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.
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The key moments in this episode are:
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: https://twitter.com/olshav
Pioneer Fund Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pioneerfund/
Pioneer Fund Website: https://www.pioneerfund.vc/
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.
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