The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Mentors, Networks & IP: Power Moves for Biotech Startup Success | Darren Cooke (Part 2/4)
Oct 16, 2025
39:02
🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.
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Episode Description:
"If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re busy and bored, you really should be doing something else."
In this episode, Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer and Executive Director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center at the University of California, Berkeley, traces his bold path from high-stakes law firm litigation to in-house IP leadership at Bio-Rad Laboratories, eventually launching his own practice to guide biotech startups.
He dives into career pivots, lessons from Berkeley’s entrepreneurial scene, startup investing, and why simply showing up is often the secret to transformative opportunities and growth.
Key topics covered:
- Career Lessons: How rigorous mentors and big-law rigor fueled personal growth
- Life at Bio-Rad: Unique culture and hands-on IP leadership at a family-founded biotech
- Pivot to Startups: Startup exposure—and a key acquisition—sparked Darren’s leap to entrepreneurship
- Building Networks: Persistence and showing up lead to game-changing connections
- Angel Investing & IP Strategy: The real ingredients behind investable, resilient biotech startups
If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening.
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Darren Cooke, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddcooke/
Website: http://berkeley.edu/
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
The Recorder: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recorder/
Patent Prosecution Fundamentals: https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics
Startup Campus (How UC Berkeley became a leader in entrepreneurship) https://a.co/d/5pCg83q
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Bio-Rad Laboratories: https://www.bio-rad.com/
Covington (Covington & Burling LLP): https://www.cov.com/
Berkeley Angel Network: https://berkeleyangelnetwork.com/
Life Science Angels: https://lifescienceangels.com/
Berkeley SkyDeck: https://skydeck.berkeley.edu/
Alan Blankenheimer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-blankenheimer-a6761194/
Rich Lyons: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-lyons-30332b1/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:46 Key Lessons from Law Firm Experience
04:32 Moving to Covington in San Francisco
08:56 Balancing Big Law with Family Life
10:39 How the Bio-Rad Opportunity Came About
14:00 Going In-House: Culture and Day-to-Day Life
17:19 Learning Patent Prosecution and Working with Inventors
21:09 The QuantaLife Acquisition Sparks Startup Interest
25:08 Launching a Solo Practice and Finding Zero Clients
28:48 Joining Life Science Angels and Berkeley Angel Network
32:33 Running LSA Investment Meetings: Trial by Fire
34:42 What Makes Life Science Startups Investable
37:38 Outro
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.