From PhD to Public Company: Jason Kelly on Building Ginkgo and What Comes Next

From PhD to Public Company: Jason Kelly on Building Ginkgo and What Comes Next

Guest: Jason Kelly In this episode of Boba & Biotech, Armon sits down with Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, for a conversation about what it takes to build a biotech company from scratch when no one will fund you, why platform business models in biotech are harder than they look, and where he thinks the biggest opportunity in biotech history is hiding. They cover how Ginkgo got started on grants and stubbornness out of MIT, why Jason was deliberate about protecting voting control through IPO, the case for autonomous labs replacing manual bench science, and why longevity and wellness may dwarf everything the industry has built so far. Plus why biotech is still waiting for its YC moment — the infrastructure that would make it as easy for a PhD scientist to start a company as it is for a CS undergrad. Jason Kelly is co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, a publicly traded synthetic biology company he has led since founding it out of MIT in 2008. He holds a BS in chemical engineering and a PhD in bioengineering, both from MIT. Links * Armon’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/]   * Jason’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrkelly2/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrkelly2/]  Credits * Hosted by Armon Sharei, PhD * Research by Julie Kim, MBA * Produced by  David Woje, Woje Productions, Andressa Carroll, Portal * Edited and mixed by David Woje of Pinwheel

The Biotech IPO: What Bankers See That Founders Miss

Guest: Mark Dempster In this episode of Boba & Biotech, Armon sits down with Mark Dempster, Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Stifel, to pull back the curtain on what biotech bankers actually do and why it matters more than most founders realize. They cover the public vs. private financing divide, why the stigma around banks helping with private rounds exists and whether it still makes sense, and what founders consistently get wrong when they go public for the first time. Mark also shares his honest take on why generalist investors stay skittish about biotech, what the FDA environment means for the ecosystem right now, and why data ultimately trumps everything else when it comes to predicting who succeeds. Mark Dempster is Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Stifel, where he has focused on biotechnology and specialty pharma for over 25 years. He has held roles at JP Morgan and Bank of America Securities, and has been with Stifel since 2010. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Finance from Bradley University. Links * Armon’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/]   * Mark’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-dempster-22816b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-dempster-22816b/]  Credits * Hosted by Armon Sharei, PhD * Research by Julie Kim, MBA * Produced by Arielle Nisseblatt of Pinwheel, Andressa Carroll, Portal * Edited and mixed by David Woje

From Bench to Boardroom: What Drug Development Actually Takes

Guest: William Pao  In this episode of Boba & Biotech, Armon sits down with William Pao, a physician-scientist who has run oncology R&D at Roche, served as Chief Development Officer at Pfizer, and is now CEO and Co-Founder of Revelio Therapeutics. Few people have seen drug development from as many angles. They get into the real economics behind why a single molecule can cost $600M to advance, what it actually feels like to kill a program you believe in, and why the jump from pharma to biotech is more disorienting than most people expect. Plus: where AI in drug development is genuinely useful, where it isn't, and what the Paxlovid story reveals about why institutional memory matters more than anyone talks about. William Pao is a physician-scientist whose career has spanned academia, industry, and biotech. As a faculty member at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Vanderbilt University, he was a practicing oncologist recognized for ground-breaking work in targeted cancer therapeutics and personalized medicine. Through executive leadership at Roche and Pfizer, he oversaw the development of molecules now approved across cancer, rare diseases, ophthalmology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, and immunology. He is currently CEO and Co-Founder of Revelio Therapeutics, co-founder of MyCancerGenome, and author of Breakthrough: The Quest for Life-Changing Medicines. He holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard and an M.D. and Ph.D. from Yale. Links * Armon’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/]   * William’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-pao-md-phd-40719295/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-pao-md-phd-40719295/]   * William’s book - https://breakthroughbypao.com/ [https://breakthroughbypao.com/]  Credits * Hosted by Armon Sharei, PhD * Research by Julie Kim, MBA * Produced by Arielle Nisseblatt of Pinwheel, Andressa Carroll, Portal * Edited and mixed by David Woje

Learning Biotech, Surviving Near-Death, and Seeing What Others Don’t

Guest:Sophia Lugo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-lugo-6b8091123/] In this episode of Boba & Biotech, Sophia Lugo and I grab some delicious boba teas to explore her unconventional path into biotech and the realities of building a company at the frontier of genetic medicine. From her early experiences across Harvard, China, and the Gates Foundation to co-founding Radar during her time at Stanford, Sophia shares how urgency, ambition, and a belief in personal agency shaped her journey. She also discusses Radar’s progress, including its mission to solve targeted mRNA delivery and its next milestone of translating in vitro results into in vivo success. The conversation also dives into a critique of the biotech industry - from fundraising as a sales-driven process to the dynamics that shape founder ownership, culture, and exit opportunities. Sophia reflects on a near-death moment early in Radar’s life, the lessons it taught her, and why she believes many of biotech’s constraints, whether cultural or regulatory, are more flexible than they appear. Sophia Lugo is CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder at Radar Therapeutics, a company enabling precise in vivo genetic medicines, the first company to be able to selectively activate an mRNA therapeutic only in exact cell types of interest. For her work at Radar, Sophia has received the 2024 Biocom Catalyst Award celebrating top professionals under 40 disrupting the life sciences industry. She received her Bachelor’s from Harvard University, Masters from Tsinghua University, and MBA from Stanford University. Links * Armon’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/]   * Sophia’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-lugo-6b8091123/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-lugo-6b8091123/]  * Radar Therapeutics: https://www.radartx.bio/ [https://www.radartx.bio/]   Credits * Hosted by Armon Sharei, PhD * Research by Julie Kim, MBA * Produced by Arielle Nisseblatt of Pinwheel, Andressa Carroll, Portal * Edited and mixed by David Woje of Pinwheel

Inside the Biotech Incubator: What Early Companies Get Right (and Wrong)

Guest:  Adam Jenkins [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammjenks/] What actually makes or breaks a biotech startup - and why is it rarely the science? In this episode of Boba & Biotech, Adam Jenkins and I enjoy some delicious grapefruit-coconut sago from Heytea while we discuss the hidden dynamics shaping today’s biotech ecosystem. From the inside workings of incubators like BioLabs and LabCentral to the uncomfortable truth about “zombie” startups, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what really happens between breakthrough science and company success. Along the way, Adam shares hard-earned insights from years of evaluating and advising early-stage companies, revealing why culture trumps data, why your first hires matter more than your pitch deck, and why taking VC money too early might be your biggest mistake. If you’re a founder, operator, or investor navigating biotech, this episode is equal parts reality check and roadmap. Adam Jenkins is the regional site director for BioLabs, where he manages sites across Boston, Cambridge, Vermont, and Toronto. BioLabs is a global innovation infrastructure company creating the physical and community backbone that powers life science discovery worldwide. Prior to BioLabs Adam worked at Biogen, a global biotech focused on neurology, where he headed their data science teams and helped lead their portfolio strategy. He holds a PhD in genetics from Boston College and an MBA from Indiana University. Links * Armon’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/]   * Adam’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammjenks/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammjenks/] * Biolabs: https://www.biolabs.io/ [https://www.biolabs.io/]  Credits * Hosted by Armon Sharei, PhD * Research by Julie Kim, MBA * Produced by Arielle Nisseblatt of Pinwheel, Andressa Carroll, Portal * Edited and mixed by David Woje of Pinwheel