632: Recursion enzyme company raises $23M, launched in 2013 now 40 people with drugs ready for market with CEO Christopher Gibson

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders

Christopher Gibson. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company leveraging the latest automation, computation and biological tools to perform drug discovery at scale. Chris holds a BS in bioengineering, a BA in managerial studies, and a bioengineering PhD from the University of Utah.

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• What CEO do you follow? – Perry Fell
• Favorite online tool? — Slack
• Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— 5.3 to 5.4
• If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – Chris wished he knew where he was going to go so he could get to where he is now, faster

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:42 – Nathan introduces Chris to the show
• 02:12 – Recursion shortcuts the long, arduous path of drug discovery into the market
• • 02:24 – Recursion combines the best elements of biology, automation, and computation
• 02:34 – Recursion partners with large pharmaceutical companies
• 02:45 – Recursion partnered with Sanofi Genzyme
• • 02:51 – Sanofi had drugs that didn’t end up in the market
• 03:10 – The challenges involved in being target-based
• 04:00 – Recursion earns from partnerships and royalties
• • 04:20 – Recursion also has an internal pipeline for the drugs that they’ve developed themselves
  • 04:43 – Recursion doesn’t earn from the internal pipeline
• 05:51 – Recursion and what they receive from their partners
• • 06:28 – There are partnerships with very, little upfront
  • 06:34 – There are partnerships that have 8 figures, upfront
  • 06:46 – The number of scientists that will work on the drug is also considered
  • 07:22 – If Recursion is successful with their deals, they get royalties
  • 08:38 – The royalties’ lifeline
• 08:56 – Recursion has 40 people
• 09:25 – Recursion was launched in 2013
• • 09:34 – They sat in their office until January 2014
• 10:01 – Chris was part of a program where he was paid a stipend, so he broke even
• 10:20 – Chris’ parents were excited about his PhD
• 10:37 – Recursion has raised $19M in equity and $5M non-diluted from grants and private foundations
• 11:28 – Recursion’s valuation as a platform company
• • 12:14 – If Recursion will be successful, they will impact the society in a big way
  • 12:41 – It is vision-based
• 12:54 – First year revenue was 6 figures
• 13:12 – “Our deals have been strategic in terms of the way we put them together”
• 13:45 – 2017 target
• 16:10 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

• Different sources of revenue benefit a company.
• The valuation of your company depends on how your company is currently performing and how well they will perform in the industry.
• First year revenue isn’t always nil.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
• Organifi – The juice was Nathan’s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
• Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
• Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
• Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
• Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
• Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives