Bootstrapping Biotech: How Kevin Chen Built Hyasynth Bio from Scratch

Scispot, a leading provider of AI-driven digital infrastructure for life science labs, also produces the popular podcast "talk is biotech!". The podcast recently featured an insightful conversation between Guru Singh, CEO of Scispot, and Kevin Chen, co-founder and CEO of Hyasynth Bio, a pioneering biotech company focused on producing cannabinoids using synthetic biology. In this episode, Chen shares how he took an ambitious biotech idea, producing cannabis compounds from yeast, and turned it into a venture-backed startup with minimal initial resources. The journey, recounted in a journalistic narrative here, reveals the real-world challenges and creative strategies behind bootstrapping a biotech company. How do you launch a science startup with no lab, no gear, and no playbook, just a wild idea?

From University Labs to Startup CEO: Kevin Chen's Unlikely Journey

Kevin Chen's path to biotech entrepreneurship wasn't the typical Silicon Valley tale. In fact, when he started out in the early 2010s, the notion of a fresh university graduate launching a biotech company was almost unheard of. Biotech startups were seen as something "for old white people," Chen quipped, reflecting on how academia and big pharma dominated the field back then. Chen had just finished a biochemistry degree at Queen's University in Canada and was poised for a traditional graduate school route. But his experience in the iGEM competition, an international student synthetic biology contest, had ignited a bigger ambition.

"It was inspired a lot by my experience at the iGEM competition," he said, describing how working on a team of young bioengineers gave him a taste for solving big problems in a fast, self-driven way. Rather than continue in academia, Chen and a handful of fellow iGEM alumni brainstormed ideas for a biotech venture in 2014. They honed in on a bold concept: use genetically engineered yeast to produce cannabinoids, the active chemicals in cannabis, instead of relying on cannabis plants.

At the time, Canada's legal cannabis industry was just beginning, and producing compounds like CBD and THC from fermentation was a radical idea. But Chen saw a huge opportunity to create a new supply chain for cannabinoids that would be faster, scalable, and pharmaceutical-grade. He assembled a founding team of all former iGEM teammates and even enlisted academic mentors such as Concordia University professor Vincent Martin to advise them. In those early days, leveraging his university network, from co-founders to mentors, was crucial to get the expertise and credibility needed to pursue such an unconventional project.

Building Expertise Before the Leap

Chen didn't dive in completely blind. He first gained a bit of startup exposure by working at a small biotech, which in turn opened doors for him to connect with venture investors and programs. Still, deciding to found Hyasynth Bio meant venturing into the unknown. In a recent interview, Chen noted that you don't necessarily need to drop everything in academia to test the waters of entrepreneurship.

"A biotech company doesn't have to start out by dropping out of your PhD program and going full steam towards something that you're not sure about," he said. In other words, aspiring founders can de-risk their leap: tap into campus resources, build a prototype within a university lab, or use evenings and weekends to gather initial data before fully committing. Chen's own journey reflects this principle, he carried forward the momentum from iGEM and lab research into his startup, essentially turning a student project mindset into a company plan.

Turning a Wild Idea into Reality with Yeast and Grit

The concept behind Hyasynth Bio was audacious but straightforward: engineer yeast to produce cannabinoids, the same way brewers yeast can produce alcohol. By importing the cannabis plant's biochemical pathways into microbes, Hyasynth aimed to "make ingredients for oils, pills, topicals and more" using only sugar, water, and fermentation instead of fields of plants.

If successful, this method could produce cannabinoids in under a week, roughly 12 times faster than crop-based production, and yield pure, pharmaceutical-grade compounds free of pesticides. "Instead of growing cannabis to get THC and CBD, we grow yeast in a much more efficient and sustainable way," Chen explained of Hyasynth's mission. This synthetic biology approach promised not only speed, but also the ability to access rare cannabinoids and design custom blends that might have medicinal benefits.

Resourceful Beginnings

Of course, having a great idea on paper is one thing; executing it in a lab is another. Here's where Chen's resourcefulness kicked in. In 2014, he and his co-founders had no lab of their own and very little funding. They operated like an iGEM project team, scrounging and improvising. Chen had co-founded a community DIYbio lab in Montreal called Bricobio a year earlier, which provided some lab space to play with.

