March 25, 2021 • 20 mins
Through Medable, the company she co-founded, CEO Dr. Michelle Longmire is revolutionizing the way clinical trials are conducted—something that’s become all the more urgent during the pandemic.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Made by Women, a new podcast by the
Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. At a
moment when businesses face some of the biggest challenges in
recent history, we bring you inspiring stories, practical insights, and
shared learnings to help you successfully navigate in today's environment.
(00:24):
Every Thursday, Made by Women will showcase the experiences of
legendary women, entrepreneurs, fierce up and comers, and everyday women
who found success their own way. Consider this your real
world NBA designed for the New Now. I'm Kim Azzarelli
and thanks so much for joining us today. This past
(00:44):
year of the pandemic has brought incredible advancements in science
and medicine. We've seen the creation and approval of vaccines
for the coronavirus quicker than we ever thought possible. Today,
we'll be talking to a CEO and founder who's been
working since two thousand and fifteen to make sure that
clinical trials for a wide range of medical conditions are
done faster and at lower cost. That means that effective
(01:07):
treatments for patients can also happen faster. Dr Michelle Longmire
and her company Medabal have developed technology which allows clinical
trials to be handled remotely and more efficiently, which is
a game changer in the fight against disease. I met
Michelle through Springboard Enterprises, an organization that for twenty years
has worked to accelerate the growth of women led companies
(01:30):
through access to essential resources and experts. I spoke with
Michelle about how medical is shaking up the way we
develop new medicines and treatments. Please enjoy our conversation. Thanks
so much for joining us today. Thank you, Cham it's
awesome to be here. Well, we are so excited about
your company, especially given what we're all going through right
now in terms of the medical environment. So let's get
(01:53):
started with learning a little bit about metabal. What is
it and why did you start it? So medical provides
a solution and too very challenging problems in the development
of new medicines. And when you look at how medicines
are developed, it's essentially a clinical trial process where people
all over the world are recruited and participate in clinical trials.
(02:16):
And traditionally this happens through you know, visits to a
doctor's office and therefore the participation is very much limited
to the immediate geographic area. As a result, this kind
of laborious and barely limited in terms of access process
leads to extremely long timelines. On average, it takes US
twelve years to develop a new medicine once you begin
(02:40):
the human based research. It also costs US two point
six billion dollars. So Medical is bringing a completely new
approach and solution one where we are making research ubiquitous
through a universal access through our platform. This really enables
anyone in the world to participate in iCal research and
(03:01):
brings the clinical research into that person's own life in
a way that removes so many of the barriers to
the traditional process. And I think you know why this
really matters is it not only shortens the timelines and
decreases the cost, but it also improves the science itself.
(03:21):
Research is limited in scope of participation and the traditional approach,
and by making research ubiquitous, we can get far greater
data and much broader understanding of the safety and efficacy
of medications in the global population. So it's an exciting
problem to solve. And yeah, that's what Medical does. Well,
(03:42):
that's incredible and and obviously it's pretty game changing in
terms of accelerating that. So before I take you too
far down the path, of metabal. I want to take
you back to your own story the early days. Did
you know you always wanted to be a scientist? When
did you realize that you were a scientist? So? I
grew up in a small town most most New Mexico,
where pretty much everybody as a scientist. So, um, you know,
(04:06):
I never I always, I guess saw myself as an
inventor um And even when I was young. You know,
both of my parents are scientists. My grandfather was a
famous physicist who um was you know, one of the
kind of part of some of the collaborative research in
the early days of Los Alamos. So I always was
(04:27):
encouraged and I guess really inspired by how discovery could
transform the world. And you know, some of my earliest
memories are doing science fair experiments with my dad, and
you know, everything was always about deductive reasoning and science
and that was, um just the way that I saw
the world. And I'm incredibly grateful for that. So yeah,
(04:47):
I think, you know, I was kind of board and
raised a scientist. Well that's pretty unique. How did you
end up then transitioning to becoming a CEO. Well, it
was a pretty long path. You know, I really was
always somebody who wanted to do research. I saw that
discovery and science was a way to make a meaning
(05:08):
not only a meaningful contribution, but I think something that's
important to me, which is, you know, a contribution that
is a culmination of your unique talents and capabilities. And
so when I was looking at, you know, after undergraduate,
what did I want to do? My parents, you know,
we're really encouraging to pursue a career in medicine. Honestly,
(05:28):
it wasn't something I had been really considering. I always
saw myself just you know, pursuing research as a PhD.
