Gradual Steps, Strategic Timing: Playbook for Biotech Founders

In a recent talk is biotech! podcast episode, Guru Singh (Founder and CEO of Scispot, a laboratory technology platform with AI capabilities) sat down with Kevin Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Hyasynth Bio, to discuss what it really takes to build a biotech startup from the ground up.

Scispot, founded by Guru Singh, is known for providing an AI-driven tech stack for life science labs, essentially the best digital toolkit for modern biotech R&D.

Hyasynth Bio has gained recognition for using yeast fermentation to produce cannabinoids (compounds from cannabis) without growing plants, having developed a novel biosynthesis pathway that reduces enzymatic steps required to reach cannabidiol by approximately 75%. This conversation offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the strategic advice Chen gives aspiring biotech founders, emphasizing resourcefulness, well-timed decisions, and a stepwise commitment to startup life. The insights below highlight how new biotech entrepreneurs can navigate early challenges and avoid common pitfalls.

Resourcefulness: Building a Biotech with "No Lab, No Playbook"

Every biotech venture begins somewhere, often under highly constrained conditions. In Hyasynth's case, the founders started with no lab, no gear, no playbook, just a wild idea about cannabinoids in yeast. As Guru Singh recounted, Kevin Chen and his team hustled with minimal resources: they engineered enzymes and mastered fermentation techniques on a shoestring, essentially turning a basic hunch into reality through creativity and grit. This resourceful mindset is critical in biotech, where lab space, equipment, and funding are notoriously scarce for first-time founders.

Chen's story underlines that aspiring founders shouldn't be deterred by a lack of infrastructure or precedent. "Find ways to get involved and dig into it, even build a lab in your garage," he advises, if that's what it takes. This do-it-yourself ethic, reminiscent of the early days of tech startups in garages, applies to biotech as well. Participation in science competitions or community labs can substitute for formal facilities. In fact, Chen and his co-founders initially bonded through the iGEM synthetic biology competition, and later even helped start a community bio-lab in Montreal to kickstart projects outside academia. Such avenues allow founders to advance their science with limited means, proving out concepts until they attract the resources to scale. The key is a mindset of ingenuity and frugality, solving problems with whatever is at hand.

Strategic Timing: Don't Quit the Day Job (Too Soon)

One of Kevin Chen's core messages to new founders is about timing your jump into entrepreneurship wisely. He advises against rushing into a full-time startup immediately, instead urging founders to take a phased approach. "He advises against rushing into a full-time startup, instead encouraging gradual steps like leveraging programs to learn about the industry and build key components," as one summary of his advice notes. In practice, this means you don't necessarily quit your PhD or day job overnight upon having a great biotech idea. Rather, test the waters first through startup incubators, grant programs, or part-time projects before fully committing.

Chen speaks from experience. Hyasynth Bio itself got its start via an incubator: the team earned a spot in SOSV's IndieBio accelerator, which provided funding, lab space, and mentorship to develop their idea. Importantly, this happened before cannabis was even legal in Canada, showing Chen's knack for strategic timing. He pursued the opportunity ahead of a major industry shift, but with the safety net of an accelerator's support. "This seemed like an opportunity that was taking off," Chen has said, noting that he was fascinated by the underexplored endocannabinoid system and timed his leap to ride the coming wave.

For most founders, the lesson is to validate and learn early on, without immediately shouldering the full risk of a startup. By enrolling in incubators or innovation programs, you can develop your technology and understand the market dynamics while still having institutional support. This strategic patience can make the difference between a well-prepared venture and a premature plunge. In biotech, where R&D cycles are long, it's often prudent to keep one foot in the established world (university, industry job, etc.) while the other tests the startup waters. Chen's advice: earn the right timing, move to full-time founder status only when you have a solid grounding in both the science and the industry context.

Gradual Commitment: Step-by-Step into Startup Life

Closely related to timing is the idea of gradual commitment. Kevin Chen emphasizes that launching a biotech company need not be an "all or nothing" gambit at the outset. Instead, founders can advance incrementally, what Chen calls "step by step" building of your biotech dream. This approach involves setting up the building blocks of the venture one at a time: secure a small proof-of-concept grant, join a startup accelerator, assemble a core team, file a provisional patent, etc., before going all-in.

By "leveraging programs to learn about the industry and build key components" of the business in stages, founders accumulate both knowledge and tangible progress. Each step, whether it's a technology prototype or a customer discovery interview, builds confidence and de-risks the next one. Chen notes that this method allows entrepreneurs to "gain confidence and knowledge before committing fully," which is invaluable in a field as complex as biotech. For example, a researcher might first participate in an academic biotech incubator to understand regulatory hurdles and product-market fit, then later raise seed funding once those pieces are in place.

Gradual commitment also means being honest about what you don't yet know.

Understanding the industry is crucial, something Chen insists on. It's easy for scientist-founders to underestimate manufacturing, distribution, or regulatory challenges if they jump straight from lab to startup. Programs like IndieBio (or NSF I-Corps, Y Combinator Bio, etc.) force founders out of the lab to interface with industry mentors and customers. This industry exposure early on ensures your science solves a real problem and is viable outside the academic setting. By the time you're ready to pursue the startup full-time, you've built not just a prototype in the lab, but also a clearer roadmap of the business model and requirements for success. In short, treat the startup journey as a marathon of planned milestones, not a sprint off a cliff. Each gradual commitment is a bet you place once the odds are just a bit more in your favor.

