the timestamps that I promised! I’ve marked a few of them with ** to bring special attention to those sections. [ 3:00 ] ** Dom’s story of how and why he founded Deep Science Ventures with Mark Hammond. [ 4:00 ] Who Dom wants to help/encourage with DSV. [ 7:00 ] What some venture capitals do with excess capital, and how Dom/Mark have their fund set up. [ 9:00 ] **What the first year and a half has been like at DSV (developments, difference models, thoughts, and hurdles). [ 10:30 ] How they burnt their ships, forced themselves to work harder, and secured the necessary funding to start DSV. [ 12:15] Comparing what they did to Agamemnon conquering Troy by burning his soldiers ships to force them to fight harder. [ 14:00 ] Fun fact: Trojans eventually becoming Romans and recommended Roman books. [ 15:08 ] Mark Hammond’s role in the fund and the key things he brings to the table. [ 17:45 ] What Dom is currently pushing himself to be great at. [ 18:55 ] **How Dom creates decks for his fund when he pitches, what he spends 50% of his deck on when he presents, thoughts on biotech as an investment class, why biotech is perceived as risky and how it’s changing, and more. [ 26:45 ]The books that have had a huge impact on the way Dom thinks. [ 29:00 ] **Tranches Explained! Everything you ever wanted to know about how to think about Tranches and how to use tranches strategically to take the wind out of arguments. [ 35:55 ] How do/did he find candidates and how he decides on key characteristics for success. [ 41:55 ] An example of key characteristics he looks for.  [ 45:30 ] Find inflection people that others are not seeing and an absurd story about Oppenheimer. [ 48:20 ] **Great people who are overlooked and why this is one of Dom’s focus points for what he works on. [ 56:00 ] Advice on learning more, positioning yourself to make a difference, and de-risking your dream/goal. [ 59:30 ] Lean startup as a repackaged scientific method. [ 1:01:00 ] **Recommended books fallacies & Biases, and a few gems Dom has found that he enjoys. (We may write a good book together. Message and tweet Dom/myself, if that interests you. @lowellwashere and @DominicFalcao) [ 1:05:00 ] Where you can go to learn more and how to get into their program, such as website (relaunch with more content soon),  @DominicFalcao,  

Adora was very generous in making time in her busy life to talk with me, and I want to make sure all of you tune in to hear our discussion. She is a very interesting person with a story that shows that it’s not always easy to find your way, but if you persist and you work really hard, you can get a chance at making it. During the recording, we went over the time limit two times because of how much fun we were having. I want that to be something that everyone takes from these episodes. Namely, that 99% of the people you meet are similar to you in one way or another who are waiting to laugh and have impassioned discussions. I love to hear people laugh and talk about what they are interested in. In this talk, we get all of that, plus we get into the Ybio program, how people interact with her, the things she has learned traveling the world, the dark ages of her former company Homejoy, and a little bit of everything. Stay tuned for my the Top 10 Things I learned from this episode. I will be putting out top 5-10 things from each of my episodes from now on, and going back to do the same to the past episodes as well! Y Combinator website The Top 21 Topics and Where to Find Them! Go to show notes or to the website to click the timestamps to go to their position in the podcast. * [ 4:30 ] How to write a great email that gets a person’s attention. * [ 6:30 ] The key things she thinks about in regards to success. * [ 7:00 ] About her day, how Y Combinator works, and working with the companies. * [ 8:25 ] What startups are actually like on the inside vs how they are perceived on the outside. * [ 9:30 ] Learning about her outreach and recruiting tours. * [ 11:00 ] Changes in Startup funding: From having to know investors to just applying to YC. * [ 12:30 ] 30% of applicants from the last batch is international and the thoughts on that. * [ 15:30 ] How she is currently researching molecular biology (suggestions welcome). * [ 16:30 ] What YC and Ybio are looking for and thinking about.  * [ 19:00 ] Brick and Mortar, and why it one of the big things that is interesting her. * [ 24:30 ] New technology with Alexa-type technology to detect when people are in trouble, trying to find their keys, exercise, and more.  * [ 27:00 ] Microbiology type books and love of textbooks.  * [ 32:00 ] Blockchain explained and its benefits, such as to countries with poor buying power with their local currency. * [ 37:45 ] What you should do if you don’t have an idea for a company, but want to be involved with startups. * [ 39:00 ] How Yc internal is setup vs other firms. * [ 43:00 ] The things she pays attention to in order to determine if it a company and team will be successful. * [ 47:30 ] Don’t work with jackasses or be very selective. * [ 48:30] A Mark Twain quote she loves. * [ 49:00] The new Y bio program and the differences between their normal procedure of investment. * [ 53:30 ] Biotech RIO. * [ 57:55 ] If she’s found a mini-me yet and how she thinks about mentorship.