But what I am so grateful for after this encouragement
was the journey of becoming a physician and all of
the things it teaches you about the human experience as
well as you know, what it provides you in terms
(05:50):
of your capabilities to really help people directly. So you know,
through that, then it being at Stanford as a dermatologist
and where I was combined in both my love of
research and now taking care of patients as a dermatologist.
It was through that lens where I started to see
unique opportunities for discovery and invention that I thought would
(06:12):
be better addressed through technology and being in Silicon Valley,
I was then, you know, really thinking about, okay, do
I leave the walls of academia and my lab bench
and my patients and pursue you know, invention and discovery
through really you know business. And that's how I became
(06:34):
a CEO. Was making the decision to do that. It
was a bold jump, but now looking back, I feel
like I was born to do it this way. So
so take us through the beginning of metabal How did
you think about it? How hard was it to get started?
And what were the early days Like When I was
a resident physician at Stanford, I started to see a
really unique opportunity. You know, I was doing clinical research
(06:56):
in rare disease. So my my research study, you was
around identical twins with rare disease and trying to understand,
you know, why with a similar genetic background, one person
would develop a disease and another person wouldn't. And I
was really up against so many of the traditional barriers
of research. How do we connect with patients? How do
I find these patients? How do I capture data that
(07:18):
is bigger and more informative than that which we can
capture in a traditional clinical setting. And I realized that
basically every researcher in the world was struggling with some
subset or this entire set of barriers their own research.
So I started to become inspired to to take a
(07:39):
leap into the startup world, and I started to attend hackathons.
I somehow convinced one of my mentors to invest in
what was the you know, first iteration like the jump
star of metabal and I was able to you know,
garner fifty dollars of c funding and hire a couple
of developers. And I really was doing this in the
(08:02):
evenings while I was still working in both in research
and in my job as a physician. And I had
a really strong set of partners who continued to carry
that forward. But it got to a point where we
had built something that had a lot of value and
I had to make the choice was I going to
say at Stanford and do my research or was I
going to really embark on full time pursuit of the
(08:26):
medical vision. And I encountered um In early just by fate,
really inspiring individual actually two of them, Um Bob and
Bob dug In and Macisanagi who were founders are Actually
they were running a company called Pharmacyclics and it was
a biotech company, and they understood what the medical vision
(08:47):
was and they backed us with a three million dollar investment,
and I made the leap and we started kicking off Metabal,
and I grew the engineering team, I developed a sales team.
We really gan to see that there was traction for
the product um and you know, today what's so exciting
is our platform serves over a hundred thousand patients. Last year,
(09:10):
we did fifty clinical trials in over sixty countries and
in forty languages, and we're showing that this approach can
really accelerate the development of new medicines by making research
ubiquitous in terms of the access. We'll be back with
senecas made by women after this short break. Well, that's
(09:41):
kind of an incredible amount of success that you had
early on and that first real break. You know, we
often look back on that, and I hear that from
a lot of entrepreneurs sometimes it seems like it was
faith that intervened. Can you tell us a little bit
about that. Yeah, absolutely, I think is an entrepreneur, anytime
you're fundraising, you get a thousand nos to every yes.
And I think this when you look at the data,
(10:02):
you know, this applies more to outsiders who are not
you know, women and minorities. I just think it's real,
it's this is just the reality. But no is a
common thing for every entrepreneur. So as I was working
on Metabal, you know, I had the opportunity really to
meet Bob and Mackie just on a on a whim,
(10:22):
essentially in a chance encounter in Silicon Valley, like many
of the amazing people I've met in Silicon Valley, and
we had the opportunity to talk about, you know, what
metabal was all about, and they said, hey, you know,
we have really just are in a unique position to
start making some investments. They had just sold pharmacyclics to
(10:43):
Abby and medical was their first technology investment they made
um after they sold their pharmaceutical company. And so yeah,
I mean really it was not that I had reached
out to them. It wasn't investors that we were pursuing
at that but we happened to meet them and it
was life changing. They've actually become, you know, some of
(11:05):
my most valued mentors in addition to being our investors.
