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Part 2 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Grant Aarons, Co-Founder and CEO of FabricNano, a London-based biotech whose mission is to transform industrial chemical processes using cell-free biomanufacturing. FabricNano empowers users with the world's most advanced, flexible, and easily scalable biocatalyst platform, providing highly stable and performant biocatalysts to enable profitable production of sustainable and biobased chemicals. Their approach starts with novel immobilization engineering for enzyme stabilization, followed by budget-conscious protein engineering and process engineering to reach their clients' targets for commercialization of their new biochemical production process.

Before FabricNano, Grant was a Research Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and while pursuing his PhD at the London Business School, became an Entrepreneur In Residence at Entrepreneur First, an international business accelerator that has created over 300 companies worth over $10 billion. Grant's diverse experience gives him a unique perspective on the startup ecosystem that everyone can benefit from.

Join us this week and hear about Grant’s:

Thoughts on the defensibility of software vs. hardware companies and the importance of capital expenditure and continuous business development
Decision to attend London Business School and pursue his PhD
Econometrics and grad school research endeavors in predictive modeling
Learnings from the accelerator experience at Entrepreneur First, highlighting the importance of resilience and adaptability in entrepreneurship.

Please enjoy my conversation with Grant Aarons.

Find Our Guest, Grant Aaron, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantaarons/

https://fabricnano.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

Timestamps:

00:28 Intro

01:38 Software companies will no longer be defensible; Intel’s hardware strategy, Nvidia’s success

04:46 CapEx investments, market-capture, and FabricNano’s focus on stability and yield

07:38 How hardware companies are servicing the software industry and accumulating value

09:08 Grant’s econometrics research, DSGE mentors, and support network

12:26 The importance of learning, decision to attend London Business School

14:58 UK mentors, their impacts on Grant’s education, and the power of opportunity

19:26 Grad school research: asset pricing, econometrics models, micro and macroeconomics

23:10 Grant’s decision to leaving the PhD program and the encouragement he received

25:25 Resonating with an investment style, The Power Law, and hardware investors

31:01 Getting involved in Entrepreneur First and the randomness of creating startups

36:23 The various approaches accelerators use to create startups, Entrepreneur First’s thesis

38:48 Management and philosophy styles, how co-founders help each other and the organization

40:33 Outro

Social & Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Federal Reserve https://www.federalreserve.gov/

London Business School https://www.london.edu/

Intel https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/homepage.html

Nvidia https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/

Simple Pharma (UK) https://www.simplepharma.com/

Entrepreneur First https://www.joinef.com/

DSGE Model https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr554.html

Econometrics https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/econometrics.asp

Asset pricing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_pricing

Micro and Macroeconomics https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/difference-between-microeconomics-and-macroeconomics/

Biotech Investors https://www.excedr.com/blog/top-vc-firms-for-biotech

Biotech Funding https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-startup-funding-options

The Power Law https://www.amazon.com/Power-Law-Venture-Capital-Making/dp/052555999X

People Mentioned:

Marc Giannoni https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcpgiannoni/

Marco Del Negro https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-del-negro-91122550/

Domenico Giannone https://www.linkedin.com/in/domenico-giannone-55755b45/

Jerry Yang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Yang

Sebastian Mallaby https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-mallaby-13a24936/

Matt Cliford https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcliffordef/?originalSubdomain=uk

Alice Bentinck https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicebentinck/

Masayoshi Son https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masayoshi_Son

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.

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