Tell us more about GeneLook.
GeneLook came from a vision with two other co-founders to address the needs of patients, healthcare providers, academic researchers, and the biopharma industry in the usage and sharing of genetic data to build the future of precision medicine while simultaneously accelerating the development of new drugs/treatments. Genetic testing for health and wellness is a reality and GeneLook strives to take a patient-centric approach to empowering people with information about their predispositions to health conditions and pharmacogenomics.
With an explosion in genomics research there are scientifically-validated and clinically-actionable genetic variants (or genetic markers) that can accurately diagnose genetically caused diseases and inform on the risk of developing hundreds of other health conditions. Additionally, we can understand how your body will metabolise certain drugs and tolerate certain treatments, so that your doctor can prescribe the right drug for you in the right dose.
GeneLook was founded in 2018 by biopharma experts in preclinical research, drug development/discovery, and genomics. I came on board in 2019 as a co-founder/CEO to provide my expertise as a genomic scientist, clinical researcher, and entrepreneur.
Where is GeneLook at today?
GeneLook has significantly progressed and gained traction in the last 2 years in terms of building a proof-of-concept (PoC) digital-health platform. We are currently in a private beta testing phase with 15 families and are co-creating our MVP platform with patients and other healthcare stakeholders. We have benefited from accelerator/incubator/mentorship programs to refine our business model, plans and strategy. We aim to partner with other complementary Swiss SME’s in genomics and healthcare to together shape the future of precision medicine.
Today we are in a position where we are ready to grow and scale, it will just be about allocating resources and growing at a sustainable rate for the company and our customers. We are continuing to build our MVP, on-board patients, and integrate with B2B partners. We will initially focus on rare disease patients (and patient organisations), of which there are >30 million patients in Europe across ~6000 rare diseases and of which 80% are genetically caused.
What has been some of the biggest challenges you face so far?
The Covid pandemic was a challenge. We were planning a clinical trial with a University Hospital and other pilots studies, which got put on hold. Like many other startup companies, our operations were slowed down and we had to go into cash-preserving mode. In 2021 we are back to full operations and gaining traction.
The blessing in disguise was that we learned during the pandemic that health data-sharing and collaboration amongst healthcare stakeholders are essential to provide better precise/personalised healthcare, as well as accelerating new treatments (i.e. Covid vaccines). This trend will continue and we can leverage it to better develop treatments for rare and orphan diseases.
At GeneLook, one of our values is collaborating with patient groups, academic researchers, and the biopharma industry. Ultimately, we hope that this collaborative interchange and co-creation process will benefit everyone.
What drives you?
What drives me is using cool technologies to do good in the world. I’m very passionate about applying science and genomics in the real world, and it’s something that I truly believe should be accessible to everyone. The vision is to democratise precision healthcare.
So far, it has been a long process of implementing some of these changes as technology adoption can be slow, especially in a conservative healthcare setting. This is for many good reasons, but we are at the inflection point where we do have the technologies now to benefit both patients and help doctors do their jobs better. We want to build the future of how this is used in healthcare across Europe.
Any highlights that you can share?
The highlights are working with our beta-tester patients. I enjoy in doing the data analysis combining the medical, health, genomics, and lifestyle data together to help these patients. For some patients, we can get a clear diagnosis and shorten the diagnostic odyssey. It is all about giving actionable information, clarity on the science, and together with their doctors presenting optimal treatment options. Some of our team members who have family members with rare/chronic diseases have experienced a direct positive impact as well.
Have you always known that you would become an entrepreneur?
No. I’m on maybe my third or fourth career path, some simultaneously. I started out as a child actor in Los Angeles in the United States, and failing to make it big time in Hollywood was another good thing. Through my education at college and grad school I got into science, genomics and sports, specifically in the areas of sports genetics and sports performance.
I was at Stanford from 2008-2016 and got exposed to Silicon Valley by default. I was studying diverse fields in science/medicine and seeing all the cool technologies being developed in academia and all the startups that were being spun out. That’s when I started learning about entrepreneurship through the Stanford Business School Ignite program and Venture Studio incubator.
I would say it was a slow burn for 4-5 years of deciding that the traditional academic career was not something that I wanted to pursue. Combining my passion for combining science, sports, technology, and entrepreneurship into practice was what I enjoyed more.
What are some of the biggest differences working in the US versus Switzerland?
On the science side, not that much, as it is an international field. Lots of different languages are spoken in Switzerland, but in science the universal language is English. Whether we’re talking with colleagues in French, German, Spanish or English, the process of how we do scientific research, clinical trials, and data analyses are essentially the same.
What is different is the context, as it is a different regulatory/ethical/societal environment for how genomics is used in medical practice, but nothing significantly different.
Best part of being a CEO?
The good parts are that you have dedicated colleagues to work with and can be a part of a cohesive team. One of the challenges that GeneLook had was being a small team, as at one point it was just me working full-time on the project with support from the other co-founders. Now we have a team built around the idea who are passionate and contributing daily.
I like to tell the other members of the operations team that they could just as easily be the CEO, as it’s not a title for myself, it is a shared title. We have a flat organisational structure where everyone can make decisions and act as the CEO, and that’s the enjoyable part for me.
What is your view on failure?
My views on failure have been shaped by continuously failing over and over in my life in different pursuits, from science to sports to entrepreneurship. The key is to make sure that you learn from failures. That was a message that I really took to heart and in being an entrepreneur, you must accept the fact that failure is a possibility. We know the success rate for startups and you have to accept that and include that risk into your calculations for work and life balance.
A mentor at Stanford (and Nobel Prize winner) told me “you can’t fear failure in academia, or in life”. Only 5% are going to make it to be tenured professors. 95% of your academic research studies are going to have some problems with them. You are going to have to repeat experiments over and over again. Failure is a part of the scientific process, and if you fear it, you are never going to push far enough into the unknown to make a significant contribution to science or humanity.
What are some lessons learnt that you could share?
Get a good team of people around you that really support you as a CEO and fully buy into the mission/vision of the company. Be a good person within the startup ecosystem, because there are a lot of young startups that are striving to make it and successful serial entrepreneurs that can help. A lot can be gained by networking with others and talking to others in similar situations as yours. You can share best practices and celebrate/commiserate on good/bad days.
Any advice for scientists who would like to become entrepreneurs?
Do it if you love it and if your heart is in it. You must be passionate about it because it is not something that is a one-and-done, even if you have a proven scientific technology. With many scientific spin-offs, you already have a technology and maybe even a patent. You think that it could be commercialised and launched to the market in 1-2 years and start making big money. But that’s not realistic for all entrepreneurs, it can be a grind.
The reality is that it is going to be a multi-year commitment, and it has to fit with your passion, work-life balance and family as well. It is a balance of priorities and making sure that the entrepreneurial lifestyle fit you, despite being glamorised in Silicon Valley.
What is your hope for Gene Look?
I hope that GeneLook succeeds in building a digital health platform that is patient-centric and that users love. I hope our patients and partners can help build what is really needed for healthcare innovation. What we really strive to do is to make a lasting contribution for the rare/chronic disease patients, so that they can have a better healthcare experience and be actively involved in their healthcare journey.