So it seems that the world was really lucky that
this chance encounter happened, because medical obviously is providing so
much value, and particularly right now during COVID. How has
the recent pandemic affected what you're doing and how have
you responded? The pandemic has definitely changed the way that
(11:27):
people can conduct research. So prior to the pandemic, our
approach was an edge case. It was seen as a
riskier approach because you know, we were using new technologies.
This is a highly regulated industry and in general people
were more comfortable and sticking with the status quo. And
I'm referring to the pharmaceutical companies who are planning the
(11:50):
strategies around clinical trials now. Once COVID hit, the world
really changed because access to the clinics was shut down
and so subtly, you know, really within I remember I
was traveling in Europe, and I left Europe at the
kind of peak of the first you know, wave of
the pandemic in it was early April, and within weeks
(12:12):
we were contacted by clinical sites in Italy who are
shut down, asking to use our technology to continue to
connect with patients and trials that had been under way
for several years, so we started to quickly establish new
relationships even in trials that were already under way. And
fast forward to today, over seventy of all clinical trials
(12:35):
are now planning or already using these connected technologies. So
the world has really changed dramatically. I think we provided
a really you know, an important technology capability in a
time of need. But fundamentally, I think the world has
also shifted to see the value of this approach in
(12:56):
the ability to provide patients access to clinical research. So
in this moment, though, when this is all happening around us,
and obviously we see that the benefits of metabal, the
world feels pretty difficult for a lot of people. And
as an entrepreneur, I'm sure you've faced many many challenges
throughout your career. We always see kind of the success,
the shiny success, but you know, there's obviously so much
(13:19):
that goes into what you do. You know, what is
it that gives you strength during these difficult times? The
last year has been challenging for everyone. Is you know,
suddenly our lives changed so dramatically, and you know, the
people that we love spending time with become harder to see.
Just as an example, you know, I haven't spent nearly
(13:40):
as much time with my parents as I usually do.
And you think, when you look worldwide at the prevalence
of depression and social isolation, clearly the last year has
been extremely challenging. What gives me strength during these times?
Are you know, some of the basic things like getting
outside and exercising and um, making sure that I have
(14:01):
a routine on a daily basis that is giving me
that makes me feel a sense of wellness and health overall,
is something that just gives you, I think, more resilience
as a person, but I think it, you know, in
a more macroscopic sense. What what gives me strength is
the way that I see in this industry of life sciences,
(14:23):
the spirit of collaboration and really this kind of stop
at nothing attitude around developing a way out of COVID
through the vaccines and therapies. And and I think humans,
as you know, as a human race, when is the
last time we've been tested like this collectively? I think
often challenges are posed to much smaller subsets of humanity.
(14:47):
But when you look at really what the world has
accomplished in the last year, it's just profound. The results
are incredible. We've never developed a therapy or a vaccine
in the timelines that we've developed the COVID vaccine sans,
and I think it says a lot about what's possible.
You know, It's kind of like running the four minute mile.
Once someone does it somewhere in the world, suddenly you
(15:09):
find that humans all over the world and that caliber
can can now do that. So I think that we've
proven we can develop therapies faster. I think we can
apply warp speed to every disease area in to some degree.
And I think what we'll see is that the next
five to ten years in drug development and ultimately treatments
(15:30):
for human suffering will uh be moving much faster, and
we will be able to treat diseases better and we'll
be able to reduce human suffering globally as a result
of some of the proof points that we can take
away from the last year in terms of timelines and
really showing what's possible. You've been recognized by and have
(15:53):
worked with Springboard Enterprises. How has that relationship been important
to you? And medical Springboard is is a unique group
to be a part of. I think, you know, fundamentally,
you know I think of Amy and Kay and the
entire network of women that I've had the opportunity to
get to know, and this is just an authentic team
(16:15):
who are behind you at all points in time, good
or bad. You know. I think being a CEO of
a company, you find that when things are going well,
you've got a lot of allegiances, but it's when the
times are challenging that that number is fewer. And Springboard
is just really the group of people who are behind
you in the good times and in the bad times.
(16:37):
And I think this is incredibly valuable. Springboard is not
an investor. They do not hold equity in our company.
They're really in this to support women entrepreneurs, and you know,
it's it's just a support system that helps you stay
in the game, helps gives you strength when you're wondering,
you know, how do I really get through this? And
(16:58):
you're looking for you know, that that support, in that
kind of ray of hope. So I think that Springboard
is extremely unique in the authenticity of the mission and
the support that they provide for women entrepreneurs. And what
have you learned in your journey that you wish someone
would have shared with you when you were first starting out.
