Dearest Brazeryens: Happy belated Biotechnology Day! đ§Ź
[Welcome to Issue Number 54 of The House Brazeryen, where we break down the latest #ScientistCEO-related news for you fortnightly, in roughly 5 minutes. Brought to you by Brazen Bio, Brazen Capital and brainsurgerydropout.]
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RE: The Closest Iâll Ever Get to a Nobel
by W. Shawn Carbonell, MD, PhD â The father of the âGod Particleâ and 2013 Nobel laureate is dead.
RIP Peter Higgs.
Evidently, it is not uncommon for the Nobel Prize in Physics to be awarded to scientists who have made *theoretical* contributions that were later confirmed experimentally by others. If only this were true in biology!
j/k
Indeed, Higgs hypothesized the existence of his eponymous particleâthe Higgs bosonâin 1964! It took DOZENS of countries, HUNDREDS of scientists, and BILLIONS of dollars to finally observe it nearly 50 years later⌠in 2012.
Now thatâs teamwork.
Homeless in Oxford
I HATED physics in undergrad, but oddly became obsessed with the Higgs because it became part of the fabric my biotech journey.
As a finalist for a prestigious Oxford college fellowship in 2007 (that Iâve written about more extensively here), I nearly lost the position to a physicist studying none other than the Higgs boson.
I didnât know it at the time, but the cards were really stacked against me because the head of that Oxford college was a not only also a physicist, but the President Emeritus of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider where the Higgs was ultimately discovered!
I essentially had little chance of winning.
So Youâre Saying Thereâs a ChanceâŚ
Gratefully, however, they did something theyâve never done before: they postponed the decision, deliberated for another week, and decided to elect BOTH of us!
Not only did I have a fantastic new Oxford affiliation with nightly high table dinners straight out of Hogwartâs, but I got to experience it with a brilliant physicist who was part of the team that finally found the Nobel-winning Higgs fucking boson!
Where My Dogs at?
I had already written an entire post on orphan drugs, but seeing the news of Higgs passing brought me down a nostalgic rabbit hole I could not escape (as you can see).
But what does this post have to do with anything?
Like the scientists who worked endlessly for decades to prove Higgs right, the people in my corner really came through for me when they didnât have to. Everyone from my undergraduate research mentor, to my two PhD co-advisors, to my MD/PhD program Director, to my postdoc advisor came to bat for me years after my time with them and wrote STELLAR letters for my application.
But that wasnât enough! A cell biologist on the election committeeâthat I didnât even knowâwho deeply respected one of my PhD advisors and loved my research project reportedly fought hard for my candidacy. Hard enough, apparently, that they broke protocol for lilâ olâ me.
âŚ
Had I not won the fellowship I may have returned to the US after just one year to start residency. Instead, I stayed for two more years and made the lab discoveries that ultimately changed the course of my entire life.
They sure ainât the Higgs bosonâwhich is the basis of all matter in the Universeâbut hot damn I am confident they will improve many, many lives.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Cultivate team. Whoâs on yours?
Interview With The Escobar
Author, marketer, VC scout, and general tech enthusiastâJanet Escobarârecently interviewed Shawn about entrepreneurship, science, and AI.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
As usual no punches were pulled... Check out the spicy interview.
YC W24 DEBRIEF: Post Demo Day Glow
The final *virtual* YC Demo Day took place last week [hopefully].
Yes, thatâs right, YC President & CEO, Garry Tan confirmed that the next Demo Day (September 2024) will be IN PERSON at the new YC campus in Dogpatch SF.
Here are a few more tidbits to get you caught up on all things W24 and beyond:
There were over 27K applications for 260 spots! OK, Harvard of startups
Half of the W24 startups are building around AI. Surprised itâs not higher
There are now 14 Group Partners and five visiting Partners
Expecting to see even more therapeutics startups in S24 thanks to Surbhi
Y Brazinator
Is Brazen Capital investing in any of the Bio startups this batch?
NOPE.
As alluded last issue, many of their rounds were already closed BEFORE Demo Day lol. That said, we all know Brazen Capital Fund I is focused on writing the FIRST check for scientist-CEOs. So, YC startups arenât exactly our sweetspot.
Will we ever invest in a YC startup again? Definitely! More on that laterâŚ
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
In the meantime, read Garryâs entire W24 blog post HERE.
đ BRAZEN SNAX
đľđ˝ Pregnancy accelerates biological aging [in young Filipino women]
đ Clinical progress in cancer is ironically PREVENTING further success
đ Life on the moon may soon be subject to Daylight Savings!
đą Bioluminescent petunias began shipping this week! Did you buy yours?
đ Become a Brazen Capital LP! Rich folks need only apply (by law!)
đ´đ˝ OK, boomer⌠hereâs a venture capital fund just for you
đĽ Pickleball looks so easy on video that people think they can go pro
đŻď¸ The 5 keys to a killer TED talk from the curator of TED talks
â° TikTokCrak:Â Baylor University caught the best view of the solar eclipse
đŞ CARVEOUT
Post Demo Day special! Here are our two favorite FREE resources for the YC SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)⌠the preferred early stage startup investment vehicle:
the best SAFE primer that currently exists (includes YCâs âsecretâ SAFE)
the Carta SAFE calculator (i.e., how much of your company are you selling)
đđ˝ A DOSE OF GRATITUDE
We are grateful for the 10 minute meeting of a visionary young VC with a brilliant scientist particularly because said scientist should have won a Nobel by now. The first ever biotech just turned 48!
đ BRAZEN MEME
đ BRAZEN THOUGHTS
âDon't worry about people stealing your idea. If it's any good, everyone will dismiss it.â
âBrian Chesky (CEO of Airbnb)
âď¸ FEEDBACK
>98.5% of you donât smash the like button and even fewer leave a comment! Would you consider doing something about that? And letâs continue the convo @brazencapital
Got my firefly petunias last Friday! They glow as advertised!