🧬 Growth Without Venture Capital: The Bootstrapped Bioscience Playbook | Ivan Liachko (Part 4/4)
"It's not a brute force approach. It's a cleverness-based approach. It's a new kind of information that lets us do new things."
Host Jon Chee sits down with Ivan Liachko, founder and CEO of Phase Genomics, to unpack how clever, constraint-driven science turned a scrappy, bootstrapped lab into a genomics powerhouse. Ivan explains how their breakthrough technology—capturing the physical proximity of DNA—opened new frontiers in genome assembly, microbiome discovery, and cancer diagnostics, all propelled by a lean, scientist-led team and organic growth.
The episode dives into Phase’s evolution into a data-driven research leader, its focus on non-dilutive funding over venture capital, and its vision for clinical impact and therapeutic spinouts—all fueled by a passion for unlocking powerful new biological information.
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🧬 How 3D Genome Mapping is Changing Everything We Know About DNA | Ivan Liachko (Part 3/4)
"If you get a new kind of information, suddenly you can do something with it that you couldn't do before at all."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Ivan Liachko shares how scientific curiosity and unexpected collaborations took him from DNA replication research in yeast at Cornell to a breakthrough in 3D genome mapping and the founding of Phase Genomics.
Embracing Hi-C technology at the University of Washington, Ivan and his team unlocked a new kind of biological information, enabling scientists to assemble genomes and map complex microbial communities and their viruses—transforming what was once impossible into a new standard for genomics. His journey highlights how creativity, collaboration, and seizing serendipitous moments can drive the most impactful scientific innovations.
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🧬 Startup Survival Skills: Resilience, Frugality & Real Talk in Biotech | Ivan Liachko (Part 2/4)
“Every time you think you’re right and somebody puts you in your place and you learn from it, eventually you’re like, that guy gave me the greatest gift… You learn to love it.”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Ivan Liachko, CEO and co-founder of Phase Genomics, delivers an unfiltered look at the realities of building a biotech company, revealing how the mental toll of leadership, managing egos, and embracing frugality shaped his journey from academia to entrepreneurship.
Through candid stories of scrappy problem-solving and bootstrapping Phase Genomics, Ivan and host Jon Chee highlight the surprising overlap between science and business, the importance of knowing which game you’re playing, and why resilience, adaptability, and learning from failure are crucial for startup success.
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🧬 Passion Is Chaos: Grit, Curiosity, & the Biotech Breakthrough Mindset | Ivan Liachko (Part 1/4)
"Passion is chaos. You're doing unreasonable things sometimes for reasons you can't explain to anyone why. That's just what I want.”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee sits down with Ivan Liachko, CEO and co-founder of Phase Genomics, to reveal how a childhood passion for genetics, relentless family support, and Ivan’s trademark persistence—“better to be annoying than forgotten”—helped him break into science as an immigrant and rise to biotech leadership.
Ivan shares candid lessons on embracing unpredictability, turning setbacks into opportunities, and the parallels between research and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the power of authentic curiosity, running toward problems, and leading with bold optimism.
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🧬 AI, Mentors & the Future of Biotech: Teambuilding, Investing, & Innovation | Johnny Hu (Part 4/4)
“It's the partnership all the way down, and everyone needs to be around the table to enable the ecosystem.”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Johnny Hu reflects on his path to becoming a Principle at Menlo Ventures, what it's been like returning to gene editing after years away, and how he's thinking about unlocking true platform potential in life sciences. He also shares his outlook on early-stage biotech, the importance of mentorship, intellectual range and curiosity, and what's ahead as he continues building at the intersection of biology, computation, and company creation
The Biotech Startups Podcast by Excedr features weekly conversations with founders, scientists, and investors driving biotech innovation. Host Jon Chee dives into the challenges of building biotech startups, from pre-seed to IPO. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.
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