They also leaned on their former schools. Queen's University and Concordia University's labs, through friendly professors and alumni connections, became places where Hyasynth's team could occasionally run experiments or borrow equipment. This was a classic example of leveraging university networks: the relationships built in school helped Chen access facilities and expertise that normally cost a fortune. By mid-2014, the scrappy team had engineered their first yeast strains and generated just enough data to convince others their idea had legs.

The IndieBio Accelerator: A Crucial Launch Pad

A major turning point for Hyasynth came when Chen applied to a brand-new startup accelerator program. In 2014, SOSV, a venture fund, was launching the world's first accelerator dedicated to synthetic biology startups. Called RebelBio in Cork, Ireland, and later known as IndieBio, this program offered a small amount of funding, free lab space, and intensive mentorship over a few months to biotech newcomers.

Chen jumped at the chance. "It was the first program of RebelBio, which is this startup accelerator focusing on synthetic biology as their investment angle," he recalled. Even though Hyasynth only had an idea at the time, "we had a really solid team. That's how we got our start" he said of being accepted into RebelBio's inaugural cohort.

Accelerated Growth and Learning

IndieBio proved to be an ideal springboard for the fledgling company. The program gave Chen's team on-demand access to a fully equipped lab, removing the immediate pressure of buying expensive gear. It also provided a crash course in entrepreneurship. "It's meant to be this four month grind where you're not given really enough money to take your time, you're supposed to execute things super fast," Chen explained of the accelerator experience.

The structured timeline pushed Hyasynth to make tangible progress on their yeast engineering and even start thinking about product-market fit. Mentors guided them on everything from pitching to experiment planning: "They provide a lot of mentorship and answers to all your questions, like how to raise money and how to develop a product, who to contact," Chen noted, adding that the program targets scientists who want to be entrepreneurs.

Crucially, IndieBio also conferred a dose of credibility. In an era when biotech startup culture was nascent, being IndieBio-backed signaled to investors that Hyasynth had been vetted by experienced eyes. By the end of the summer 2014 program, Chen and his co-founders had not only advanced their R&D, engineering yeast to produce trace amounts of cannabinoids, but also sharpened their business case.

Demo Day Success and Beyond

They pitched at Demo Days in Dublin and San Francisco, where, to their own surprise, they attracted interest from seed investors. "From there, we raised a follow-on round and received a good chunk of funding from the Government of Canada," Chen recounted of the post-accelerator period. In other words, the accelerator's initial funding of approximately $100,000 and demo day exposure helped Hyasynth secure additional seed capital from both private and public sources.

The broader impact of IndieBio on biotech entrepreneurship cannot be overstated. Programs like this have lowered the barrier for scientists to become founders, much as Y Combinator did for software startups. IndieBio's model of small upfront funding, communal lab space, and intense mentorship has launched over a hundred biotech companies in areas ranging from cultured meat to bioplastics. Hyasynth was among the early examples proving the model could work. By 2021, IndieBio alumni had raised over $2 billion collectively.

Chen's success story is often cited to inspire young biologists: if a few grads with an idea about yeast could secure $10 million to chase a dream, as Hyasynth eventually did, why not others? As Chen observed, it's a "change in perspective" with cheaper DNA synthesis and sequencing, "you don't need a PhD to clone a yeast", and it's now possible to start companies much earlier in one's career than before.

Early Funding Hurdles: Convincing Investors and Making Do with Less

Raising money for a biotech startup is infamously difficult, especially at the pre-revenue, proof-of-concept stage. Chen encountered this firsthand. "Investors took a chance on the unknown" in Hyasynth's case, he has noted, underscoring how uncertain the proposition was. In 2014, cannabinoids and synthetic biology were a wild combo that traditional biotech investors hadn't seen. Many venture capitalists were skeptical of a lab-made cannabinoid would it even work, and was there a market for it?

Strategic Funding Approach

Hyasynth's early fundraising, therefore, relied on visionary believers and non-dilutive grants. Chen strategically tapped Canadian government innovation programs for support, which provided runway without diluting ownership. Even so, the seed funding they cobbled together was modest by biotech standards. Chen's team had to be extraordinarily frugal and focused. Every dollar went into advancing the science.

