Gm! Also, fuck Edward Blum. đđ˝
[Welcome to Issue Number 37 of The House Brazeryen, where we break down the latest #startup, #biotech, and #ScientistCEO-related news for you fortnightly, in roughly 5 minutes. Brought to you by Brazen Capital and brainsurgerydropout.]
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RE: Should Scientist-CEOs remain CEOs?
by Shawn Carbonell, MD, PhD â Brazen Capital is all about launching the next gen of scientist-CEOs. This means funding and supporting grad students, postdocs, physicians, and even undergrads who are obsessed with (i.e., willing to leave academia or their industry job) making real-world impact with their own ideas/discoveries.
Our basic thesisâif you can call it thatâis that the scientist/discoverer of the technology is the BEST person to start the company as founder and CEO. Because they are. In the entire world, no one knows more and no one is more passionate about your own technology than you. Itâs your baby.
BUT!!! It doesnât IMHO necessarily mean you should remain CEO of the company forever. How do we reconcile this when I've also called forâmore than onceâthe âZuckerbergs of biotechâ to step forward?
âPeople get burned out because theyâre not doing THEIR THING.â
As startup companies grow and make progress they dramatically CHANGE. A first-time biotech startup CEO just starting out has a completely different job once theyâve nailed several milestones. And it keeps changing from there (if it doesnât you are either in the trough of despair or otherwise failing).
If the CEO doesnât adapt with the new realities (or doesnât want to) they should probably (funding willing) hire people to help with the things they hate doing or step aside to someone who will relish it all as the new CEO.
Sounds like Iâm talking out of both sides of my mouth. So, what is the missing link here?
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Self-awareness.
Itâs a lesson I learned too late until that fateful August evening four years ago when the shit hit the fan and I considered taking my life.
If Iâm honest, I remember the moment I started feeling unhappy as the CEO of my startup: when I was no longer able to spend significant time in my happy place, the laboratory. Unfortunately for me this happened around 2014. My biggest failure is not realizing the toll of not feeding my own soul until my eventual mental implosion in 2019 (to be sure, my contentious relationship with our lead investors and simultaneous failing marriage didnât help either).
Thankfully, something Gary Vee has said countless times in his content finally sunk in for me that lonely and desperate night: CHANGING YOUR MIND IS A STRENGTH. I was in the office staring at the floor, slowly walking around in circles in the dark whenâall of a suddenâit clicked.
I calmly walked to my standup desk, gave my meowing cat a kiss and a pat on the head, and drafted my letter of resignation.
[Now you all finally know why I wonât shut the fuck up about the great man that is Gary Vaynerchuk. He saved my life.]
BrCa Spotlight: Malama Health (YC S22)
Our second investment at Brazen Capital came organically through Y Combinator Demo Day last September. They didnât even exist until June 2022 and today their app is already used by patients at over 50 (!) clinics nationwide and is in clinical validation with Tufts University among others.
Malama Health was started after founder Mika Eddy went through her own pregnancy and developed gestational diabetes, which affects nearly 1 in 5 pregnancies globally. It's the most common metabolic condition in pregnancy that you've probably never heard of. It can result in macrosomia (BIG BABY đśđ˝), and increases risk of c-section, preterm birth, and lifelong metabolic abnormalities in baby. Now they are using adaptive AI to keep mom and baby healthier.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
If you want to see what an exciting techbio startup looks like on the come up check out (and share) their app: https://malama.app.link/app
VC CORNER: Be Fearless
by Scott Alpizar, PhD â I know weâre in the middle of breaking down term sheets, but I wanted to take a small detour to chat about a concerning piece of news that recently popped up.
It has to do with a VC firm called Fearless Fund. It was started in 2019 by Keshia Knight Pulliam, Arian Simone, and Ayana Parsonsâthree Black women who saw the significant gap in funding for women owned businesses and wanted to do something to close it. So, they invest in businesses led by women of color at early stages. Itâs literally a fund built by women of color, for women of color.
The concerning news? Theyâre being sued for unlawful racial discrimination.
My reaction to this: âWhat the hell? Who does that!?â
Who does that is Edward Blum, who also led the charge on the recent Affirmative Action case that was brought before the Supreme Court. Make more sense now?
As quoted by Yasmin Cruz Ferrine of Visible Hands VC, the lawsuit is âa clear and present threat to the already limited funding available to Black- and women-owned companies.â And this threat has major implications for venture capital.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Iâve previously shared the importance of diversity in startups and the dismal funding numbers. But looking at Black women led VC funds specifically, things may be worse. Black women-led VC funds have raised less than $1B combined, while funds not led or co-led by Black women have received $33B in the first half of 2023. Also, black women-led VC funds are working with small numbers â their average fund size was ~$28MM, while it is $141MM for everyone else in the first half of this year alone, a constricted fundraising environment.
When you look at it that way, it's quite telling that someone could have an issue with such little money in comparison. Why would they care? Maybe they see that weâre getting serious about making progress and want to cut us off at the knees. Theyâre putting forth an intentional, targeted effort to keep things exclusive.
And why should you care? Well, this will likely create a concerning trickle-down effect. LPs wonât want to support funds with these types of mandates, so there will be less of them. And less funds focused on diversity means less money available for those specific founders. Iâm sure that directly impacts some of you reading this. Even if it doesnât, we need diversity for better innovation.
If this case also ends up in front of the Supreme Court, which Iâm sure if their goal, we can likely look at the ruling in the Affirmative Action case to predict the outcome. Itâs extremely worrying. We need to fight this bullshit lawsuit. We need to make sure we are on the right side of history.
We need to be fearless.
đ BRAZEN SNAX
đ Is big pharma marketing ineffective drugs to cancer patients? HINT: YES.
đ§ The latest entries to the the Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP)
đđ˝ Battling a brain metastasis diagnosis as a young academic and new father
đ Solutions to research misconduct and pathological culture in prominent labs?
đł A whale of evidence for Petoâs paradox (cancer resistance in large mammals)
đđž Successful reversal of existing genetic hearing loss (in mice)
đ˘ Latest Biotech Layoff Tracker: BMS, Atreca, Celsius, Karyopharm, and more
đ¤ Closing the equity gaps through venture: interview with Kapoor Capital
â° TikTokCrak: Sunday Nobody â making of 394 hot dog water ice sculptures
đŞ CARVEOUT
Banger of an All-In podcast on the current VC landscape featuring the legendary Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner. Still canât believe this shit is free!
đđ˝ A DOSE OF GRATITUDE
TBH we are grateful for 24-hour Starbucks locations. âď¸đ§đ˝âđť
đ BRAZEN MEME
âď¸ FEEDBACK
Feel free to tweet all thoughts, questions, and insults to us. Bring it. No, really. COMEđđ˝ATđđ˝USđđ˝BRUHđđ˝
And letâs continue the conversation on LinkedIn: @brazencapital