🧬 Almost $100 Million. No Venture. | Steve Visco Rerelease (3/3)
November 2, 2026
Steve Visco grew PolyPlus Battery Company on government contracts instead of a stack of tiny SBIRs. Lawrence Berkeley had already taught him how to write large proposals. The danger, he says, is chasing money that pulls the company off its North Star. Once you sign, you cannot renegotiate the work. You get reports, audits, and no BMWs in the parking lot. ARPA-E will kill a grant that stalls. His grant-writing rule is the same as a venture pitch: why should anyone care, who is on the team, and don't ask for too little.
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“We've never actually taken venture capital.”
Steve Visco grew PolyPlus Battery Company on government contracts instead of a stack of tiny SBIRs. Lawrence Berkeley had already taught him how to write large proposals. The danger, he says, is chasing money that pulls the company off its North Star. Once you sign, you cannot renegotiate the work. You get reports, audits, and no BMWs in the parking lot. ARPA-E will kill a grant that stalls. His grant-writing rule is the same as a venture pitch: why should anyone care, who is on the team, and don't ask for too little.
They started on angels, then a chemical company paid the R&D bills. Strategic investors followed. They have never taken venture. First CEO Rudolph Hurwich did not want it. Venture fails fast. Grants and angels do not take the company. Manufacturing money later showed up in specialized government programs, including a seawater-battery line. Steve's play for corporates is not a cold email. Give a talk that scouts cannot ignore, or earn a press hit, and let them come to you.
Japanese partners move by consensus and assume Americans exaggerate. Some Korean partners decide fast and stay on you. Recruiting in California is a fight. Manufacturing is going to Indiana: dry rooms, ISO, a general manager, and a pro-business state. Asked what he would tell his 21-year-old self, Steve lands on follow the work that still excites you. He thanks Donna, then Rudy, who was on Nixon's enemies list, made the cover of Time with Dymo, and taught a 1960s skeptic that builders can be decent people.
Key Topics Covered:
- Non-dilutive grants instead of living on SBIRs
- Close to $100 million in government money
- Write the proposal so the North Star is already in the statement of work
- Audits, reporting, and ARPA-E's high bar
- Don't ask for too little
- Acting classes, storytelling, and a delayed Nobel
- Angels and strategics, never venture
- Why Rudy Hurwich kept VCs out
- Seawater batteries and manufacturing grants
- Conference talks that make corporates walk up after
- Japanese diligence versus Korean speed
- Hiring in California, building in Indiana
- Advice to a 21-year-old, and a shout-out to Rudy
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Find our guest, Steve Visco, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-j-visco-2910b57
Website: https://polyplus.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:
https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
Non-dilutive capital: https://www.excedr.com/blog/the-benefits-of-non-dilutive-capital
Grant funding: https://www.excedr.com/resources/grants-public-funding-biotech-startups
Grant proposals: https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-write-a-grant-proposal-for-research
SBIR grants: https://www.excedr.com/blog/sbir-grants-guide
Survive without VC: https://www.excedr.com/resources/can-biotech-startups-survive-without-vc-funding
Corporate VC: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-corporate-venture-capital
Corporate investors: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-corporate-investors-look-for-in-life-sciences-startups
ARPA-E: https://arpa-e.energy.gov/
Companies, Universities, & People Mentioned:
ARPA-E: https://arpa-e.energy.gov/
Purdue University: https://www.purdue.edu/
Rudolph Hurwich: https://hurwich.com/
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: https://www.lbl.gov/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:29 Non-Dilutive Money, Not SBIRs
02:33 Close to $100 Million
02:51 Stay on the North Star
03:08 Audits, BMWs, and ARPA-E
07:52 Don't Ask for Too Little
09:15 Acting Classes and a Delayed Nobel
11:12 We've Never Taken Venture
11:35 Rudy Preferred Strategics
13:37 Seawater Batteries and Manufacturing Grants
15:22 Let the Corporates Come to You
20:09 Japanese Skepticism, Korean Speed
22:24 Recruiting in California, Building in Indiana
30:36 Advice to a 21-Year-Old
35:24 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.