🧬 Mentors, Networks & IP: Power Moves for Biotech Startup Success | Darren Cooke (Part 2/4)
"If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re busy and bored, you really should be doing something else."
In this episode, Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer and Executive Director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center at the University of California, Berkeley, traces his bold path from high-stakes law firm litigation to in-house IP leadership at Bio-Rad Laboratories, eventually launching his own practice to guide biotech startups.
He dives into career pivots, lessons from Berkeley’s entrepreneurial scene, startup investing, and why simply showing up is often the secret to transformative opportunities and growth.
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Episode Description:
"If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re busy and bored, you really should be doing something else."
In this episode, Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer and Executive Director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center at the University of California, Berkeley, traces his bold path from high-stakes law firm litigation to in-house IP leadership at Bio-Rad Laboratories, eventually launching his own practice to guide biotech startups.
He dives into career pivots, lessons from Berkeley’s entrepreneurial scene, startup investing, and why simply showing up is often the secret to transformative opportunities and growth.
Key topics covered:
- Career Lessons: How rigorous mentors and big-law rigor fueled personal growth
- Life at Bio-Rad: Unique culture and hands-on IP leadership at a family-founded biotech
- Pivot to Startups: Startup exposure—and a key acquisition—sparked Darren’s leap to entrepreneurship
- Building Networks: Persistence and showing up lead to game-changing connections
- Angel Investing & IP Strategy: The real ingredients behind investable, resilient biotech startups
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:46 Key Lessons from Law Firm Experience
04:32 Moving to Covington in San Francisco
08:56 Balancing Big Law with Family Life
10:39 How the Bio-Rad Opportunity Came About
14:00 Going In-House: Culture and Day-to-Day Life
17:19 Learning Patent Prosecution and Working with Inventors
21:09 The QuantaLife Acquisition Sparks Startup Interest
25:08 Launching a Solo Practice and Finding Zero Clients
28:48 Joining Life Science Angels and Berkeley Angel Network
32:33 Running LSA Investment Meetings: Trial by Fire
34:42 What Makes Life Science Startups Investable
37:38 Outro