June 12, 2024 - Genomics Entrepreneur Stan Rose and Data Driven Entrepreneur Nikki Blacksmith

School for Startups Radio

Dr. Stan Rose – Founder of Rose Ventures and Author of Can’t Tame a Mongoose: Memoir of a Genomics Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs, by nature, need to be very driven, optimistic and persistent.
They also have to be very adaptable, and they have to develop certain skills
which will enable them to respond when a challenge comes up that they
would never have expected in a world that is very complex. You should
assume there’s lots out there you don’t understand.

Dr. Stan Rose is an MIT biologist turned life sciences executive and entrepreneur who has created and led multiple businesses in the emerging fields of DNA analysis and genomics. After several successful ventures, he was suddenly diagnosed with a life-threatening genetic disease. Some of the same technologies he had helped bring to the clinic became critical to his own survival. Following a kidney transplant, he’s continued to contribute to science and medicine. More than three decades experience working with leading scientists and clinicians to create substantial commercial value from inventions related to genome analysis. During that time commercialized life science products impacting the lives of millions, raising more than $100 million in startup and early stage funding, and leading businesses to create more than $1 billion in market value for shareholders. His firm, Rose Ventures, Inc., works with early-stage companies developing innovative, high-impact life science products and services.
Dr. Nikki Blacksmith – Founder of blackhawke.io and Author of Data-Driven Decision Making in Entrepreneurship: Tools for Maximizing Human Capital

People are a startup’s greatest asset, but also their greatest liability.
If you’re going to manage anything it needs to be with data. You need
to keep track of people with data.

Dr. Nikki Blacksmith is co-founder and CEO of Blackhawke Behavior Science and an adjunct faculty member at American University in Washington, D.C. She has nearly 15 years of experience as a scientist-practitioner, focusing on psychometrics, selection, decision-making, and entrepreneurial performance. She has published over 80 conference papers, book chapters, and journal articles, and her scientific research has been featured in top-tier academic publications, including American Psychologist, the Journal of Business and Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, and the Journal of Behavioral Decision-Making, and media outlets including New York Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, and BBC.