Peter Kolchinsky

Biotech on Bluesky, I’m sharing with you first. RA Capital just launched Biotech Unveiled, a free online course our team created. Learn at own pace. Covers fundamentals of how insurance + investment direct R&D. Essential knowledge for leaders. racap.thinkific.com/courses/biot...

The interesting thing about Bluesky is watching something like the Wild West open up. Who knows if it ever becomes as populated as Twitter, but in these early days, you see how a platform takes shape. For example, notice the ratio of followers to posts… it seems a sign of how… 1/4

I’m guessing that as the platform matures and people saturate their target market, the ratios won’t be as useful. But for now, Bluesky and many people are it offer a dynamic range in which to appreciate what diffuses through its thick liquid (twitter is more a gas).

The interesting thing about Bluesky is watching something like the Wild West open up. Who knows if it ever becomes as populated as Twitter, but in these early days, you see how a platform takes shape. For example, notice the ratio of followers to posts… it seems a sign of how… 1/4

What was an investor’s real reason for passing? What do they know? Might that info help a company? Yet, there’s a downside to candor. Feelings may get hurt. Investors get ghosted on deal. How might we flip it so there’s upside? Insights from #biotech & any sector welcome.

And same question for eliciting candid feedback from board members. Little sense in experienced people passively having slides read to them thinking “this isn’t compelling” and not getting to the heart of the problem. How to spark constructor candor? How to remove downsides of being candid?

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

It comes with a great epilogue that addresses common “but what about!?” questions whenever you suggest that maybe drug companies don’t price gouge. (Eg but Canada pays less!). We also discuss all this in the fellowship. rapport.bio/supplemental...

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

What I’m really saying is that it’s not enough to be good… you have to either know how to convey convincingly to others that you are good or else have others who are convincing be able and willing to vouch for you that you are good. Otherwise, it’s hard to break through the noise.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

…so I could then apply for a job in business development. Eventually he did, though by then I had other offers. I created that optionality for myself intentionally. Be similarly rational and intentional about cultivating mentors and references.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

If they are not well connected, then it’s like being useful to a fellow stranded person… now you are both stranded together. When I was starting the Harvard Biotech Club, I recruited the head of Beth Israel’s tech transfer office to be our student group advisor.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

If you don’t get good at capturing someone’s interest with a note about yourself, your accompaniments, and how you could be relevant to them, you may struggle to stand out from the masses of other vague people and will likely need others to vouch for you as being special/good at something specific.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

…but as a calling card when you want to get someone’s attention to maybe work with them. They will see from your map or article that you aren’t just a passive job seeker… you stand out as having done the extra work and might be worth their time.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

So make sure that you can speak specifically what you actually did (not same as claiming you did everything on your own… speak specifically about what every member of a team did). The people looking for doers recognize fellow doers by the specificity of their discussion of what they did.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

The world advances because of the people who get things done, but it’s often hard to know who those people are because so many people, at best, talk a big game and claim to have been involved in this or that accomplishment…

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

In my youth, it was the web… you had to know how to build your own website… today it’s AI, ideally with some understanding of data science.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

2. Work AI into everything you do because it will transform your field. Especially if you think about a career in drug discovery or patient care, in 5-10 years you won’t recognize these fields because of how much AI will change them.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

For example, I started the Harvard Biotech Club and it changed the trajectory of my career by serving as a platform for learning and meeting people and generally standing out for my entrepreneurialism.

I’m involved with No Patient Left Behind’s fellowship program www.nopatientleftbehind.org When students ask me for career advice, I often share the same stories & suggestions. Here’s what I say. (This is long)…

Healthcare costs are high, but there's an 8% slice that does more than anything to improve our lives & drive down costs. If drug prices come up during TG dinner, you’ll win w/these points ;) @phrma.bsky.social @naturebiotech.bsky.social #biotech @nplb.bsky.social rapport.bio/all-stories/...