Answer extracted from the The Conference Room with Simon Lader podcast — listen to the full episode below.
What mistakes do first-time biotech founders make when building teams?
First-time founders must surround themselves with people who share their dream and align with their core principles and values, even when disagreeing on approach. A critical mistake is hesitating to terminate relationships that aren't working—dragging along misaligned team members or vendors rather than cutting ties quickly once the dysfunction becomes clear.
The foundation must be solid from the start
Building a biotech company requires making hard decisions about who stays and who goes. The instinct to salvage relationships or give people second chances can be costly. As Dr. Zhang explains in the episode, a company cannot be sustainable if built on a cracking foundation—and that foundation is the alignment of values and principles among core team members.
When you delay removing someone whose values don't align with the company's mission, you risk creating a culture where compromise on core principles becomes normalized. This cascades through hiring decisions, how you treat customers, and ultimately how you approach your science or product. Speed in terminating non-working relationships is not coldness; it's respect—both for the person and for the company's future.
The challenge many first-time founders face is emotional attachment or a sense of loyalty that outweighs objective assessment. Yet Dr. Zhang's experience building Genopalate, which served more than 170,000 customers making nutrition decisions based on DNA analysis, showed her that difficult personnel decisions early are infinitely easier than organizational dysfunction later.
"This drive in me to deliver world-class science and translate that into something useful and practical for everyday people is so strong that I think that will motivate me to learn new skills, to meet new people, to get on stage that I'll be nervous for, and raise funding."
Sherry Zhang — Executive Director of External Strategy and Partnerships at Price Lab, Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Dr. Zhang is a first-generation immigrant scientist who arrived in the United States from China with $3,000, earned her PhD in molecular biology from Marquette University, and founded Genopalate, a personalized nutrition company that has served more than 170,000 customers. She now leads AI-driven approaches to longevity research at one of the world's leading aging research institutions.
What makes this principle-alignment test truly valuable is that it surfaces disagreements early. In the full episode, Dr. Zhang emphasizes that people on your team don't need to agree on every tactic or strategy—but they must be united on why the company exists and what it stands for. That shared "why" makes navigating conflict productive rather than destructive.
Key takeaways
- Prioritize principle and value alignment over skills fit when building your core team; misaligned values compound over time.
- Hesitation to terminate relationships that aren't working is a common costly mistake for first-time founders.
- A company built on misaligned foundations cannot be sustainable—act quickly and decisively when dysfunction emerges.
- Disagreement on approach is acceptable; disagreement on principles and core values is a warning sign.
See also
How should biotech founders approach fundraising and investor relationships?
Trust building and finding aligned investors are critical. Rather than accepting funding too quickly, founders should conduct numerous conversations, test alignment, and prioritize investors who share their vision and values for long-term partnership success.
What drives a scientist to transition from academic research into founding a biotech company?
Dr. Sherry Zhang identified two defining moments: first, discovering that FTO gene variants significantly impact weight loss outcomes and wanting to help people translate that science into practical solutions for everyday health decisions.
What is the philosophical principle behind Ali's follow-up approach regarding time and deal progression?
Ali's mentor taught him that 'it's not time that kills deals, it's lack of proximity.' Deals often take time, and salespeople shouldn't get anxious or write off opportunities simply because they require patience and consistent engagement.