🧬 Mike Stadnisky - Thielsen Capital - Part 3 | Don’t Fake it ‘Til you Make It | Cleaning Your Corporate “Underwear” | Thielsen’s Investment Philosophy | The Critical Importance of Alignment

Part 3 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 conclude our conversation with Mike Stadnisky as he discusses the important lessons that he learned from going through the M&A process, and how knowing about them early can benefit founders. We also discuss why it is essential for you to have the mentality that someone will see your corporate “underwear,” and why proper documentation is tedious yet vital to your company’s success. Finally, we conclude our interview with Mike by reviewing Thielsen Capital’s unique investment philosophy and the exciting things that are on the horizon for them. 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:
00:55 “Wouldn’t it be nice,” approach to calling in a favor
02:52 Be boldly innovative, but do not fake it till you make it
05:27 Learning the pitfalls of overpromising, being honest about what can and cannot be done
07:35 The importance of having loyalty and real excitement from your customer base
09:16 How social media is underutilized in the life sciences and what founders can learn from going through the M&A process
11:50 The importance of strategic optionality and other lessons learned from FlowJo’s acquisition
13:26 Decoding banker-speak and why you should always have the mentality that someone will see your corporate “underwear”
15:31 Lawyers, proper documentation, and other vital, yet unsexy, company hygiene practices
16:59 Write your own business case because you can never assume that another company understands it
19:48 Advice to startups about defining how your business will succeed and scale
22:13 Why a robust finance team and proper financial reporting are critical, even in the life sciences
24:40 Another of Mike’s financial modeling sins and being honest about how much capital your company really needs
27:01 How the M&A process inspired Mike to get into investing and start Thielsen Capital
29:57 Thielsen Capital’s objectives, mission, and what sets them apart from other VCs
31:44 Why Mike fundamentally disagrees with the 1:10 success rate model
34:02 How to maintain that founder magic and convincing people to operate in their own best interest
36:33 Paths other than the power law distribution VC route and why having optionality is important
39:55 Dangers of being in an over-capitalized environment and what getting on the venture treadmill means
42:29 Alignment and other important things founders must consider when they use alternatives fundraising sources
44:55 Finding the right people to match where your company is and why Thielsen’s focused investment philosophy is not for everyone
47:16 What's on the horizon for Thielsen Capital and the unique communal aspect of the life sciences industry
50:06 Why the work life science companies do is amazing despite their struggles to explain it to the public clearly
51:46 Mike shouts out his wife, mentors, and exceptional teams that he has worked with
54:05 Advice and perspective Mike would share with his younger self
55:47 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:
Thielsen Capital https://www.thielsencapital.com/
FlowJo Inc.  https://www.flowjo.com/
Phitonex https://www.linkedin.com/company/thermospectralcytometry/
Levi’s https://www.levistrauss.com/levis-history/

How Do Core Labs Support Life Science Research? https://www.excedr.com/blog/core-labs/
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/
What is Financial Modeling https://www.excedr.com/resources/what-is-financial-modeling
Software Tools for Keeping Startup Costs in Check https://www.excedr.com/blog/tools-for-keeping-startup-costs-in-check
Guide to Reducing Startup Costs & Expenses https://www.excedr.com/blog/startup-costs-and-expenses
What Is Equity Crowdfunding https://www.excedr.com/resources/equity-crowdfunding-in-biotech
How to get Funding for Lab Research https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-get-funding-for-lab-research
Guide to Grant Funding for Biotech Startups https://www.excedr.com/resources/grants-public-funding-biotech-startups
Biotech Startup Funding Options https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-startup-funding-options
VC Term Sheets: What They Include & Why They Matter https://www.excedr.com/resources/venture-capital-term-sheets/

Multi-Omics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiomics
Ultrarunning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarathon
Term sheets https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/termsheet.asp
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mergersandacquisitions.asp
Business Development https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090815/basics-business-development.asp
Decision-Makers vs. Technical Champions https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/champion-vs-decision-maker-whom-target-b2b-customer-frederik-vosberg/
What are KOLs
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-kol-marketing-key-opinion-leaders-retailboss/
Go-to-Market Strategy https://www.cognism.com/blog/what-is-a-go-to-market-strategy

People Mentioned:
Mario Roederer https://www.flowjo.com/about/company/founders
Alex Roederer https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-roederer-8562051b9/
Alvin Phitonex https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-lebeck-b626842/
Craig LaBonda https://www.linkedin.com/in/craiglaboda/

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.