🧬 Mike Stadnisky - Thielsen Capital - Part 2 | Transitioning from Academia to Business | Breaking Into Business Development | Finding Decision Makers & Champions | Navigating Partnerships & Strategy

Part 2 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Mike Stadnisky, Managing Director of Thielsen Capital. Thielsen Capital is a seed-stage financing syndicate network bringing together life science investors, operators, and innovators to drive exceptional outcomes for founding teams, investors, and science. Before Thielsen, Mike was the CEO of Phitonex, which Thermo Fisher acquired. He was also VP & GM of Informatics at BD Life Sciences and was the CEO of FlowJo before its acquisition by BD. He has also taught at MIT Sloan, authored 10 patents, and won the 2019 International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry Innovation Award.

Join us as we sit down with Mike Stadnisky as he discusses his transition from academia to business and how he learned about business development. He also discusses the importance of your peer group, and how thoroughly you should do your research before meeting potential business partners. Lastly, Mike discusses the complexity of finding decision makers, and the importance of differentiating between decision makers and champions in business partnerships. Please enjoy my conversation with Mike Stadnisky.

Find Our Guest, Mike Stadnisky, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikestadnisky/
https://www.thielsencapital.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
https://www.excedr.com

Timestamps:
00:28 Intro
01:10 Transitioning from academia to FlowJo and the importance of networking
03:25 The usefulness of informational interviews, being pushy and following up
06:04 Interviewing with FlowJo, checking out Ashland, and meeting the team
08:43 How a significant others can provide the support and advice entrepreneurs need
10:40 Business partners, first-hires, mentors, and investors who create value will help you succeed
11:30 The importance of your peer group and who you surround yourself with
13:21 Joining FlowJo and wearing many hats on a small team
16:05 Defining business development and Mike’s advice for grad students interested in BD
22:04 Do your homework before you meet with potential business partners
25:05 The complexity of finding a decision-maker and the differences between technical champions
29:17 Bringing decision-makers and technical champions together
31:10 Mike’s additions to the recipe for successful business development
33:13 Outro

Social & 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
Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
What Is Patent Licensing & How Does It Work? https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-patent-licensing-works/
How Do Core Labs Support Life Science Research? https://www.excedr.com/blog/core-labs/
Multi-Omics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiomics
Ultrarunning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarathon
Top Cities for Biotech https://www.excedr.com/blog/top-cities-for-biotech/
What Should Investors & Founders Expect From Each Other? https://www.excedr.com/resources/investor-founder-expectations/
Biotech Partnerships: Partnering with Big Pharma To Support R&D https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-biotech-partnerships-support-research/
Business Development https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090815/basics-business-development.asp
Go-to-Market Strategy https://www.cognism.com/blog/what-is-a-go-to-market-strategy
Decision-Makers vs. Technical Champions https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/champion-vs-decision-maker-whom-target-b2b-customer-frederik-vosberg/
Term sheets https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/termsheet.asp
VC Term Sheets: What They Include & Why They Matter https://www.excedr.com/resources/venture-capital-term-sheets/ 

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.