LongeVC: Four Biotech Founders Pioneering Life-Changing Technologies

Venture capitalists know that a strong founding team is vital to a startup’s success. VC firms carefully evaluate founders’ backgrounds to ensure they have the business, science and tech skills to drive meaningful growth. Of course, beyond their professional backgrounds, successful startup leaders should also have strong soft skills. This looks like winning presentation tactics, excellent management practices, and a diverse network, all of which can be instrumental in helping a startup scale.

At LongeVC, all of the founders in our portfolio fit this criteria. In this article, we highlight four founders who have found incredible success in biotech. They come from different backgrounds, come from different geographies, and are at various growth stages in their company. Together they show that there is no single blueprint for a founder - founders can and should be as diverse as the companies they build. 

Anastasia Georgievskaya - Co-Founder and CEO of Haut.AI
Meet Anastasia Georgievskaya, the driving force behind Haut.AI. 

Haut.AI is a leading European AI company developing SaaS tools for hyper-personalised skincare and beauty applications. The Estonian startup ensures every user’s skincare journey is a personal and unique experience by providing convenient and easy-to-use diagnostics. Anastasia’s leadership has secured partnerships with international beauty and tech brands and has helped her team to launch several iterations of their best-in-class platform.

Anastasia was always interested in artificial intelligence and its beauty applications. In fact, one of her first positions was with Alex Zhavoronkov at Insilico Medicine - read more about him below! Anastasia’s startup success can be attributed to her strong academic background in addition to her dedication and passion for the subject. She just published her first single-author research paper on AI applications for skin analysis in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - check it out here.

Alex Zhavoronkov - Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine
This list would not be complete without mentioning the head of our Advisory Board, Alex Zhavoronkov. While his company, Insilico Medicine, is now considered a unicorn in the AI drug discovery field, it was also once a startup. Alex has contributed to more than 200 research publications on aging, artificial intelligence, genomics and more. He is well-known across the globe for his contributions to aging research and groundbreaking AI applications. 

Alex is a fantastic example of what it looks like to have a thriving network in the biotech field. He has since founded several other startups that benefit from his connections and relationships. Alex has recently made a first-of-its-kind commitment to the longevity field, dedicating his wealth and estate to the cause. We are proud to have him lead our Advisory Board and ensure our portfolio companies will deliver highly scalable and transformative tech. Read more about his Longevity Pledge on his website. 

Vittorio Sebastiano - Co-Founder, Head of Research and Scientific Advisory Board Chairman for Turn Bio
Vittorio Sebastiano co-founded Stanford University spinout Turn Biotechnologies alongside Sergio Ruiz in 2018. Turn Bio is active in the exciting field of cell regeneration, building technology to reprogram the epigenetic clock of cells to revert any aged cell to a younger, more functional state. Its first applications focus on dermatology and ophthalmology, two growing areas of interest within the broad biotech community. 

Vittorio and Sergio founded Turn Bio to support a research breakthrough made by Vittorio during his work at Stanford University. He is one of the leading researchers in the field and is globally recognized for his contributions to stem cells, cell biology, and genome editing. Vittorio and his team’s incredible research-driven approach led LongeVC to invest in the company earlier this year. Read about the deal and Turn Bio’s cell conversion tech on our blog.

Anna Skaya - Founder and CEO of Basepaws
Anna Skaya leads pet genetics company Basepaws, and you may also recognize her from your TV! Anna is preparing for her third feature on the hit show Sharktank, where she first secured funding from “shark” Kevin O’Leary in 2019. O’Leary is enthusiastic about Basepaw’s main offering, a quick and simple DNA test for cats that helps unlock breed insights and potential health issues evident in feline DNA. Basepaws was acquired by publicly listed animal health company Zoetis earlier in 2022; read more about it here.

Anna exemplifies the creativity and charisma needed to build a startup. While many think of biotech as solely focusing on humans, its applications extend far beyond homo sapiens. Pet health is an area many people care about, and it is clear she did the research needed to identify a gap in the pet tech space. Thinking outside the box and exploring new business verticals can be the key to startup success. 

We hope you enjoyed learning more about these standout biotech founders.

Are you interested in supporting startups led by similar visionaries? Fill out our contact form to get in touch with us.