🧬 100 Discovery Interviews Built A $3M Biotech Launchpad At Berkeley | Darren Cooke (Part 4/4) The Biotech Startups podcast

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🧬 100 Discovery Interviews Built a $3M Biotech Launchpad at Berkeley | Darren Cooke (Part 4/4)

4d ago 34:46

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"If anyone comes to me and says, 'Hey, I’ve got this idea. I think we could do something with it,' I’m like, 'You gotta take the I-Corps class first... it really changes your mindset.'"

In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer and Executive Director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center at the University of California, Berkeley, reveals how 100 discovery interviews turned a $3 million campus experiment into a powerhouse for biotech innovation.

He shares the creation of Berkeley’s flagship fellows program, the launch of speed teaming and venture grants, and how simple ideas like fostering connection and collaboration transformed campus culture. Darren also reflects on the leadership of Chancellor Rich Lyons and offers candid lessons on perseverance, mentorship, and the art of “showing up.”

Key topics covered:

Launching the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center: Transforming a blank-slate idea into a thriving biotech launchpad
Building Transformative Programs: Creating standout tracks like fellows, I-Corps, speed teaming, and venture grants
Changing Campus Culture: Flipping Berkeley’s outlook to embrace innovation and collaboration
The Power of Connection: Sparking new partnerships and opportunities across the campus ecosystem
Reflections and Advice: Actionable mentorship lessons and founder tips for real-world impact

If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening.

Subscribe to the Podcast:

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebiotechstartupspodcast

Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Find our guest, Darren Cooke, at these links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddcooke/

Website: http://berkeley.edu/

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:

How UC Berkeley Became an Unexpected Leader in Entrepreneurship and Startups: https://iande.berkeley.edu/StartupCampus

Startup Campus (How UC Berkeley became a leader in entrepreneurship) https://a.co/d/5pCg83q

Berkeley SkyDeck Demo Day: https://skydeck.berkeley.edu/tag/demo_day/

Bakar Faculty Fellows Program: https://bakarfellows.berkeley.edu/

QB3 Speed Teaming program: https://qb3.org/event/bio-startup-speed-teaming/

Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:

UC Berkeley: https://www.berkeley.edu/

Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley Haas): https://haas.berkeley.edu/

Venture Capital Fund: https://tinyurl.com/29dnsjpb

Berkeley SkyDeck: https://skydeck.berkeley.edu/

QB3 (California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences): https://qb3.org/

Bakar Labs: https://bakarlabs.berkeley.edu/

Rich Lyons: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-lyons-30332b1/

David Kirn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkirnmd/

Tobias Schmid: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taschmid/

Paul Alivisatos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-alivisatos-4b313b6/

Ariel Notcovic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-notcovich/

Justin Reese,: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-reese-3419b24/

Hannah Weber: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-weber001/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:01 Darren’s Berkeley Faculty Journey

03:03 The $3 Million Startup Experiment

05:24 Launching the Fellows Program

08:43 The I-Corps Mindset Shift

10:25 Signature Berkeley Showcase Event

11:51 Speed Teaming for Startup Connections

14:17 Haas & Life Sciences Cross-Campus Partnerships

17:18 Startup Success Story: Reese & Weber

20:10 Berkeley’s Shift Toward Entrepreneurship

24:45 Chancellor Lyons’ Impact & Venture Fund

27:38 Scaling Programs and Entrepreneur in Residence

32:24 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.

184 episodes

#Science #Biology #Business #Jon Chee #Biotech Startups #Biotech #Startups #Excedr #Life Sciences #Entrepreneur #Founders #Culture