I think starting your own company is just an incredible
(17:19):
source of learning and also personal freedom. And one of
the things that I've learned is that there's nothing that's
going to make you ready to do it other than
just going for it and jumping in and you know,
moving that idea forward, moving the company forward, really what
stands out to me. Where we are today, I would
(17:42):
have never even guessed that we would get here. But
at the same time, all along, I knew that I
would find what it would take to stay in the
game and drive the vision forward. So I guess you know.
My fundamental advice is if there's something that you're passionate
about and you are thinking about starting your own company,
go for it. And I think that you figure it
(18:06):
out day by day. It's not that you start with
a line a straight line to the successful, you know future,
But every day you sort it out and you figure
it out, and you have resilience and you lean on
your network and your support systems, but you just stay
in the game, and before you know it, you will
have made more progress than you could have even originally imagined. Michelle,
(18:29):
it's been great having you on the show. Thanks so much.
For joining us. Thank you so much, Kim, I just
have I really enjoyed the conversation and having the opportunity
to share my journey as a woman entrepreneur. I'd like
to thank Michelle for sharing her incredible story about how
she's created success with Metabal. Here are three points I
took from the conversation. First, the path to entrepreneurship is
(18:53):
not always a straight line. Michelle thought her career would
be as a physician and researcher, which she did do
for a time and love. But when she saw that
she could innovate even better through technology, she left the
comfort of the lab and took the bold leap. Second,
persistence is a key ingredient to success, as Michelle says
as an entrepreneur, if you'll get a thousand knows for
(19:15):
every yes, and another key trait is being open to opportunity.
You never know where that next door will open. With
a clear vision for Metabal, Michelle was able to turn
a chance encounter with two potential investors into a successful
business relationship. Finally, and on a related note, being prepared
and sticking to your vision is key. You never know
(19:36):
when or how quickly the world can change. The pandemic
close clinics around the world and made medicals remote technology
increasingly desirable. Michelle had stuck to her vision and she
was ready to step forward with her product in that
critical moment. Made by Women is brought to you by
the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with
support from founding partner P ANDNG
Welcome to Made by Women, a new podcast by the
Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. At a
moment when businesses face some of the biggest challenges in
recent history, we bring you inspiring stories, practical insights, and
shared learnings to help you successfully navigate in today's environment.
(00:24):
Every Thursday, Made by Women will showcase the experiences of
legendary women, entrepreneurs, fierce up and comers, and everyday women
who found success their own way. Consider this your real
world NBA designed for the New Now. I'm Kim Azzarelli
and thanks so much for joining us today. This past
(00:44):
year of the pandemic has brought incredible advancements in science
and medicine. We've seen the creation and approval of vaccines
for the coronavirus quicker than we ever thought possible. Today,
we'll be talking to a CEO and founder who's been
working since two thousand and fifteen to make sure that
clinical trials for a wide range of medical conditions are
done faster and at lower cost. That means that effective
(01:07):
treatments for patients can also happen faster. Dr Michelle Longmire
and her company Medabal have developed technology which allows clinical
trials to be handled remotely and more efficiently, which is
a game changer in the fight against disease. I met
Michelle through Springboard Enterprises, an organization that for twenty years
has worked to accelerate the growth of women led companies
(01:30):
through access to essential resources and experts. I spoke with
Michelle about how medical is shaking up the way we
develop new medicines and treatments. Please enjoy our conversation. Thanks
so much for joining us today. Thank you, Cham it's
awesome to be here. Well, we are so excited about
your company, especially given what we're all going through right
now in terms of the medical environment. So let's get
(01:53):
started with learning a little bit about metabal. What is
it and why did you start it? So medical provides
a solution and too very challenging problems in the development
of new medicines. And when you look at how medicines
are developed, it's essentially a clinical trial process where people
all over the world are recruited and participate in clinical trials.
