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Part 3 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 experience at Entrepreneur First and how FabricNano started
- Why sales is such an underrated part of the scientific community
- How show and tell helped Grant learn at a young age how to pitch to VCs
- What a future powered by enzymes might look like and how to disrupt the petrochemical market
- Tips on how entrepreneurs can bring their ideas to life even in difficult economic times
Please enjoy my conversation with Grant Aarons.
Find Our Guest, Grant Aaron, at these links:
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
Timestamps:
00:28 Intro
01:36 What Entrepreneur First was like and the mentality one should have while in an accelerator
02:58 Meeting his co-founder and the spark of curiosity that ended up never dying
05:01 Launching FabricNano and learning how to properly run an email marketing campaign
07:43 The underrated value of sales in the biotech/scientific community and how show and tell helped Grant learn how to talk to VCs
09:39 Why FabricNano wants a future powered by enzymes and biology misconceptions
14:40 The current state of the biology market and why petrochemistry is so important to it
17:49 How do we move away from petrochemicals and what is FabricNano's role in that
21:00 What is FabricNano's go-to-market strategy and why now is the right time to disrupt the petrochemical market
24:29 Tips to other founders on how to navigate difficult economic markets and bring your innovative ideas to life
25:53 What is on the horizon for FabricNano
27:21 Teaching people about the dark horse of the industrial biology industry, synthetic biology
28:39 Grant shouts out his mentors, FabricNano, family, and why no founder gets to where they are on their own
30:17 Advice to a younger Grant
31:39 Outro
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Enriched Notes:
People Mentioned:
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.
The Biotech Startups Podcast