Grow Everything Biotech Podcast Beyond Capital: Phil Morle of Main Sequence Ventures on Collaboration as the New Competitive Edge
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Oct 3, 2025 Phil Morle, a partner at Main Sequence Ventures and co-founder of Pollenizer, brings insights from his unique journey in venture science. He discusses how orchestration can propel biomanufacturing, highlighting the successful collaboration behind Samsara and Lululemon’s recycling efforts. The conversation delves into the strategic choice to prioritize nylon recycling and the importance of offtake agreements over equity checks. Morle emphasizes the need for a 'forklift test' to ensure industrial relevance and advocates for collaboration as a market catalyst, acknowledging Australia's strengths in deep tech.
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Pollenizer’s Scrappy Company‑Building
- Phil recounts founding Pollenizer as Australia's Y Combinator and building 25 companies on a shoestring.
- He ran those efforts with under $5M, learning playbooks for repeatable company creation.
Orchestrate Market Pull, Not Just Science
- Orchestrate supply chains and customers early to create market pull for deep tech.
- Venture capital then de-risks execution toward committed corporate offtakes like Lululemon for Samsara.
Samsara’s Co‑Founding With Woolworths
- Phil recounts co-founding Samsara with Woolworths and ANU to attack mixed plastic waste.
- That early co-found and tech demo created credibility that opened conversations with Lululemon.