Life Sciences Incubator Director @ Innosphere Ventures | Championing Innovation and Growth in the Startup Ecosystems.
Leadership is all about growing as you go. I’ve tried to adopt a growth mindset in my role as Program Director at Innosphere Ventures by being a “student leader.” That means reflecting on where I still need to learn and growing alongside the founders I work with. I’m grateful that my background has given me a lot of experience to draw from - I’ve co-founded a consulting firm, had both board and advisor roles for novel technology startups, and had an incredible innovation partnering and transformation role at Genentech as an “intrapreneur.” But those roles are different from building a solution-driven startup, and there are aspects of this journey I’m still learning, like evolving fundraising strategies or different valuation approaches. At the same time, I’ve got deep experience in areas like commercial strategy, market development, and team building - and I love sharing that with founders. This mix of learning and leading has made me better at connecting with the academic and research-based founders in our program especially. They know their product and science inside and out but often need help with things like market strategy or building a business plan. I’ve found that simply saying, “You don’t need to know it all - here’s where to find the right support,” puts anxious founders at ease. It’s a reminder that no one has to do it alone, and we’re all learning as we go. For me, leadership is about staying open, curious, and reflective. Growth isn’t just for the people I mentor - it’s for me too.
I appreciate the Student Leader context in which you do your work, giving support and saying we don't need to know it all, and that mentorship, if effective, is a two-way street. Thanks!