The Biotech Deal That Became a Leadership Crisis | Philip Borden (3/4)
September 7, 2026
Philip Borden describes leaving Frazier Healthcare Partners for Harvard Business School, where the case method broadened his perspective beyond healthcare and investing. He explains why he returned to healthcare investing after graduation.
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“Sometimes like it is not a straight line, man. You know, that things can go in wildly unexpected directions.”
“Sometimes like it is not a straight line, man. You know, that things can go in wildly unexpected directions.”
Philip Borden describes leaving Frazier Healthcare Partners for Harvard Business School, where the case method broadened his perspective beyond healthcare and investing. He explains why he returned to healthcare investing after graduation.
At Riverside Partners, Philip moved from venture into private equity, focusing on control investments in profitable, founder-owned healthcare businesses. He discusses why the model fit his personality better than venture's power-law dynamics and high failure rate.
Philip also revisits BioAgilytix, his first fully solo deal, where a founder conflict forced an unexpected leadership transition shortly after the investment. He shares lessons on crisis management, vulnerability, team trust, fundraising from LPs, and investing through the 2008 to 2009 downturn.
Key Topics Covered:
- Harvard Business School
- The Case Method
- Healthcare Investing
- Transition From Venture to Private Equity
- Control Investments
- Founder-Owned Businesses
- Riverside Partners
- BioAgilytix
- Leadership Transitions
- Limited Partner Fundraising
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Find our guest, Philip Borden, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipborden
Website: https://www.labshares.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:
Harvard Business School: https://www.hbs.edu/
Duke University: https://www.duke.edu/
BioAgilytix: https://www.bioagilytix.com/
GSK: https://www.gsk.com/
JPMorgan: https://www.jpmorgan.com/
Yale University: https://www.yale.edu/
Excedr Partner Network: https://www.excedr.com/partners
Companies, Universities, & People Mentioned:
Frazier Healthcare Partners: https://www.frazierhealthcare.com
Harvard Business School: https://www.hbs.edu
MIT Sloan: https://mitsloan.mit.edu
Oxford Bioscience Partners: https://www.oxfordbioscience.com
Riverside Partners: https://www.riversidepartners.com
GSK: https://www.gsk.com
BioAgilytix: https://www.bioagilytix.com
JPMorgan: https://www.jpmorgan.com
Aetna Healthcare: https://www.aetna.com
DeWalt Power Tools: https://www.dewalt.com
Ducati Motorcycles: https://www.ducati.com
SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com
Yale: https://www.yale.edu
David Swensen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Swensen
Jeremy Griffin: https://www.linkedin.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:51 From Frazier to Harvard Business School
02:46 The Case Method and Socratic Learning
04:05 Building a Broader Business Foundation
05:38 Returning to Healthcare Investing
08:23 From Venture to Private Equity
12:37 Control Investments in Founder-Owned Businesses
14:32 Building Riverside's Healthcare Practice
15:36 Sourcing Under-the-Radar Businesses
17:37 BioAgilytix's Growth Opportunity
18:15 A Founder Conflict and Leadership Change
18:56 Navigating Crisis and Leading with Vulnerability
24:25 Raising Capital from LPs
27:22 Investing Through the 2008 to 2009 Downturn
28:44 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.