The Future Of Biotech With Kevin Rakin

Jan 12, 2023

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Kevin Rakin is the co-founder of HighCape Capital, a growth equity firm that finances and assists innovative life sciences companies transition from the initial stages of their business cycle into successful, thriving organizations.

In this episode, we’ll take you through Kevin’s journey and how he founded multiple biotech companies and took them to IPO and acquisition.

We’ll take a look at the exploding industry of Biotech and its fast-paced startup culture that clashes with the bureaucracy of some of the biggest businesses in the world. You’ll learn about topics like the difficulties of going through a merger, why buying a failing business could be a good investment, and how to attract the best talent to your team.

OUTLINE:

(00:00) - Intro
(2:00) - Early Years
(4:49) - Why Biotech Caught My Attention
(7:00) - Developing Pattern Recognition
(08:50) - The Complexity Of Biotech
(12:45) - First Principles Of Building A Company
(14:25) - The Thin line Between Crazy And Fraudulence
(16:11) - Vision Without Execution Is Hallucination
(19:00) - The Mental Shift In Business School
(21:19) - No-one Was Coming To Rescue Us
(24:00) - Difficulties Of Going Through A Merger
(26:40) - Why Big Business Is Not For Me
(29:20) - Buying A Failing Business
(34:46) - Selling A Company The Night Before An IPO
(41:51) - Giving Up Six Feet Away From Gold
(47:30) - Learning To Understand Financial Instruments
(51:29) - Founding HighCape Capital
(57:30) - Founding a SPAC Fund
(1:00:51) - My Best Piece Of Advice For Entrepreneurs
(1:03:42) - How Do You Attract The Best Team?

EPISODE LINKS:

HighCape Capital - https://www.highcape.com/
CTInnovations Page - https://ctinnovations.com/member/kevin-rakin/
LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-rakin-13264b4/

HIS FAVORITE BOOK:

Jim Collins, “Good To Great” https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-_Others-Dont_/dp/B0047T9BDW

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://forwardobsessed.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-obsessed/id1615760781
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TrkOZ7xL7WSlzc2mrwXuC?si=aa5e7790aca64e05
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5b9WPqVXz_qlfXgK3hHPs4z
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5Yt0LiPml0y6pNUSrqHzWql

SUPPORT & CONNECT:

Digital Surgeons Website: https://digitalsurgeons.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@digitalsurgeons
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalsurgeons
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/210497/