#84: Samantha Dale Strasser - Pepper Bio, MIT, And the Eco-System in Boston

What is the best approach to starting a novel deep tech life science company?

In this episode, I am talking with Samatha Dale Strasser, CSO, and co-founder of Pepper Bio, about her academic career at the University of Cambridge and MIT and the process of starting Pepper Bio.

Backed by VC firm NFX, Pepper Bio uses proprietary lab methods and computational abilities to unlock a new level of sophistication in drug discovery.
Called the "Google Maps for drug discovery" Pepper Bio helps partners find the safest, fastest route to new, effective drugs in clinical trials by analyzing transomics data.
So far, the company has already identified applications of its technology for rare diseases in oncology, neurology, and inflammatory.

Samantha Dale Strasser, PhD, is CSO and co-founder of Pepper Bio. Samantha co-founded Pepper Bio based on foundational work she pioneered during her PhD studies at MIT.  Her development of the first trans-omic machine learning platform revolutionizes how we discover drugs and treat disease.  This approach has already identified and validated previously unseen insights in inflammatory diseases and undruggable cancers.  She paved the way to Pepper’s first commercial partner, eager to apply this approach to central nervous system diseases. 

We are talking about:
⭐The Eco-Systems in Boston
⭐ The Importance of Aligning Vision – Mission – Goals – Actions
⭐ Challenges in Drug Development
⭐ Fundraising strategies for the United States
⭐The Story Behind Pepper Bio
⭐ And Much, Much more

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🕛 Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction Pepper Bio and Samantha Dale Strasser
(02:30) Start of the recording
(03:00) Heatwaves, Paintings, and the Sky Above Boston
(05:00) Culture in Boston/Cambridge and Cambridge, UK – MIT and the University of Cambridge
(16:08) Samantha's Motivation to Start Pepper Bio
(19:20) The Startup Eco-System in Boston, Massachusetts
(21:27) The 3 Critical Key Success Factors of the Deep Tech Eco-System in Boston
(24:40) Starting Points for Global Founders to Connect to the Eco-System in and around Boston
(26:40) Real Life and Digital Meetings – The Best of Two Worlds
(29:55) Fundraising in the United States – 3 Key Success Factors 
(33:17) Relationship-building with Investors and Duration of Fundraising in 2022
(31:08) The 3 Do's and Don'ts When Fundraising with US-Based Investors
(44:05) Vision Statement – Pepper Bio
(47:10) The Story Behind Pepper Bio's Foundation
(51:12) Challenges in Drug Development to Improve Success Rates
(55:49) Novel Solutions for Making Sense of Scientific Data
(01:00:15) Pepper Bio's Team
(01:03:30) The Importance of Aligning Vision – Goals – Actions
(01:05:00) Hiring Strategy
(01:05:30) Fundraising at Pepper Bio in 2022
(01:09:10) What is the Best First Step Towards Entrepreneurship?

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