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?