🧬 Execution, Liquidity, & Founder Lessons | Nathan Clark Rerelease (1/4)
August 17, 2026
Nathan Clark reflects on the formative influence of his entrepreneurial father, who showed him that business and even home building are learned through research, effort, and execution rather than secret insight. Nathan also discusses his unconventional high school experience, his decision to study business and finance at the University of North Carolina, and the early interest in biology and futurism that stayed with him.
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“There's no secret. It really is just doing.”
Nathan Clark reflects on the formative influence of his entrepreneurial father, who showed him that business and even home building are learned through research, effort, and execution rather than secret insight. Nathan also discusses his unconventional high school experience, his decision to study business and finance at the University of North Carolina, and the early interest in biology and futurism that stayed with him.
Nathan explains how his quantitative interests led him to Goldman Sachs, where he worked on a collateralized loan obligation trading desk. He breaks down market making, liquidity, bid-ask spreads, inventory, risk management, and the importance of balancing books in an illiquid market.
The conversation also explores the habits Nathan developed on the trading desk, including rigorous reconciliation, attention to detail, understanding the mechanics behind the numbers, and making disciplined decisions under pressure. He connects those lessons to entrepreneurship, emphasizing execution, diligence, capital allocation, and learning from other industries.
Key Topics Covered:
- Nathan's upbringing and entrepreneurial father
- Execution over secret insight
- Imposter syndrome and taking action
- An unconventional high school and college path
- Studying business, economics, and finance at UNC
- Early interest in biology, futurism, and OpenWorm
- Recruiting for investment banking versus trading
- Goldman Sachs and collateralized loan obligation trading
- Market making and providing liquidity
- Bid-ask spreads, fair pricing, and bond liquidity
- Risk management and balancing a trading book
- Attention to detail and operational diligence
- Transferable lessons for founders
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Find our guest, Nathan Clark, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-clark-4b850134/
Website: https://ganymede.bio/
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 music:
OkKyojin: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
Ganymede: https://ganymede.bio/
OpenWorm: https://openworm.org/
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School: https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/
Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com/
Affirm: https://www.affirm.com/
Benchling: https://www.benchling.com/
Companies, Universities, & People Mentioned:
Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com/
Affirm: https://www.affirm.com/
Benchling: https://www.benchling.com/
OpenWorm: https://openworm.org/
University of North Carolina: https://www.unc.edu/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:00 Early Life and Family Influence
03:06 No Secret to Business
03:30 Execution and Imposter Syndrome
07:53 Choosing an Entrepreneurial Path
09:03 Early Interest in Biology
11:11 Unconventional High School Experience
11:51 Choosing UNC
13:48 Business, Economics, and Finance
14:33 Joining Goldman Sachs
15:36 How Bond Trading Works
20:07 Liquidity and Risk
28:10 Attention to Detail at Goldman
34:07 Lessons for Founders
35:19 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.