🧬 Competition, Coaching & Curiosity: The Investor’s Mindset | Stephanie Sirota Rerelease (1/3)
July 9, 2026
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jon Chee sits down with Stephanie Sirota, partner and head of strategic partnerships at RTW Investments, to explore how a coddled yet cosmopolitan upbringing, years of elite tennis competition, and a humanities-rich education at Columbia shaped her mental toughness, leadership style, and approach to partnering with life sciences innovators. From sports psychology and coaching to the value of breadth before specialization, Stephanie reflects on the experiences that built her resilience and curiosity long before she helped transform RTW into a leading life sciences investment firm.
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"You learn more from the questions than actually from the answers."
"You learn more from the questions than actually from the answers."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jon Chee sits down with Stephanie Sirota, partner and head of strategic partnerships at RTW Investments, to explore how a coddled yet cosmopolitan upbringing, years of elite tennis competition, and a humanities-rich education at Columbia shaped her mental toughness, leadership style, and approach to partnering with life sciences innovators. From sports psychology and coaching to the value of breadth before specialization, Stephanie reflects on the experiences that built her resilience and curiosity long before she helped transform RTW into a leading life sciences investment firm.
Key Topics Covered:
- Early upbringing & cultural exposure: How time in Europe and Argentina fostered observation, listening, and empathy.
- Competitive tennis & mental toughness: Lessons from Nick Bollettieri’s academy, sports psychology, and learning to never give up.
- Coaching, feedback & leadership: Why the right coaches and boards are critical for executives & company builders.
- Burnout, injury & reinvention: Transitioning from a potential pro tennis career to SMU and then Columbia University.
- Columbia core curriculum & humanities: How the Western canon, philosophy, and broad education inform strategy & investing.
- Journalism training & investment banking: Using storytelling, information triage, and capital to drive impact in biotech investing.
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Find our guest, Stephanie Sirota, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephsirota/
Website: https://www.rtwfunds.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:
Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (IMG Academy Tennis): https://www.imgacademy.com/sport-camps/tennis
Jim Loehr – Sports Psychology & Mental Toughness: https://www.jim-loehr.com
Columbia College Core Curriculum: https://www.college.columbia.edu/core
Western Canon (Literature & Humanities Overview): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/literary-theory
Bioethics Overview (Research Ethics): https://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/resources/bioethics-briefing-notes
Investment Banking Overview (M&A, IPOs & Capital Markets): https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investment-banking.asp
Companies, Universities, & People Mentioned:
RTW Investments: https://www.rtwfunds.com
Lehman Brothers (historical archive): https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lehman-Brothers
Valhalla Capital Advisors: https://www.valhallacap.com
IMG Academy (formerly Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy): https://www.imgacademy.com
Southern Methodist University (SMU): https://www.smu.edu
Columbia University: https://www.columbia.edu
University of California, Berkeley: https://www.berkeley.edu
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:57 Stephanie’s globally minded upbringing & learning through questions
03:24 Discovering tennis, late specialization & playing catch up
06:16 Mental toughness, sports psychology & the joy of a comeback
09:15 Coaching, experts & building better leaders
12:16 Injury, burnout & leaving competitive tennis behind
14:16 Transferring to Columbia & starting a new chapter
15:44 Discovering the Columbia core & falling in love with the Western canon
18:14 Breadth vs specialization & finding your authentic track
20:02 Curiosity, wormholes & cross-disciplinary thinking
21:34 Choosing journalism & the altruistic side of storytelling
22:11 Moving from words to capital: Why she chose investment banking
22:40 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.