(02:16):
And traditionally this happens through you know, visits to a
doctor's office and therefore the participation is very much limited
to the immediate geographic area. As a result, this kind
of laborious and barely limited in terms of access process
leads to extremely long timelines. On average, it takes US
twelve years to develop a new medicine once you begin
(02:40):
the human based research. It also costs US two point
six billion dollars. So Medical is bringing a completely new
approach and solution one where we are making research ubiquitous
through a universal access through our platform. This really enables
anyone in the world to participate in iCal research and
(03:01):
brings the clinical research into that person's own life in
a way that removes so many of the barriers to
the traditional process. And I think you know why this
really matters is it not only shortens the timelines and
decreases the cost, but it also improves the science itself.
(03:21):
Research is limited in scope of participation and the traditional approach,
and by making research ubiquitous, we can get far greater
data and much broader understanding of the safety and efficacy
of medications in the global population. So it's an exciting
problem to solve. And yeah, that's what Medical does. Well,
(03:42):
that's incredible and and obviously it's pretty game changing in
terms of accelerating that. So before I take you too
far down the path, of metabal. I want to take
you back to your own story the early days. Did
you know you always wanted to be a scientist? When
did you realize that you were a scientist? So? I
grew up in a small town most most New Mexico,
where pretty much everybody as a scientist. So, um, you know,
(04:06):
I never I always, I guess saw myself as an
inventor um And even when I was young. You know,
both of my parents are scientists. My grandfather was a
famous physicist who um was you know, one of the
kind of part of some of the collaborative research in
the early days of Los Alamos. So I always was
(04:27):
encouraged and I guess really inspired by how discovery could
transform the world. And you know, some of my earliest
memories are doing science fair experiments with my dad, and
you know, everything was always about deductive reasoning and science
and that was, um just the way that I saw
the world. And I'm incredibly grateful for that. So yeah,
(04:47):
I think, you know, I was kind of board and
raised a scientist. Well that's pretty unique. How did you
end up then transitioning to becoming a CEO. Well, it
was a pretty long path. You know, I really was
always somebody who wanted to do research. I saw that
discovery and science was a way to make a meaning
(05:08):
not only a meaningful contribution, but I think something that's
important to me, which is, you know, a contribution that
is a culmination of your unique talents and capabilities. And
so when I was looking at, you know, after undergraduate,
what did I want to do? My parents, you know,
we're really encouraging to pursue a career in medicine. Honestly,
(05:28):
it wasn't something I had been really considering. I always
saw myself just you know, pursuing research as a PhD.
But what I am so grateful for after this encouragement
was the journey of becoming a physician and all of
the things it teaches you about the human experience as
well as you know, what it provides you in terms
(05:50):
of your capabilities to really help people directly. So you know,
through that, then it being at Stanford as a dermatologist
and where I was combined in both my love of
research and now taking care of patients as a dermatologist.
It was through that lens where I started to see
unique opportunities for discovery and invention that I thought would
(06:12):
be better addressed through technology and being in Silicon Valley,
I was then, you know, really thinking about, okay, do
I leave the walls of academia and my lab bench
and my patients and pursue you know, invention and discovery
through really you know business. And that's how I became
(06:34):
a CEO. Was making the decision to do that. It
was a bold jump, but now looking back, I feel
like I was born to do it this way. So
so take us through the beginning of metabal How did
you think about it? How hard was it to get started?
And what were the early days Like When I was
a resident physician at Stanford, I started to see a
really unique opportunity. You know, I was doing clinical research
(06:56):
in rare disease. So my my research study, you was
around identical twins with rare disease and trying to understand,
you know, why with a similar genetic background, one person
would develop a disease and another person wouldn't. And I
was really up against so many of the traditional barriers
of research. How do we connect with patients? How do
I find these patients? How do I capture data that
(07:18):
is bigger and more informative than that which we can
capture in a traditional clinical setting. And I realized that
basically every researcher in the world was struggling with some
subset or this entire set of barriers their own research.
So I started to become inspired to to take a
(07:39):
leap into the startup world, and I started to attend hackathons.
I somehow convinced one of my mentors to invest in
what was the you know, first iteration like the jump
star of metabal and I was able to you know,
garner fifty dollars of c funding and hire a couple
of developers. And I really was doing this in the
(08:02):
evenings while I was still working in both in research
and in my job as a physician. And I had
a really strong set of partners who continued to carry
that forward. But it got to a point where we
had built something that had a lot of value and
I had to make the choice was I going to
say at Stanford and do my research or was I
going to really embark on full time pursuit of the
(08:26):
medical vision. And I encountered um In early just by fate,
really inspiring individual actually two of them, Um Bob and
Bob dug In and Macisanagi who were founders are Actually
they were running a company called Pharmacyclics and it was
a biotech company, and they understood what the medical vision
(08:47):
was and they backed us with a three million dollar investment,
and I made the leap and we started kicking off Metabal,
and I grew the engineering team, I developed a sales team.
