The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬Cyriac Roeding - Part 3 | Founding Shopkick During the 2008 Financial Crisis | Transforming Retail with Mobile Tech | Exploring AI’s Use in Clinical Trials & Reshaping Drug Development
Jan 6, 2025
32:25
Part 3 of 4: My guest today is Cyriac Roeding, founder, investor, and CEO of Earli, a company on a mission to transform cancer into a manageable condition. Using innovative gene therapy approaches, Earli’s technology forces cancer cells to produce a synthetic, non-human biomarker—overcoming the limitations of relying on naturally occurring biomarkers that cancer may or may not provide.
Cyriac is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has created ventures at the intersection of physical and digital worlds. He has invested in startups like OpenAI and served as CEO of Shopkick, which was acquired for $250 million. His current focus, Earli, has raised nearly $60 million from top investors. Cyriac's journey from launching his first startup at 15 to being named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer showcases his valuable insights into building successful startups.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- Launching Shopkick during the 2008 financial crisis and securing funding against the odds
- Partnering with Best Buy, Macy’s, and Target to pioneer in-store rewards using ultrasound technology
- Overcoming GPS limitations with innovative hardware solutions
- Switching from retail tech to life sciences, with a focus on AI and engineering
- Cyriac’s vision for digital clinical trials to accelerate drug development
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Find Our Guest, Cyriac Roeding, at these links:
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
Excedr Socials & 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
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
Earli: https://www.earli.com/
Kleiner Perkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleiner_Perkins
Shopkick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkick
AI in Drug Development & Clinical Trials: https://www.earli.com/post/how-ai-is-powering-earlis-mission
Biotech Startup Support: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support
People Mentioned:
John Doerr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-doerr-03248211/
Steve Jobs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
Reid Hoffman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/
Aaron Emigh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronemigh/
Alexis Rask: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleinoff/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:58 Joining Kleiner Perkins as an entrepreneur-in-residence
05:43 Developing the idea for Shopkick
08:20 Securing Best Buy as a partner and navigating retailer challenges
11:11 Using ultrasound technology to solve GPS limitations for in-store tracking
13:25 Partnering with major brands and scaling Shopkick to profitability
16:25 Transitioning to life sciences and shifting focus to biology and AI
20:18 Exploring the potential of digital clinical trials
24:05 The intersection of biology, engineering, and software as the next frontier
27:57 Cyriac’s vision for the future of drug development
31:30 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.