Finding Your Unique Angle and Confidence

Another theme from the conversation is the importance of carving out a unique value proposition and having the conviction to pursue it. Guru Singh dubbed this "the first rule of startups: find your unique angle." Kevin Chen exemplified this by launching Canada's first synthetic biology company at a time when no such biotech venture existed there. "Kevin Chen launched Canada's first synthetic biology company because nothing existed in his field... he filled the gap no one else saw," Guru notes. This boldness to tackle an unmet need gave Hyasynth a first-mover advantage and a compelling story for investors and partners.

For aspiring founders, the takeaway is to identify what differentiates your idea or approach in the vast biotech landscape. It could be a novel technology, a niche application, or even a geographic/market focus that others overlook. Equally important is building the confidence to pursue that angle. Chen's advice about gradual steps plays into this. By the time you fully commit, you've accumulated enough evidence and support to genuinely believe in your unique vision. Small wins (a successful experiment, a signed research partnership, an interested investor) will reinforce your confidence.

At the same time, confidence must be balanced with openness to feedback. Chen surrounded himself with mentors and teammates who could provide perspective. Ecosystem support from fellow entrepreneurs, advisors, and early believers helped validate Hyasynth's unique angle (producing cannabinoids via yeast) as more than just a crazy idea. New founders should similarly seek out a supportive network that can challenge and refine their ideas. When you connect with others in biotech, you may discover adjacent opportunities or avoid blind spots. In Chen's words, "the real magic of synthetic biology happens when we connect diverse minds to solve problems no one else dares to touch." Bringing together people with different expertise can spark solutions that a lone founder might miss. This collaborative confidence, built on a unique idea and strengthened by community, is a powerful asset in a startup's early days.

Navigating Pitfalls with Ecosystem Support

Building a biotech company is notoriously complex, and even the best ideas can falter due to common startup pitfalls. Throughout the interview, Guru Singh and Kevin Chen touch on challenges like the gap between scientific discovery and a marketable product, regulatory hurdles, and the sheer operational burden of running a lab-based business. One recurring insight is that founders should not try to tackle these challenges in isolation. Instead, leverage the broader biotech ecosystem to navigate obstacles.

Chen's own journey illustrates this: by plugging into communities and programs, he gained access to collective experience that helped avoid rookie mistakes. For instance, joining an accelerator gave Hyasynth a playbook for tasks like fundraising and IP strategy, which first-time founders often struggle with. "Surround yourself with people who will support you through the ups and downs," Chen told SynBio Canada. A strong support network, co-founders, advisors, fellow entrepreneurs, can point out pitfalls you might not see and steer you away from dead ends. Even a handful of mentors or peers who "provide advice or point you in the right direction can be incredibly helpful" in the volatile early stages.

Another pitfall in biotech is losing sight of the end-user or market need. Here, ecosystem programs like industry partnerships or customer discovery workshops can keep a founder grounded in real-world demand. Chen and Singh discussed biotech's version of "product-market fit", ensuring that a breakthrough in the lab actually solves a pressing problem outside it. Engaging with the broader industry early through conferences, corporate collaborators, or initiatives like SynBio Canada forces founders to translate their science into value propositions that investors and customers understand. This makes the startup far more industry-ready when it's time to scale up. It also helps in de-risking the venture: by the time you need significant capital, you've addressed many unknowns (technical feasibility, patentability, regulatory strategy) with guidance from experts in the ecosystem.

In short, the smart founder leverages every form of ecosystem support available, accelerators, mentorship networks, competitions, industry alliances, and even media platforms like talk is biotech! that share founder lessons. This not only helps avoid common pitfalls (such as technical tunnel vision or operational missteps), but also accelerates learning. Biotech entrepreneurship is as much about navigating a community and an industry as it is about doing science. Kevin Chen's experience underscores that tapping into the collective wisdom of that community is invaluable for any biotech founder charting unknown waters.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways for Aspiring Biotech Founders

Building a biotech startup is a high-stakes journey, but the insights from Kevin Chen provide a pragmatic playbook for increasing the odds of success. First, be resourceful, use whatever tools and communities you have to push your idea forward, even if resources are limited. Second, time your leap wisely, don't feel you must drop everything at once; gaining experience through gradual steps and external programs can prepare you far better. Third, commit gradually, break the startup launch into phases, building confidence, industry knowledge, and proof points at each stage before going all-in. Along the way, find your unique angle and have the courage to pursue it, while also leveraging mentors and partners to refine your vision. Finally, embrace the ecosystem, biotech is a team sport at the societal level, and connecting with the right people and organizations will help you avoid pitfalls and speed your progress.

As evidenced by Chen's journey with Hyasynth Bio, patience and resourcefulness coupled with strategic support can turn a wild lab idea into a thriving venture. For every scientist dreaming of a startup, these principles form a grounded strategy for moving from bench to business. In Guru Singh's and Kevin Chen's view, the next generation of biotech founders will succeed not by going it alone or rushing blindly, but by being savvy builders, step by step, learning and adapting, until the full vision can be realized. It's a long game, but with the right approach, today's scrappy experiments could become tomorrow's breakthrouogh biotech companies.