We really gan to see that there was traction for
the product um and you know, today what's so exciting
is our platform serves over a hundred thousand patients. Last year,
(09:10):
we did fifty clinical trials in over sixty countries and
in forty languages, and we're showing that this approach can
really accelerate the development of new medicines by making research
ubiquitous in terms of the access. We'll be back with
senecas made by women after this short break. Well, that's
(09:41):
kind of an incredible amount of success that you had
early on and that first real break. You know, we
often look back on that, and I hear that from
a lot of entrepreneurs sometimes it seems like it was
faith that intervened. Can you tell us a little bit
about that. Yeah, absolutely, I think is an entrepreneur, anytime
you're fundraising, you get a thousand nos to every yes.
And I think this when you look at the data,
(10:02):
you know, this applies more to outsiders who are not
you know, women and minorities. I just think it's real,
it's this is just the reality. But no is a
common thing for every entrepreneur. So as I was working
on Metabal, you know, I had the opportunity really to
meet Bob and Mackie just on a on a whim,
(10:22):
essentially in a chance encounter in Silicon Valley, like many
of the amazing people I've met in Silicon Valley, and
we had the opportunity to talk about, you know, what
metabal was all about, and they said, hey, you know,
we have really just are in a unique position to
start making some investments. They had just sold pharmacyclics to
(10:43):
Abby and medical was their first technology investment they made
um after they sold their pharmaceutical company. And so yeah,
I mean really it was not that I had reached
out to them. It wasn't investors that we were pursuing
at that but we happened to meet them and it
was life changing. They've actually become, you know, some of
(11:05):
my most valued mentors in addition to being our investors.
So it seems that the world was really lucky that
this chance encounter happened, because medical obviously is providing so
much value, and particularly right now during COVID. How has
the recent pandemic affected what you're doing and how have
you responded? The pandemic has definitely changed the way that
(11:27):
people can conduct research. So prior to the pandemic, our
approach was an edge case. It was seen as a
riskier approach because you know, we were using new technologies.
This is a highly regulated industry and in general people
were more comfortable and sticking with the status quo. And
I'm referring to the pharmaceutical companies who are planning the
(11:50):
strategies around clinical trials now. Once COVID hit, the world
really changed because access to the clinics was shut down
and so subtly, you know, really within I remember I
was traveling in Europe, and I left Europe at the
kind of peak of the first you know, wave of
the pandemic in it was early April, and within weeks
(12:12):
we were contacted by clinical sites in Italy who are
shut down, asking to use our technology to continue to
connect with patients and trials that had been under way
for several years, so we started to quickly establish new
relationships even in trials that were already under way. And
fast forward to today, over seventy of all clinical trials
(12:35):
are now planning or already using these connected technologies. So
the world has really changed dramatically. I think we provided
a really you know, an important technology capability in a
time of need. But fundamentally, I think the world has
also shifted to see the value of this approach in
(12:56):
the ability to provide patients access to clinical research. So
in this moment, though, when this is all happening around us,
and obviously we see that the benefits of metabal, the
world feels pretty difficult for a lot of people. And
as an entrepreneur, I'm sure you've faced many many challenges
throughout your career. We always see kind of the success,
the shiny success, but you know, there's obviously so much
(13:19):
that goes into what you do. You know, what is
it that gives you strength during these difficult times? The
last year has been challenging for everyone. Is you know,
suddenly our lives changed so dramatically, and you know, the
people that we love spending time with become harder to see.
Just as an example, you know, I haven't spent nearly
(13:40):
as much time with my parents as I usually do.
And you think, when you look worldwide at the prevalence
of depression and social isolation, clearly the last year has
been extremely challenging. What gives me strength during these times?
