by Naresh Sunkara PhD
Hundreds of thousands of researchers around the world are working to improve life and address imminent threats to humanity. Often, the research ends up in the “Scientific valley of death” in the form of publications and patents that never see the light of the day. Welcome to “Lab to Startup” a podcast aimed at showcasing the effort needed to translate lab research to startups. The show has two main goals: 1. Sharing the stories of those scientists and engineers who have successfully founded startups based on the research at university and national labs. 2. Highlighting the resources and tools needed to help those aspiring to launch startups in the deeptech space. We also want this show to be a way to communicate those technology development stories to the general public (taxpayers funding the research) in the hope that they will continue to support such research and startups. About the host Naresh Sunkara, Ph.D. is a chemical biologist, entrepreneur and the founder and Executive Director of the Berkeley Postdoc Entrepreneurship Program at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been running this program for the past ten years that has helped graduate students and postdocs at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and at several other universities in the US. He was previously a postdoc at UC Berkeley developing lipid nanoparticles for delivery of mRNA based drugs targeting viruses and cancers.
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
9/7/2021
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March 11, 2025
<p dir="ltr">Chandana Haque is the Executive Director of Altitude Lab, a healthcare startup accelerator building a community of diverse entrepreneurs in Utah. Altitude Lab was cofounded in 2020 by Chandana and Chris Gibson, the co-founder & CEO of Recursion in Salt Lake City. They recently announced the launch of a pre-seed venture fund aimed at supporting early-stage biotech startups impacted by recent federal funding policy shifts.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">This pre-seed venture fund is dedicated to funding the highest impact ideas transitioning from basic research to industry. In partnership with Altitude Lab, they provide capital, lab space, and mentorship to high-potential SBIR reviewed companies, offering continuity for startups affected by recent funding policy changes while strengthening Salt Lake City’s position as a national biotech hub.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">We talk about the Altitude fund, Altitude lab, lessons learned from other ecosystems; support from Recursion, better ways to support healthcare founders and many other topics.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Shownotes</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href= "https://www.altitudelab.org/altitude-lab-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.altitudelab.org/altitude-lab-fund&source=gmail&ust=1741780401303000&usg=AOvVaw27bVCeBonMYGeCsWtzqP-o"> Altitude lab fund</a>: a pre-seed venture fund dedicated to funding the highest impact ideas transitioning from basic research to industry. </p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Fund announcement: <a href= "https://ir.recursion.com/news-releases/news-release-details/altitude-lab-launches-pre-seed-venture-fund-anchored-recursion" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ir.recursion.com/news-releases/news-release-details/altitude-lab-launches-pre-seed-venture-fund-anchored-recursion&source=gmail&ust=1741780401303000&usg=AOvVaw1R-CeVgWTwhKOQ-gFWEWmE"> https://ir.recursion.com/news-<wbr />releases/news-release-details/<wbr />altitude-lab-launches-pre-<wbr />seed-venture-fund-anchored-<wbr />recursion</a></p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href= "https://www.altitudelab.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.altitudelab.org/&source=gmail&ust=1741780401303000&usg=AOvVaw3n9HIzz2hGmwvbcjFcgkJq"> Altitude labs</a>: a health care accelerator building a community of diverse entrepreneurs in Utah</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lessons learned (and unlearned) from Boston and Bay Area startup ecosystems</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Criteria for selection: Technology vs market readiness</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Founder fit, connecting founders to the right resources</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Turning a scrappy startup to a fundable one</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Overhyped areas in biotech</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Finding winners and lost opportunities</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Support from <a href= "https://www.recursion.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.recursion.com/&source=gmail&ust=1741780401303000&usg=AOvVaw0WuacBOZdidSoyVQ6vFRP1"> Recursion Pharma </a></p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Supporting diversity: Anecdotes of diverse founders</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Support from the University of Utah</p> </li> </ul>
December 10, 2024
Industry expert Monica Rosoff shares lessons learned from her two decades of alliance management experience, offering insights on forming and managing strategic partnerships for early stage therapeutics startups.
September 10, 2024
<p dir="ltr">Zack Shildhorn is an investing Partner at venture firm Lux Capital. He played multiple key roles that helped the firm scale from less than $100M to more than $4B in assets under management. After witnessing thousands of pitches, he saw that even the most disruptive startups often struggled to develop effective narratives.</p> <p dir="ltr">Having worked closely with leading technology companies as an investor and Board member, he brings a unique ability to connect with key stakeholders and distill complex ideas into engaging and relatable presentations.</p> <p dir="ltr">In order to help founders beyond Lux, He launched a firm called Series Z, to help a select group of tech companies and funds bring their vision to life. Zack also recently partnered with Khosla ventures to help founders there as well. </p> <p dir="ltr">Zack kindly agreed to share some of the lessons from his experience teaching the art of storytelling to founders and VCs. I think you will benefit tremendously from this episode. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Show Notes:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Series Z: <a href="https://www.series-z.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.series-z.co/&source=gmail&ust=1725542816025000&usg=AOvVaw3paBA6w7m595W6un7ITNt-">https://www.series-z.co/</a></p> <p>Zack Schildhorn: <a href="https://x.com/zacktrak" target= "_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://x.com/zacktrak&source=gmail&ust=1725542816025000&usg=AOvVaw0AWhwnQc8l4C9IJ8EeaGA6"> https://x.com/zacktrak</a></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Most founders are in a challenged position</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Repetition, iteration, feedback</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Founders have the disadvantage of not knowing an investor’s mindset</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Selling vision: Why should investors care?</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Framing your pitch: Ways to capture investor’s attention</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">How to appeal to the emotions of an investor? Fear and greed</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Starting a presentation with words and not slides</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Presenting technical idea: How not to inundate listeners with too much data</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Reframing problems: Addressing known apprehensions</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">How to not get offended by a question or being defensive?</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Media links:</strong></p> <p>Power of Narrative for Entrepreneurs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-llii7frwco</p> <p>Framing your pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4V89rywlR0</p> <p>Pitching investors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYkOoRJGuvk</p>
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