Earlier this week I returned from the Nucleate Alumni 2024 Summit. I had high expectations, but the event did not disappoint and managed to meet them. Never have I ever been to an event where networking with a diverse group of prospective founders, investors and industry professionals was so seamless. I can’t wait to see the innovation and collaboration that these connections will spark and want to send out a huge thank you to the fellow members of Nucleate leadership, speakers and sponsors <3.

The event was packed with panel discussions, interviews, pitches and fireside chats. Below I summarize my favorite insights across five key areas:

Career Planning
Company Culture
Partnerships and Dealmaking
Leadership
Startup Strategy

Let’s dive right in.

Insights on Career Planning

Ask for mentoring in career transitions

Initiating mentorship relationships can be anxiety-provoking, certainly if you are already more on the introverted side. But, judging from experiences within my network, it is very clear that those who do ask for mentorship achieve far better career outcomes. Career transitions are a natural way to go out and approach people who are in positions and industries you hope to break into. It also gives you a clear ask: “Would you be available to meet me for 30 minutes to share advice that could help me transition to the X industry, and land the Y or Z roles?” setting a clear agenda for your meeting and increasing chances for positive response.

Credits: @Christalyn Rhoades and @Michelle Briggs

When networking, first connect on a human level

People you would like to reach out to (including mentors) have one thing in common – their agendas are packed. Of course, you are reaching out to them for a reason – they are successful and recognized in their fields. A good intention, respecting their time, can make you feel pressured to make your ask as quickly as possible. Surprisingly, this tends to be counterproductive. Be succinct, but don’t do this at the expense of sharing where you are coming from, and highlighting why you are reaching to them. You don’t have to know everything, and being vulnerable about your unknowns will likely strengthen the relationship.

Credits: @Madelyn Heart

Don’t shy away from short-term opportunities or non-conventional career moves

It may seem that great careers must be carefully forethought and emerge only from a sequence of upward steps. Some certainly do, but many don’t. As you are thinking about your next career move, don’t over-index on security. If there is a short-term opportunity (ballpark 6-12 months) that you are excited about, don’t discard it, even if it seems risky or is in an area different from your existing expertise. It is likely to open doors to opportunities you could not access otherwise, and will help you build unique career capital.

Credits: @Alex Titus

Insights on Company Culture

Build culture from the day one

Building culture is not easy, but it is way easier than changing it. Prioritize the culture you want to build from the get go. Hire slow, and, if necessary, fire fast. To increase diversity, make sure that you have a diverse hiring panel, and look beyond the CV. Not all jobs require a degree and you are better off hiring for attitude and training for aptitude than the other way around.

Credits: @Arun Skaria, @Cameron Pye and @Madelyn Heart

Every day is an opportunity to demonstrate good culture

Building company culture does not stop with hiring great employees. To prevent it from deteriorating by neglect in the messiness of ups and downs of your business, find ways to demonstrate it every day. Social media can be good for that, but think also about your relationships with suppliers, and your daily interactions with employees. Treat these as everyday opportunities to reinforce the culture you want to build.

Credits: @Jon Chee, @Arun Skaria

Praise in public, give feedback in private

This is a helpful reminder and the title says it all. Feedback is the breakfast of champions, and if you care about the satisfaction and development of your team, you absolutely should give both, positive as well as critical feedback. However, save the latter for one-on-one interactions, where there is space for more context and discussion.

Credits: @Jon Chee

Insights on Partnerships and Dealmaking

Partner and make deals only with people whom you really trust

As a founder, you are inherently in a risky environment and will not be able to predict the outcome of many actions you take. Sometimes the results will be great, and sometimes less so. When you encounter these uncertainties it is helpful to know that the people whom you have entered into agreements with have your best interest in mind. Pick partners and investors who will be your champions in thick and thin.

Credits: @Marie Noe and @Josh Felts

Be transparent about risks and unknowns

When courting partners and investors, you may be tempted to show only the best case scenario, or to discount the size of risk and uncertainties you are inevitably facing. Doing so will hurt you, if not now, certainly later. Be transparent about risks, and use interactions with partners to polish your de-risking strategy.

