Ep. 38: Advantages of Founders Backing Founders in Biotech with Justin Olshavsky
In this episode, VibeCast host Ray Dogum speaks with Justin Olshavsky, General Partner of Pioneer Fund, about the Advantages of Founders Backing Founders in Biotech. ------------------------------------------------------------------------Key moments: 00:00:05 - Introduction 00:00:38 - Background and Y Combinator Experience 00:02:00 - Starting Pioneer Bio + Health Fund 00:07:25 - Responsibilities and Goals as a General Partner 00:10:22 - Excitement and Curiosity in Venture Investing 00:14:41 - The Future of Consumer Applications for Neuralink 00:16:25 - The Potential of BCIs and Other Interfaces 00:18:15 - Treating Mental Health with Neurotechnology 00:19:35 - The Ethical Responsibility of Investors 00:21:20 - Bio+Health Fund and Partnership Opportunities 00:30:48 - Excitement for Working with Next Generation of Founders 00:31:13 - Call to Action and Appreciation Guest Bio: Justin Olshavsky is a Founder and General Partner of the Pioneer Bio+Health Fund, where he invests in early stage biotechnology, life science, and healthcare companies. Please reach out if you're building in bio+health! He previously founded Voyage Bio (YC S19) at 23 years old, which was later acquired by a public medtech company. At Voyage, he pioneered a novel therapeutic using cooling to prevent brain damage during stroke. Justin was the CTO / Co-founder, and the only engineer at the company from inception to acquisition. He is an award-winning product designer and has a background in mechanical engineering and bioengineering (UC Berkeley / UCSF / Clemson). Guest Links Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolshavsky/ Twitter Pioneer Fund Linkedin Pioneer Fund Website About VibeCast VibeCast is our weekly informational podcast and content series exploring the hottest topics in drug development and Web3 with some of the dynamic people that make up the Vibe community. VibeCast is a collection of long-form and short-form video content intended to help our community learn about the current opportunities and challenges in biotech fundraising and community engagement innovation. Guests include biotech founders, regulatory experts, drug development executives, blockchain technologists, web3 community builders, patient community advocates, and many other Vibe Bio community members seeking to accelerate the development of breakthrough treatments. Follow Vibe Bio's Socials: https://twitter.com/VibeBio https://www.linkedin.com/company/vibe-bio/ https://www.instagram.com/vibebiotechnology/ https://www.tiktok.com/@vibebio https://www.facebook.com/VibeBiotechnology/ Disclaimer: VibeCast is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes, and no information or opinions shared constitute advice or services. While guests are invited to listen, listeners acknowledge they are not being provided professional advice from the podcast or the guests. The podcast is for private non-commercial use and the statements of our guests reflect their personal views only and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any agency, organization, or company that they work for or are affiliated with.