Lab equipment was the biggest expense coming out of IndieBio; to actually carry out R&D independently, Hyasynth needed its own bioreactors, fermenters, and analytical instruments. "Throughout the summer we spent as much time as possible getting our first data, all with very limited budget," Chen wrote of that period. With a small seed round in hand, Hyasynth set up a lean laboratory in Montreal, likely outfitting it with second-hand or affordable devices where possible.

The founders notably kept their own salaries sparse, instead using funds to hire a few essential scientists and engineers to speed up development. This tactic of reinvesting early funds into infrastructure paid off by allowing them to hit technical milestones that unlocked larger investments later.

Regulatory and Market Challenges

Another challenge was the regulatory and market uncertainty of cannabinoids. Not only did Hyasynth need to prove its yeast could make THC or CBD, it also had to navigate cannabis regulations, which were in flux, and convince potential partners that fermentation was a viable production method. Chen and his team devoted significant effort to what biotech folks call "human practices," engaging with regulators and educating stakeholders. This was unusual for a tiny startup, but it helped de-risk the path to market.

By late 2016, the hard work was starting to bear fruit: Hyasynth's scientific progress attracted the attention of Organigram, a Canadian cannabis company that would become a key investor and partner. In 2018, Organigram committed up to $10 million to Hyasynth, a strong vote of confidence that came in tranches as the startup hit technical milestones. With each milestone, Hyasynth could breathe a bit easier financially.

Maintaining the Bootstrap Mentality

Yet Chen maintains the bootstrapping mentality that marked Hyasynth's inception. Even after raising multiple rounds totaling over $12 million by 2019, the company kept operations lean and goal-oriented. "Every three months is like a mini-iGEM project, where we set our own ambitious targets and strive to achieve them. We work as a team to succeed, manage our budget and present our work to each other regularly," Chen wrote, describing Hyasynth's culture of efficiency.

That discipline paid off in 2020 when Hyasynth announced a breakthrough: it became the first company in the world to sell cannabidiol (CBD) produced via yeast fermentation, marking a true commercialization milestone. This achievement triggered a $2.5 million milestone payment from Organigram, effectively a reward for delivering results cost-effectively. For a bootstrapper, nothing validates the work more than revenue or investment earned by hitting a tough target.

The Bigger Picture: New Models for Biotech Entrepreneurship

Kevin Chen's journey with Hyasynth Bio highlights a broader shift in the biotech startup landscape. Bootstrapping a biotech, once considered nearly impossible due to high capital needs, is now increasingly feasible for those who are creative and resourceful. Chen leveraged networks and mentorship, from university labs to accelerators, to access infrastructure and advice that normally cost millions.

He capitalized on non-dilutive funding, grants and public funds, to supplement lean venture rounds, a strategy many biotech founders are now emulating to extend their runway. And perhaps most importantly, he demonstrated the power of focusing early on a clear technical goal, in Hyasynth's case, making cannabinoids in yeast, and proving it quickly on a shoestring budget. That proof can then catalyze bigger funding and partnerships.

Democratizing Biotech Innovation

The rise of programs like IndieBio and community labs also means young scientists don't have to wait decades or have Nobel-level credentials to start companies. "The idea of starting a company when you're younger starts to make more sense," Chen noted, given how accessible cutting-edge biotech tools have become. DNA synthesis, cloud computing, and even lab automation tools, like those provided by companies such as Scispot, are leveling the playing field for startups.

Scispot, led by CEO Guru Singh, provides an AI-driven digital infrastructure for life science labs, fitting into this narrative of democratizing biotech R&D. By streamlining data and automation in the lab, such platforms can help small biotech teams do more with less, complementing the kind of bootstrapping efforts Chen undertook by hand.

Current Status and Future Impact

As of 2025, Hyasynth Bio is no longer just a scrappy idea, it's a pioneer in the emerging synthetic cannabinoid industry. The company is scaling up production and exploring new cannabinoid molecules that could become tomorrow's medicines. Chen, on the other hand, has grown from a novice founder into a leader in Canada's biotech scene, even serving as President of SynBio Canada to help build the ecosystem for others.

Yet, he hasn't forgotten the humble beginnings. Reflecting on Hyasynth's origin, he often emphasizes that its success was not inevitable, it was willed into existence by a team that combined scientific savvy with hustle and business learning on the fly. For every would-be biotech entrepreneur out there, the story of Kevin Chen and Hyasynth Bio offers a reassuring message: you can start small and still dream big.