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Part 2 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Jeff Kim, co-founder and CEO of Slingshot Biosciences. Slingshot designs and manufactures synthetic cells for R&D, clinical diagnostics, and engineered cell therapies, aiming to overcome supply chain and cost barriers that restrict access to advanced diagnostics and therapeutics. Jeff is a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded and run multiple successful companies, including Radiant Genomics, which was eventually acquired by Zymergen, and Pattern Ag, a company mapping soil microbes to help farmers grow their bottom line. Before Radiant, Jeff was a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and was the project lead for jet fuel development at Amyris Biotechnologies.

Join us as we sit down with Jeff as he discusses his transition to the West Coast to work for Amyris and his pivot from academia to industry. Jeff brings up how a personal loss pushed him to start not one, but two startups from his basement, including Radiant Genomics. He speaks to the acquisition discussions he had with Zymergen about merging Radiant Genomics into their portfolio. Jeff also discusses the slow growth and learning curve with his current company, Slingshot Biosciences. Please enjoy my conversation with Jeff Kim.

Find Our Guest, Jeff Kim, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimjeff/
https://slingshotbio.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
https://www.excedr.com

Timestamps:
00:28 Intro
01:20 Episode starts, a fascinating opportunity moved Jeff to the West Coast, working as a team toward one goal in industry rather than competing in academia
05:28 Amyris job offer, the opportunity to work autonomously, and meeting his wife while there
06:53 Personal loss pushed him to start two startups, Radiant merging with Zymergen, getting into venture funding
09:51 Slingshot growing slowly out of Jeff’s basement, meeting with the Arch venture fund
12:17 Advising at Lawrence Berkeley, early days and business model of Radiant Genomics
19:28 The reason why Slingshot became a 12-year business instead of a 6-month build and sell
21:51 How an anecdote about going from the basement to the lab helped shape company infrastructure
26:07 First major sale with Zymergen, learning from hard lessons
30:19 Outro
Long-Form Video Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:52 Episode starts, a fascinating opportunity moved Jeff to the West Coast, working as a team toward one goal in industry rather than competing in academia
05:34 Amyris job offer, the opportunity to work autonomously, and meeting his wife while there
07:10 Personal loss pushed him to start two startups, Radiant merging with Zymergen, getting into venture funding
10:40 Slingshot growing slowly out of Jeff’s basement, meeting with the Arch venture fund
13:53 Advising at Lawrence Berkeley, early days and business model of Radiant Genomics
22:30 The reason why Slingshot became a 12-year business instead of a 6-month build and sell
26:22 How an anecdote about going from the basement to the lab helped shape company infrastructure
32:10 First major sale with Zymergen, learning from hard lessons
29:51 Outro

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
An Equipment Leasing Program for Scientists & Researchers https://www.excedr.com/leasing
Common Lab Equipment https://www.excedr.com/blog/common-lab-equipment
Types of Equipment Leases https://www.excedr.com/blog/types-of-equipment-leases
Purchasing Used Lab Equipment https://www.excedr.com/blog/used-lab-equipment-equipnet
How to Apply for an Equipment Lease https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-apply-for-an-equipment-lease
How to Start a Lab in 2024 https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-start-a-lab
Biotech Startup Support https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support
Guide to Reducing Startup Costs & Expenses https://www.excedr.com/blog/startup-costs-and-expenses
Delivery Methods to Maximize Genome https://www.excedr.com/resources/crispr-delivery-methods
Overview of Recombinase https://www.excedr.com/resources/recombinase-overview
What Is DNA Methylation? https://www.excedr.com/resources/what-is-dna-methylation
DNA Modification: Processes, Significance, & Implications https://www.excedr.com/resources/dna-modification-explained
What Should Investors & Founders Expect From Each Other? https://www.excedr.com/resources/investor-founder-expectations
First Steps a Founder Can Take https://www.excedr.com/resources/rd-startup-funding-first-steps
Funding https://www.excedr.com/category/funding
Series Funding Explained https://www.excedr.com/resources/series-funding-explained
How to Bootstrap Your Biotech Startup & Scale https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-bootstrap-biotech-startup