Credits: @Nicholas Hertz and @Christalyn Rhoades

Keep building new relationships, as well as managing the old ones

Once you have secured a partner or investor, you should pat yourself on the back, and then get back to work. Good relationships require good communication and it is your responsibility to keep stakeholders engaged and informed. Additionally, no matter how good, no partner is granted to stick with you forever. Especially corporate VCs, while generally very friendly and helpful with feedback, may walk away easily if their strategy changes.

Credits: @Deepa Talpade and @Nicholas Hertz

Insights on Leadership

Embrace emotional intelligence

As a scientist, you are likely to have the IQ you need to be successful. But to become a good leader, you will have to lean more into your ‘softer’ side and work on developing your emotional intelligence. Proving you are right serves little purpose aside from ego inflation if it alienates others.

Credits: @Jon Chee, @Arun Skaria

Craft steel-strong narratives and build teams around it

As a leader, your most important goal is to articulate a bullet-proof narrative you whole-heartedly believe in, in a form that is easily digestible and motivates others. If you don’t have that, you cannot lead effectively and have to go back to the (proverbial) whiteboard. Only once you have it, should you go ahead to building rockstar teams and communities, and rising funds to do so. The most groundbreaking narratives are at the very end of what seems technically plausible.

Credits: @Rick Klausner

Insights on Startup Strategy

Startup should be 20% innovation, and 80% strategy

Scientific founders will often see startups as an opportunity to continue pursuing their favorite research project. While understandable, this should not be the case. The technological innovation should have happened prior to founding, and work ahead should be primarily focused on turning this innovation into a successful commercial opportunity. This involves identifying go-to-market strategy, and establishing partnerships necessary to effectively pursue it.

Credits: @Mariola Szenk and @Sofia Guerra

Measure speed and capital efficiency

What gets measured gets managed. You should always be on the lookout for what you can measure in your startup. Many of the things you decide to measure will be product, field or company specific, but some are generalizable. Measure your speed (how quickly you reach milestones), and capital efficiency (how much it costs you) as soon as possible. Investors care.

Credits: @Vasudev Bailey, @Vineeta Agarwala

When, and when not, to bootstrap

Bootstrapping refers to building your business while not taking in dilutive funding. Whether to bootstrap or not is a choice that requires evaluation of the market and your personal fit. Bootstrapping is appealing because it allows founders to keep a high stake in their companies and offers unique opportunities for independence and agency. One advantage of bootstrapping is that it is likely to make you very capital efficient. To be able to bootstrap, you should have carried market analysis and identified a clear customer profile for your product. If you are bootstrapping, you should also incentivize your employees with a profit sharing scheme.

In many cases in biotech, bootstrapping will not be the optimal choice. You should not bootstrap if you are in a competitive environment where other firms have a lot of cash on hand, or if bootstrapping would require you to pursue assets that will distract you from your core mission. Bootstrapping can lead to lower valuations, as the valuation will be tied to sales of your non-core assets, and not a potential of your crown-jewel. Additionally, bootstrapping can make you spending-averse, which can delay the time you decide to outsource, or purchase the right tools, and negatively impact productivity (i.e. your speed).

Credits: @Jon Chee and @Cameron Pye

A simple blueprint for building in biotech

All plans will be reductionist, but some may be helpful. Here is one that seems about right:

Generate IP (most commonly in academia)
Identify killer experiments
Get funding to do the experiments (preferably non-dilutive)
Do the experiments
If results are positive, raise more money, otherwise restart

Alternatively, plan back from milestones:

Series B: Efficacy in the clinic
Series A: Identification of development candidates
Seed: Figure out your pipeline

Credits: @Mariola Szenk and @Ben Portney

These were just fifteen of my favorite insights. I tried to attribute them correctly but my notes are not perfect, and my memory is far from that too. Please correct me if necessary! Did you attend the event and caught an insight I missed? Did you find one of these fifteen particularly helpful? Let me know in the comments.