DeepSummary
Sen Sundaram, CEO of Terns Pharmaceuticals, discusses his transition from investment banking to the biotech industry and the challenges he faced in scaling businesses like Intercept and Nightstar. He emphasizes the importance of building a team, investing in their growth, and delegating tasks effectively.
Sundaram talks about Terns' focus on developing transformative medicines for diseases like obesity, NASH, and CML. He explains the prioritization process for their drug portfolio, considering factors like differentiation, future treatment landscape, and patient needs across different stakeholders.
The conversation also covers Sundaram's leadership approach centered around people development, using tools like the Working Genius model to help employees identify their strengths. He shares his experience of being transparent about his cancer diagnosis and the support he received, emphasizing the importance of asking for help during difficult times.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Sen Sundaram transitioned from investment banking to biotech to have a broader impact on people's lives through medicine.
- Terns Pharmaceuticals focuses on developing transformative medicines for diseases like obesity, NASH, and CML, prioritizing factors like differentiation, safety, and patient needs.
- Sundaram emphasizes building a strong team, investing in employee growth, and delegating tasks effectively as a leader.
- Terns implements the Working Genius model to help employees understand their strengths and preferences, promoting self-awareness and productivity.
- Sundaram values transparency, sharing his cancer diagnosis openly and seeking support from the biotech community during personal challenges.
- Terns aims for a decentralized decision-making process, empowering subject matter experts to make relevant decisions.
- Sundaram's leadership approach is centered around people development, pushing employees beyond their perceived boundaries, and finding joy in their growth and success.
- Seeking help and leveraging the supportive biotech community is crucial for navigating personal and professional challenges as a leader.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I think changes on a case-by-case basis, transformative in Nash might be different than transformative in leukemia. And ultimately, I think it's a combination of where we think we can differentiate on efficacy, on safety, what the future treatment landscape may look like.“ by Sen Sundaram
- “For me, there is no greater joy than seeing someone achieve something that they never thought that they could do. So pushing them beyond their boundaries, and then seeing them recognize that that boundary wasn't really real, that they could push beyond it.“ by Sen Sundaram
- “Don't be afraid to ask for help. I personally haven't run into a single person in the biotech community who has not been willing to help.“ by Sen Sundaram
- “The working genius model is maybe an alternative to things like Myers Briggs or. I think there's some other personality type assessments like that. But the working genius model is focused on, as opposed to personality types. It's focused on six working cells, they call it, that are required for any type of work that span, really the range from ideation to implementation.“ by Sen Sundaram
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Episode Information
Running Through Walls
Venrock
6/14/23
Senthil Sundaram, CEO of Terns Pharmaceuticals, speaks with Venrock’s Nimish Shah about the lessons learned balancing personal health events while being CEO of a young company. Sundaram also discusses the "Working Genius" model, an approach focused on leveraging the types of work that bring an employee energy, and his attitude towards team-based leadership and how it propels growth in the workplace.