Running Through Walls

Venrock partner Brian Ascher speaks with Nicole Alvino, co-founder and CEO of Firstup, about effective workforce communication both digitally and in person. Alvino highlights fostering employee connection through authentic and transparent communication, using the power of video to drive engagement, and discusses expectations for corporate social responsibility. Plus, Alvino reveals a non-obvious lesson learned – employees want to hear from their peers (not just their leaders).

Company success is predicated on the people, according to Daversa Partners founder and CEO, Paul Daversa. Venrock partner Bryan Roberts chats with Daversa about the nuances of recruiting impactful senior-level leadership candidates who are a fit for the needs of the company. They cover hiring high will over high skill, understanding that candidates are stage sensitive and ways to avoid terminal hires. Daversa also discusses the intentionality of Dreamscape, the challenges, and the impact they’ve made thus far.

Venrock partner Andrew Gottesdiener speaks with Jigar Raythatha, former CEO of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, about lessons learned from his time at Constellation. As Constellation has evolved from an early-stage company to being acquired by MorphoSys, Raythatha dives into its many life-cycles, his heavy involvement in the recruitment process, and the decision to conduct a PIPE financing. Raythatha also shares the characteristics to look for in an investor syndicate and the challenges of scaling a public company.

Venrock partner Racquel Bracken speaks with Markus Renschler, President and CEO of Cyteir Therapeutics, to discuss the journey that led him to Cyteir, and the company’s path to going public. Renschler dives into an important lesson his parents instilled in him from a young age, “be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” and explains how this lesson has played an important role in his career journey. As a practicing hematologist oncologist, Renschler highlights the value of people skills and how developing those skills can positively influence leadership style, recruiting, and even fundraising. Renschler shares some of his highs and lows along the drug development process, provides advice for young clinicians entering the industry, and how his experience as a practicing physician influences the decisions he makes as a CEO.  

With rising reports of Omicron in the United States, Venrock partner Bryan Roberts speaks with Dr. Charity Dean, CEO and co-founder of Public Health Company (PHC), to discuss her predictions and concerns for the latest Covid-19 variant. Dean and Roberts also talk about the long-term societal impacts of Covid, the severity of disease, and which groups are best protected. As Covid-19 revealed the cracks in the U.S. public health system, Dean shares how she anticipates public infrastructure to evolve, including more public and private sector partnerships. Dean delves into what led her to become a public health officer, the most exciting part of her first year as CEO at PHC, and her thoughts on her starring role in Michael Lewis’s book The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. 

Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of the books ‘The Passion Paradox’ and ‘Peak Performance,’ joins Venrock partner Bob Kocher to discuss his newest book, ‘The Practice of Groundedness.’ Stulberg offers a healthier, more sustainable model for success and dives into what groundedness means to him – a sense of feeling solid, stable, and whole; in a way that doesn’t eliminate ambition. Stulberg highlights the value of being present and how his views on well-being and performance have evolved. Kocher and Stulberg also discuss the importance of active reading, how grit only works if you have the right fit, and how wisdom impacts peak performance in different disciplines. 

Venrock partner Bob Kocher speaks with Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, Professor and Dean at Brown University School of Public Health, about the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and knowledge translation in tackling big public health problems. Dr. Jha delves into the journey that led him to become Dean at Brown University and his thoughts on academia’s role in sharing information with the public. Dr. Jha and Kocher discuss the challenges of allocating vaccines and investing more in public health and pandemic preparedness. Dr. Jha also shares his thoughts on how Covid-19 will evolve, what will happen when schools open up in the fall, and the negative impact of fragmented information.

Not knowing where items are located, what’s in stock, or if they are properly priced cost the global retail industry more than a trillion dollars. Venrock partner David Pakman speaks with Brad Bogolea, co-founder and CEO of Simbe Robotics, about how Simbe’s robot Tally is solving these major blind spots. Bogolea delves into how robotic solutions can keep up with rapid changes without overhauling infrastructure and provide greater optical data than traditional solutions. Bogolea discusses the competitive and consumer pressures prompting retailers to embrace robotic solutions and how the pandemic exposed the need for autonomy and better data. Bogolea also touches on the challenges of financing in the robotics sector, and how being customer-oriented is key to Simbe’s success. 

Vlad Coric, M.D., CEO of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, joins Venrock partner Nimish Shah to speak about the significance of innovation and creativity across all aspects of a business. Coric dives into the challenges of launching Biohaven’s drug, Nurtec ODT, during the pandemic and why he believed it was their moral duty to continue the drug supply chain, despite the lockdown. Still seeing patients today, Coric discusses how his patient-centric approach positively guided him as a drug developer. Coric touches on Biohaven’s collaboration with Khloe Kardashian for Nurtec’s launch and his excitement for the digital transformation occurring in biotech. Coric also advises other biotech CEOs raising a cross-over round or going public to be selective with the investors they invite in, as they become an extension of the team.

Venrock partner Nick Beim speaks with Jason Wenk, founder and CEO of Altruist, about his mission to increase the accessibility of great financial advice. Wenk walks through his early entrepreneurial endeavors and explains how they’ve contributed to the creation of Altruist. As his leadership style has evolved over the years, Wenk shares the biggest lesson he’s learned while building Altruist and how he’s embraced the fact that it’s okay to not know everything.

