Running Through Walls

Sam Kulkarni, PhD, CEO and Chairman of CRISPR Therapeutics, joins Venrock’s Nimish Shah for a conversation about how they’re using gene editing to find potential cures so miraculous, it almost sounds like science fiction. Sam shares advice on how to fundraise in the extraordinarily capital-intensive biotech market, having the courage to go after difficult things and face detractors, and how CEOs should find opportunity in volatility.

Dylan Parker, Co-Founder and CEO of Moment, joins Venrock investor Nick Beim to discuss how Moment is transforming the fixed income market, starting with rebuilding execution and portfolio management for some of the largest players in U.S. wealth management. Their discussion ranges from how to win in an industry with a risk tolerance of zero, never letting your talent bar drop, when to diversify from your core product, and beyond.

Ellen Lord, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) at the Departmet of Defense, joins Venrock investor Morgan Hitzig to discuss the defense tech ecosystem, building resilient supply chains and efficient teams, and making the often conflicting timelines between VC, government, and early stage companies work for industry and our warfighters. Plus, our new favorite piece of advice: “you have two ears and one mouth, use them proportionately.”

The results of our 9th annual Healthcare Prognosis are in and the healthcare experts who took our survey aren’t too optimistic about what’s ahead. Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher sat down to discuss the most interesting findings, their perspective on what it means and what’s ahead, and even offer a few glimmers of optimism.

Punit Soni, CEO and Founder of Suki, joins Venrock partner Bob Kocher for a conversation about how AI will invisibly assume administrative burdens in healthcare, enabling a future where doctors get to do what they love – serving patients. They discuss building companies during generational step changes, advice for getting started in health tech, jumping on high-growth rocket ships, and more.

Charlie Glazer, Head of Healthcare Equity Capital Markets at Jefferies, joins Venrock partner Nimish Shah for a conversation on what will move the needle for the healthcare market in the months ahead. He shares advice on transactions including crossovers, reverse mergers, IPOs and also, his thoughts on what makes a strong management team, and how companies can prepare to impress public investors.

Jonathan Violin, CEO of Crescent Biopharma and Venture Partner at Fairmount, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah about how the company is keeping a frenetic and exciting pace to generate a new class of drugs while preparing to launch on the public markets later this year.

Cameron Turtle, CEO of Spyre Therapeutics,Inc. speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah about Spyre’s priorities for 2025, building a collaborative and productive Board, how culture shines through when the going gets tough, and the best advice he's ever received.  This podcast was recorded in December 2024. Please be advised that comments made during this podcast contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to Spyre Therapeutic, Inc.'s (“Spyre”) expectations regarding Spyre’s product candidates including their potential safety and efficacy, business and clinical trial plans, milestones and timelines. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. For further details concerning these risks and uncertainties, please refer to Spyre's SEC filings, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements are only as of the date they were made and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the cautionary statements herein. Spyre does not undertake or accept any duty to make any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements.  

Bruce Perkins, healthcare advisor and former Humana leader, speaks with Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher about how he built Humana into a juggernaut of Medicare Advantage and his prognostications for the industry amid CMS-HCC model version 28, GLP-1s, margin structure recovery, and ongoing drug price negotiations.

Bob Kocher and Bryan Roberts take the mic for a special episode highlighting their predictions for healthcare in 2025. They go deeper on their thoughts about Medicare Advantage under the new administration, how a resurgence of IPOs and M&A could play out, where Big Tech may actually be good at healthcare, and more. To read all 10 of their annual predictions, check out their article in Fortune Magazine.

Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, speaks with Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher about the chapters of his career in public health before, during, and after the pandemic. He shares what he got right and wrong during his time as White House COVID-19 coordinator, how he managed 40-50 media interviews a day, where we have work to do on public health issues, and more. 

Elizabeth Pemmerl, Chief Revenue Officer at GitHub, speaks with Venrock partner Ethan Batraski to discuss her nearly decade-long journey with GitHub. Pemmerl shares how she transitioned from working in the public sector to GitHub, go-to-market strategies, balancing developer vs. enterprise needs, changing developer behavior and more. 

David Stark, Chief Medical Officer at Morgan Stanley, speaks with Venrock partner Bob Kocher to discuss his career journey from practicing medicine to taking a non-clinical role in business. Stark shares how he views his role as Chief Medical Officer, advice for other doctors who want to transition out of practicing medicine, what he’s proudest of at Morgan Stanley and more.

Alex Rosemblat, former Chief Marketing Officer at Datadog, speaks with Venrock partner Ethan Batraski to discuss his 11-year run at the helm of Datadog’s Marketing Team and what’s next for his career. Rosemblat shares insights into leading Datadog’s go-to-market strategy, advice for other marketing leaders tackling this for a new product or company for the first time, his biggest learning from Datadog and more. During the conversation, Rosemblat recommended Digital CMO's Guide to Marketing Measurement by Bryan Semple.  Book mentioned: https://vnrk.co/3VuFvxg 

Heather Turner, CEO at Carmot Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah to discuss her time as CEO. Turner shares how she guided the company through its acquisition by Roche, advice for other CEOs on the verge of an acquisition, her perspective on the GLP-1 market and what excites her about the future of biotech. 

Mark McKenna, chairman and CEO at Mirador Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah to discuss his most recent role at Prometheus Biosciences and the beginning of his new company, Mirador. McKenna shares a behind-the-scenes look into leading Prometheus during its acquisition by Merck, why he started Mirador Therapeutics, advice for other CEOs, what he values in a team and more.

We have a special episode today because Venrock’s 8th annual Healthcare Prognosis results are in! From drugs (e.g., GLP-1s, pricing negotiations) to fundraising and optimism around the equity market to cybersecurity and AI regulations - this year’s survey covers it all. In this episode, partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher sit down to share their perspectives on the most interesting findings.

Sami Inkinen, founder and CEO of Virta Health, speaks with Venrock partner Bob Kocher to discuss how Virta has evolved since he was on the podcast seven years ago. Inkinen shares how he views the GLP-1 craze, insights on his go-to-market strategy, advice for founders entering the healthcare market, and how Virta uses AI and technology. 

Latané Conant, Chief Revenue Officer at 6sense, speaks with Venrock partner Brian Ascher to discuss how her previous marketing role prepared her for her promotion to Chief Revenue Officer. Conant shares her approach to keeping product market fit, her opinion on Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), how AI could impact sales and marketing and more.

Isan Chen, CEO of MBrace Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Racquel Bracken to discuss his career trajectory leading up to his founding of MBrace. Chen shares the impetus behind his decision to become an oncologist, why he switched from academic medicine to the industry side, lessons learned from years in drug development and more.