🧬Reinventing Leather: How SynBio Is Transforming a $100B Industry | Michael Newton (Part 4/4)

The Biotech Startups Podcast

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🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.

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"We're not making a more sustainable leather. Yes, we do that. What we're making is a better leather. It's real leather, but it comes completely uniform in rectangular sheets that you can then work with super efficiently."

In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Qorium CEO Michael Newton reveals how his mission-driven team is reinventing leather through synthetic biology and tissue engineering, producing uniform, high-quality material.

He draws on his Nike experience to discuss the realities of scaling deeptech, overcoming fundraising and market-entry challenges, forging key partnerships, and stresses the value of mentorship and bold early-career risks.

Key topics covered:

Disrupting the Leather Industry: Using synthetic biology for scalable, high-quality, sustainable leather
Scaling Deeptech Innovation: Overcoming engineering and manufacturing hurdles from lab to factory
Navigating Fundraising Challenges: Securing Series A for bold biotech in a tough market
Team Building & Culture: Building resilient teams through values and clear mission
Advice & Reflections: Lessons in mentorship, growth, and the power of risk-taking

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, Michael Newton, at these links:

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

Website: http://www.qorium.com/

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:

Make Trouble by Cecile Richards: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35721620-make-trouble

The “Acquired” Podcast: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/google

Insights and leadership from Jensen Huang: https://www.mba.ust.hk/mba-programs/mba-pulse/leadership-lessons-jensen-huang-insights-next-generation-leaders

CRISPR Screening and Tissue Engineering at Harvard and the Wyss Institute: https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/crisprs-impact-today/

Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:

Planned Parenthood Federation of America: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us

Qorium: https://qorium.com/

Nike: https://www.nike.com/

Mosa Meat: https://www.mosameat.com/

Dr. Mark Post: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpost1/?originalSubdomain=nl

Ramanan Raghavendran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramananraghavendran/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:43 Qorium’s Mission: Reinventing Leather with Real, Sustainable Material

03:03 The Leather Industry: State, Problems, and Qorium’s Disruption

07:41 Product First: Making Better Leather, Not Just Sustainable Leather

08:09 The Technology Behind Qorium: Cultivation and Tissue Engineering

11:24 Go-to-Market Strategy: Partnerships, Scaling, and Industry Adoption

16:57 Industry Resistance and the Need for Progress

20:47 Fundraising for Deeptech: Challenges and Realities in the Current Climate

24:46 Reflecting on Macro Trends and the Importance of Persistence

32:24 Shoutouts: Mentors, Family, and Influential Figures

36:50 Advice to Younger Self: Taking Risks and Riding Trends

39:23 Closing Thoughts and Gratitude

40:09 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.

185 episodes

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