The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Choosing the Right VC: What Money Can’t Buy | Jacob Glanville Re-Release (Part 4/4)
Dec 25, 2025
30:31
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"If you can synthesize, then there's no such thing as too much expertise."
We’re revisiting some of our previous episodes over the holidays this year. Our next re-release is this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, where Jacob Glanville pulls back the curtain on the “black box” of venture capital for biotech founders, sharing what he learned moving from pitching antibody platforms to pitching VCs. He explains how aligning with each firm’s investment thesis, simplifying your story, and using sharp visuals—while treating fundraising like dating, not a numbers game—can dramatically improve your odds without ever resorting to exaggeration or dishonesty.​
Jacob then dives into choosing the right venture partners, negotiating fair terms, and focusing on what real success looks like for both founders and investors. He shows how the best VCs act as strategic allies and “polishing engines,” and explains why he partnered with NFX and GHIC to help drive Centivax’s universal vaccine programs forward, from RNA-LNP–enabled flu vaccines to broad-spectrum efforts in HIV and coronaviruses, all powered by a village of mentors, collaborators, and family.​
Key topics covered:
- How to pitch VCs: Simplifying your deck, using strong visuals, anticipating objections, and treating fundraising like dating rather than a numbers game.​
- Founder mindset during rejection: Seeking honest feedback, avoiding neediness or defensiveness, and using “your baby is ugly” moments to strengthen the story.​
- Selecting the right VC partners: Investment theses, stage and check-size fit, reputation checks with portfolio founders, and the importance of warm introductions.​
- Negotiation and deal terms: Market comparables, fair ownership splits, avoiding paranoia, and focusing on building a massive outcome rather than fighting over a few points.​
- Beyond the money: How NFX and GHIC provide networks, strategic guidance, media amplification, and “fairy godmother” polishing for Centivax’s universal vaccine platform.​
- Roadmap for Centivax: Universal flu vaccine timelines, pivot to RNA-LNP delivery, expansion into HIV and coronavirus programs, and organizing the company around going first-in-human.​
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, Jacob Glanville, at these links:
Website: https://www.centivax.com/
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:
Building Backwards to Biotech (Book by Stephanie Wisner): https://books.google.com/books/about/Building_Backwards_to_Biotech.html?id=6pwlzwEACAAJ
Venture Capital Investment Thesis Explained: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investment-thesis.asp
RNA-LNP (Lipid Nanoparticle) Vaccine Technology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid-based_nanoparticle
IND-Enabling Studies for Clinical Trials: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/types-applications/investigational-new-drug-ind-application
HAI Titer and Vaccine Efficacy Correlates: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6530189/
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Standards: https://safetyculture.com/topics/gmp
Negotiation Strategies for Founders: https://hbr.org/2014/04/15-rules-for-negotiating-a-job-offer
Series A Fundraising for Biotech Startups: https://www.excedr.com/resources/what-it-takes-to-raise-a-series-a
Contract Research Organizations (CROs) in Drug Development: https://novotech-cro.com/blog/what-role-cros-drug-development
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC) https://ghicfunds.org​​
Twist Bioscience https://www.twistbioscience.com
Charles River Laboratories https://www.criver.com/
Endpoints News https://endpts.com/
Stephanie Wisner https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-wisner-5aa4556a/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Condensing the Pitch Deck and Lessons from Fundraising
01:26 Finding Mentors and Understanding VC Culture
07:45 Handling Rejection and Learning from Feedback
11:42 Choosing the Right VC: Beyond Just the Money
16:54 Negotiation Strategy and Fair Terms
19:01 Building Awareness and Living Rent-Free in People's Minds
20:11 Centivax's Next Steps: Universal Vaccines and RNA LNP Technology
24:58 Phase 1 Clinical Trials and Platform Validation
25:49 Shout-Outs to Team Members and Collaborators
29:15 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.