The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 People Aren’t Rational: Why That’s an Advantage as a Leader | Jason C. Foster Re-Release (1/2)
Dec 29, 2025
55:50
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"If you think about what we do as human beings, the vast majority of the value we create is through communication."
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 Jason C. Foster, CEO and Executive Director at Ori Biotech, shares how his upbringing in Richmond, Virginia and his family’s deep roots in business shaped his entrepreneurial drive and leadership style. Growing up as an only child surrounded by adults, Jason cultivated strong communication skills early on, while paper routes, lawn care, and door-to-door sales instilled in him a bias toward self-sufficiency and finding creative ways to add value.
Jason walks through his journey from studying government at the University of Virginia and working on healthcare policy in Washington, D.C., to realizing that real impact on patient outcomes often happens in the private sector rather than in government. He then reflects on his formative years at Columbia Business School in New York City, where exposure to a highly international, high-performing peer group—and to the chaos and energy of post-9/11 New York—pushed him out of his comfort zone and helped crystallize his aspiration to build and lead in healthcare and startups.
Throughout the conversation, Jason and host Jon Chee discuss lessons that stayed with him: the importance of early work experiences, the value of dealing with the public in retail and hospitality, why sometimes leaders must choose the “least worst” option when no perfect decision exists, and how understanding that people are not purely rational transforms how you approach negotiation, sales, and leadership. Jason also shares early insights that foreshadow his later work at Ori Biotech, including the power of mission-driven teams and the need to bridge different cultures and working styles, such as engineers and biologists, to build transformative technologies.
Key topics covered:
- Early Entrepreneurial Roots: How paper routes, yard work, and door-to-door sales built Jason’s work ethic and self-sufficiency from a young age
- ​Family and Business Influence: Growing up in a business-oriented household and seeing sales, travel, and “international business” up close
- ​From Policy to Healthcare: Moving from the House Commerce Committee and FDA reform work in D.C. to recognizing the greater impact potential in the private sector
- ​Columbia MBA Lessons: International exposure, high-performance peers, and pivotal teachings about “least worst” decisions and non-rational behavior
- ​Communication and Leadership: Why communication creates outsized value, and how understanding human behavior shapes sales, management, and startup decision-making
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Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find Our Guest, Jason C. Foster, 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:
University of Virginia https://www.virginia.edu/
Columbia University https://www.columbia.edu/
How to Spin Out of Academia https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-spin-out-of-academia-and-into-a-startup
How VC-Backed Startups Win When They Lease https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-vc-backed-startups-win-when-they-lease
Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups https://www.excedr.com/blog/marketing-sales-strategies-for-biotechs
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Larry Sabato https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Sabato
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:30 Growing Up as an Only Child and Early Communication Skills
04:33 Family Business Background and Early Entrepreneurial Spirit
09:52 College Decision and University of Virginia Experience
13:18 Political Science at UVA and Path to Washington D.C.
20:39 Choosing Columbia MBA and Moving to New York
24:46 Memorable Challenges at Columbia Business School
43:01 Job Search During Economic Downturn and Entry into Pharma
46:36 Starting Field Marketing Division at Medco
50:44 Joining Small Pharma Company in Addiction Medicine
54:41 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.