Meesha and Robert talk about their companies, what it takes to be a good CEO, what they are working on, and the advances in research technology. There is a lot here to love and to enjoy, and this is one of the few in-person interviews that I’ve done. The audio quality is a little difficult because of that, but there is a lot of great content in here to make up for it!

He has a genomics PhD, developed bioinformatics tools, genetic tests, and has built science-related companies since 2012. Since starting, he has become a director at a genomics company and founded his own company, DNA Geeks. In this episode, we cover personalized healthcare based on genomics, inbreeding, y chromosome breaking off, is the y chromosome only being affected in humans (we couldn’t figure it out), his website and career trajectory, and other fascinating genomic topics!   Check out his website at DNAgeeks.com

See hyperlinked show notes at the bottom! Leo is the founder of Neural Analytics, a company that is building technology that lets physicians and techs get past the skull and to the brain without any surgery.  This allows them to see traumatic brain damage, stroke, or any number of things without being too invasive. This is a life saver, and I cannot wait to see Leo develop his company in the coming years. In this episode, we go into the technology, into Leo’s story and his company’s story, and get extremely detailed into the process of starting a biotech company. Anyone even remotely interested in biotech companies should check this episode out since we do a great job at demystifying the process and having fun while doing it. Here is his company website if you are excited to learn more: website. Here are some other articles covering Leo and his technology: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/dod-awards-neural-analytics-10m-to-develop-brain-injury-device https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180108005449/en/Neural-Analytics-Raises-15-Million-Series-Financing https://www.massdevice.com/neural-analytics-launches-study-of-transcranial-doppler-for-evaluating-mild-tbi/ https://www.massdevice.com/neural-analytics-touts-95-accuracy-tcd-platform-expedite-trial/  Timestamped Hyperlinks (“**” Next to My Top 10): [ 01:00 ] **How his technology can permeate our skulls to get accurate images when bones normally cause ultrasounds to bounce off. [ 03:00 ] The different areas of the skull you can get through with ultrasound. [ 04:00 ] How the ultrasound works by analogy. [ 05:00 ] How their device works in the field, how much training, and the huge impact it is going to make. [ 08:45 ] **Military contract, and how this tool is similar to a CT scanner in ability to diagnose a brain injury or TBI. [ 10:45 ] How his technology helps out stroke victims and what we can expect to change. [ 12:20 ] “Doing good by doing well” mantra explained. [ 14:00 ] **Three things he looks for in a successful entrepreneur and why he values PhD scientists/engineers in an early stage startup. [ 17:50 ] How he picks his staff, things he thinks about, questions he asks. [ 20:30 ] **How he built the work culture at his startup and his book recommendations on how to build a great work culture.

In Canada, their product is now one of the Best Sellers in its category on Amazon. They were also featured in Dragons’ Den (Canada’s Shark Tank) a few months ago. In this episode, we get into Altair’s backstory, how he developed his company to help people like himself, and the interesting things he is working on now in order to turn his company from just him to a large enterprise. This is a fun discussion.   Here is his website. Here is the Dragon’s Den episode.    This is an experimental episode along with episode 016. Basically, I’m trying to figure out how people respond to um’s and ah’s. This one had about 30% of them removed, while 016 with Leo had about 90-100% of them removed. IF everyone likes them removed, I will set Leo’s episode as the new standard.

Bertrand Janin is the CTO at Truveris, where he has helped build their team from just himself to over 80 people.  He was originally inspired to get into programming from his love of games, and slowly built up his skills in coding and managing to the point where he is now a successful CTO. He hopes to one day hike the Appalachian Mountains and believes he is immortal, and since I cannot disprove the latter without going to jail, we will have to take him at his word on that! We have a fun conversation that I’m sure you all are going to love! Let me know your thoughts. Truveris is a company that helps people save money and time with their Prescription drugs. People have talked to them about how they have saved enough to pay rent. For anyone lucky enough to not have to deal with prescriptions, that’s a big deal. They can get expensive fast! Check them out here: Truveris  See the many current job openings with Truveris by clicking here. Bonus points: He has a really enjoyable French accent, which is really fun to listen to. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "4403253", formId: "6d5cc486-a2f5-4c09-9e96-2918a3f9ef62" });