Cyrus Harmon, co-founder and CTO of Olema Oncology, joins Venrock partner Alex Rosen to discuss the history of Olema. Olema had a successful IPO last year and Harmon sheds light on what biotech companies should look for when selecting banks for an IPO and how to build momentum for financing rounds.  He also dives into the factors that led to the founding of Olema and how the company evolved to develop their OP-1250 drug, used for the treatment of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Harmon shares the biggest challenges he encountered, things he would have done differently, and the importance of perseverance as a leader. Harmon also touches on the biotech trends he’s most excited about, including mRNA vaccines, gene therapy, and AI in computational drug discovery. 

Venrock partner Camille Samuels speaks with Angie You, CEO of Amunix, and Rich Heyman, Chairman of the Board, about the dynamics between a CEO and a Chairperson that foster a successful company. You and Heyman dive into the importance of mutual trust and respect between a CEO and the Board, and You shares her passion for people that makes her such a great talent hunter. You shares her experience as an Asian female CEO that has busted through multiple ceilings, and how her supportive friends and network help to make the CEO’s role less lonely. They also discuss how they’ve built an incredibly diverse management team at Amunix and why diversity of thought is so important.

Eric Brown, CEO of Dynamic Signal, joins Venrock partner Brian Ascher to speak about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Brown believes you can’t have great culture without putting inclusion first, which is why it was the first thing on his agenda as he stepped into his role as CEO of Dynamic Signal last year. Brown discusses some of the company’s initiatives, including the Mentorship and Access program, and shares how these programs have been received so far. Brown also shares the challenges of balancing family and work and how he had to purposefully make space for each of them to exist in harmony.

Venrock Partner Mike Tyrrell speaks with Jason Purcell, co-founder and CEO of Salsify to discuss his career and how Endeca’s $1B exit lead to the creation of Salsify. Purcell explains how we are in the midst of a “masses of markets” world, and delves into how commerce experience management platforms like Salsify are helping brands navigate a space where consumers engage with products on a broad variety of channels and win on the digital shelf. Purcell shares the toughest part of his journey at Salsify and what the company sees as its “North Star”. They also discuss the importance of repeated clear communication in leadership strategy, particularly when a company grows past the startup stage.  

Dataminr uses AI to detect when major events are happening, long before the first news reports emerge. How is this possible? Venrock’s Nick Beim chats with Dataminr’s co-founder and CEO Ted Bailey to discuss how the rise of real-time data platforms and misinformation around the 9/11 attacks helped spark the idea for the company. He shares how Dataminr helps clients mitigate and respond to potential crises more effectively, including the ongoing pandemic. They also discuss how the Dataminr workforce is responding to all-remote work and how Bailey has grown as a leader since founding the company in 2009. 

Emily Drabant Conley, CEO of Federation Bio, joins Venrock partner Racquel Bracken to chat about lessons learned from her time at 23andMe and how Federation Bio is disrupting the microbiome space. Conley discusses key takeaways from her experience in handling moments of crisis, including the importance of transparency and staying consistent with your company’s mission. As a female CEO, Conley shares what traits of 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki she tries to emulate and discusses how setting aggressive goals has helped her career. Conley also discusses the opportunities that come with working at a small company and reveals her passion for cooking, which she’s ramped up during the pandemic.

Venrock partner Nimish Shah speaks with Jason Fenton, managing director and head of healthcare capital markets at Cowen, to discuss the explosion of activity in the biotech IPO market this year. Fenton dives into the pros and cons of a virtual IPO process and shares best practices for companies looking to go public. Shah and Fenton outline some of the important factors to consider when choosing bankers and touch on common mistakes CEOs make while going through an IPO. Fenton also walks through the components of a recent successful IPO deal and provides his expectations for the biotech market in 2021. 

Ryan Nece is a former NFL player, Super Bowl winner, and now a venture capitalist at Next Play Capital. He joins Venrock partner Brian Ascher to chat about the transition from the field to the boardroom, including why so many professional athletes take an interest in venture capital and what elite athletes and successful entrepreneurs have in common. Nece shares the highs and lows of having a famous parent, football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, and his gratitude for the opportunities made possible by his upbringing. No stranger to adversity, he also discusses a challenging time battling injuries that almost ruined his career before it started. 

Venrock partner Bob Kocher speaks with Hill Ferguson, CEO of Doctor On Demand, about how the company managed a huge spike in demand for virtual care as COVID-19 spread throughout the country beginning in March 2020. He shares how Doctor On Demand implemented a real-time assessment for higher-risk patients to handle growing wait times, and how they partnered with Medicare to cover virtual care visits for seniors for the first time. Kocher and Ferguson discuss how social injustice, economic hardship, and losing loved ones to COVID-19 are contributing to the increased demand in behavioral health services offered by Doctor on Demand. Ferguson also highlights the importance of balance and self-care, shares his expectations for flu season, and unpacks Doctor On Demand’s plan to make primary care more accessible through virtual visits. 

Jennifer Bisceglie, CEO and founder of Interos, joins Venrock partner Nick Beim to discuss how Interos mitigates the challenges of third party risk management, particularly during the pandemic, by providing customers full visibility of their extended supply chain. Bisceglie describes how Interos continuously builds “family trees” of companies and scans for risk factors so customers can gain visibility into their supply chains and understand the vulnerabilities that can interrupt operations. She shares her proudest moments at Interos so far, the biggest challenge that female entrepreneurs face, and provides advice to women who are looking to start a business.