The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Startup Survival Skills: Resilience, Frugality & Real Talk in Biotech | Ivan Liachko (Part 2/4)
Jun 18, 2025
31:29
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“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.
Key topics covered:
- The Emotional Toll of Leadership: Handling conflict, building resilience, and staying mentally tough.
- From Academia to Entrepreneurship: Turning scientific know-how into business savvy.
- Frugality & Resourcefulness: Scrappy solutions over spending sprees.
- Knowing Your Game: Avoiding hype and matching strategy to your company’s reality.
- Embracing Discomfort and Failure: Growing by learning from mistakes and challenging expert advice.
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Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Ivan Liachko, at these links:
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:
Ultra-Long-Range Genomic Information: https://www.ark-invest.com/podcast/phase-genomics
Genome Startup Day: https://innovatebio.org/blog/podcast-genome-startup-day-bacteria-breakthroughs
Life Science and Biotech CEO Stories: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-science-and-biotech-ceo-stories/id1725353867
Accelerating Biochemical R&D (TEKsystems): https://www.teksystems.com/en/insights/success-stories/machine-learning-aws-phase-genomics
The Future of Phage Therapy: https://www.scispot.com/blog/the-future-of-phage-therapy-can-bacteriophages-replace-antibiotics
GeekWire Awards: https://www.geekwire.com/2023/how-this-ukrainian-born-ceo-created-a-biotech-startup-where-curious-scientists-thrive/
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Phase Genomics: https://phasegenomics.com
Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/
Cornell University: https://www.cornell.edu/
Brandeis University: https://www.brandeis.edu/
Gates Foundation: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
Shawn Sullivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-sullivan-mit/
Maitreya Dunham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maitreya-dunham-b23a9148/
Josh Burton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-burton-6292a25/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:06 Mental Toll of Startup Leadership
07:03 Learning from Conflict and Managing People
13:00 Immigrant Experience and Grad School Survival
15:18 Starting Phase Genomics and Budgeting
18:52 Frugality: Instant Pot as Autoclave
22:49 Knowing Your Game: Startup Growth Strategies
25:57 Saying No to Expert Advice
28:02 Grad School Selection and Cornell Experience
30:04 Moving to Seattle and Postdoc Life
30:32 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.