Are you know, some of the basic things like getting
outside and exercising and um, making sure that I have
(14:01):
a routine on a daily basis that is giving me
that makes me feel a sense of wellness and health overall,
is something that just gives you, I think, more resilience
as a person, but I think it, you know, in
a more macroscopic sense. What what gives me strength is
the way that I see in this industry of life sciences,
(14:23):
the spirit of collaboration and really this kind of stop
at nothing attitude around developing a way out of COVID
through the vaccines and therapies. And and I think humans,
as you know, as a human race, when is the
last time we've been tested like this collectively? I think
often challenges are posed to much smaller subsets of humanity.
(14:47):
But when you look at really what the world has
accomplished in the last year, it's just profound. The results
are incredible. We've never developed a therapy or a vaccine
in the timelines that we've developed the COVID vaccine sans,
and I think it says a lot about what's possible.
You know, It's kind of like running the four minute mile.
Once someone does it somewhere in the world, suddenly you
(15:09):
find that humans all over the world and that caliber
can can now do that. So I think that we've
proven we can develop therapies faster. I think we can
apply warp speed to every disease area in to some degree.
And I think what we'll see is that the next
five to ten years in drug development and ultimately treatments
(15:30):
for human suffering will uh be moving much faster, and
we will be able to treat diseases better and we'll
be able to reduce human suffering globally as a result
of some of the proof points that we can take
away from the last year in terms of timelines and
really showing what's possible. You've been recognized by and have
(15:53):
worked with Springboard Enterprises. How has that relationship been important
to you? And medical Springboard is is a unique group
to be a part of. I think, you know, fundamentally,
you know I think of Amy and Kay and the
entire network of women that I've had the opportunity to
get to know, and this is just an authentic team
(16:15):
who are behind you at all points in time, good
or bad. You know. I think being a CEO of
a company, you find that when things are going well,
you've got a lot of allegiances, but it's when the
times are challenging that that number is fewer. And Springboard
is just really the group of people who are behind
you in the good times and in the bad times.
(16:37):
And I think this is incredibly valuable. Springboard is not
an investor. They do not hold equity in our company.
They're really in this to support women entrepreneurs, and you know,
it's it's just a support system that helps you stay
in the game, helps gives you strength when you're wondering,
you know, how do I really get through this? And
(16:58):
you're looking for you know, that that support, in that
kind of ray of hope. So I think that Springboard
is extremely unique in the authenticity of the mission and
the support that they provide for women entrepreneurs. And what
have you learned in your journey that you wish someone
would have shared with you when you were first starting out.
I think starting your own company is just an incredible
(17:19):
source of learning and also personal freedom. And one of
the things that I've learned is that there's nothing that's
going to make you ready to do it other than
just going for it and jumping in and you know,
moving that idea forward, moving the company forward, really what
stands out to me. Where we are today, I would
(17:42):
have never even guessed that we would get here. But
at the same time, all along, I knew that I
would find what it would take to stay in the
game and drive the vision forward. So I guess you know.
My fundamental advice is if there's something that you're passionate
about and you are thinking about starting your own company,
go for it. And I think that you figure it
(18:06):
out day by day. It's not that you start with
a line a straight line to the successful, you know future,
But every day you sort it out and you figure
it out, and you have resilience and you lean on
your network and your support systems, but you just stay
in the game, and before you know it, you will
have made more progress than you could have even originally imagined. Michelle,
(18:29):
it's been great having you on the show. Thanks so much.
For joining us. Thank you so much, Kim, I just
have I really enjoyed the conversation and having the opportunity
to share my journey as a woman entrepreneur. I'd like
to thank Michelle for sharing her incredible story about how
she's created success with Metabal. Here are three points I
took from the conversation. First, the path to entrepreneurship is
(18:53):
not always a straight line. Michelle thought her career would
be as a physician and researcher, which she did do
for a time and love. But when she saw that
she could innovate even better through technology, she left the
comfort of the lab and took the bold leap. Second,
persistence is a key ingredient to success, as Michelle says
as an entrepreneur, if you'll get a thousand knows for
(19:15):
every yes, and another key trait is being open to opportunity.
You never know where that next door will open. With
a clear vision for Metabal, Michelle was able to turn
a chance encounter with two potential investors into a successful
business relationship. Finally, and on a related note, being prepared
and sticking to your vision is key. You never know
(19:36):
when or how quickly the world can change. The pandemic
close clinics around the world and made medicals remote technology
increasingly desirable. Michelle had stuck to her vision and she
was ready to step forward with her product in that
critical moment. Made by Women is brought to you by
the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with
support from founding partner P ANDNG
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