I interviewed with the CEO, an entrepreneur from Germany. He previously founded & sold some retail start-up that I’ve never heard of, and is now trying to discover cancer early and cure it.
First red flag: The CEO is not a scientist, PhD, or physician. So, he'd better have some amazing co-pilots in the c-suite who have very strong scientific backgrounds. And, after 8 years, there appears to be only one other person on the executive leadership team, a CSO from a tiny, unknown biopharma company (Benitec?) who went to University of Pittsburgh (undergrad) & then Northwestern for PhD in Molecular Biology. They tout themselves as a "Stanford spinout", but then where is the leadership & support from Stanford? Stanford-focused VCs aren't investors either. (Note: Looks like the CSO passed away recently. So, don't think there's any checks & balances that occur with a functional, collaborative executive leadership team. It's just the polarizing, narcissistic CEO.)
Second red flag: No clinical POC data in humans after 8 years! They have some mouse & dog data (useless), and then went to Australia for their ONLY phase 1 human study. They don't have any published results from this trial as recruitment has been "difficult." The FDA really doesn't like single-country trials outside of the U.S. Why pharma co is going to want to hitch their wagon to Earli as a partner?
Third red flag: The intense interview style of the CEO was a real turnoff. It was a series of interrogatory questions to "learn more about" me, rather than a fluid exchange. I didn't mind the push-back on my answers, but didn't care for his confrontational style. Nothing about their clinical progress, team culture, or specifics of the role were discussed. He also insisted that personal & professional passions can't commingle. I strongly disagree.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
List the top 3 leadership qualities you’d want in a manager/boss.
Now choose b/w someone who has those 3 qualities but lies to everyone except you, OR someone who never lies.
What are you passionate about?
Everyone seemed really nice & friendly. The recruiter was very responsive, which I liked. I thought my final round interview went well but did not get an explanation for my rejection, it would be nice to know what went wrong.
I applied online. I interviewed at Earli (South San Francisco, CA)
Interview
45 minute Zoom meeting with office manager slash everything else she does. It’s unclear what she actually qualified for.
Earli is made of scientists that do not understand how to run a business. Their office manager is responsible for their recruiting and has never done it before. They outsource most of their recruiting needs to their party agencies. It sounds like mess. Their interviewing process seems long and over excessive especially during this market. I was told each candidate meets with 10-20 people of the team — basically half the company! That’s insane. Lack of candidate experience. Run away!