ARTIS has been pioneering investments in TechBio for many years, partnering with companies where we believe we can do our part to help advance healthcare and biology beyond just financial support. We offer guidance, share our network, and treat every portfolio company like family because we know every great idea needs an even greater team, and ecosystem of support, to bring the vision to fruition.

We aim to surround ourselves with companies and individuals who pioneer their own industries, both in the founders we back, and through our deeply experienced network of Healthcare Pioneers, composed of some of the most successful executives in biotech, pharma, and healthcare. Over the course of the last few years we have shared some of their most valuable insights on our blog. After more than a dozen interviews, what emerged were four common themes that anyone can apply to their career.

Whether you are starting a company, taking an entry-level position, or wondering how to climb the corporate ladder, these are the lessons that will help you get there.

Want just the highlights? Here are the four most common lessons for success, from those that have achieved it as the highest level.

1. Self-awareness is key - know your strengths and weaknesses, and accept all feedback as a gift because it only helps you improve
2. Create a clear vision and a passionate culture - make sure everyone on your team understands and cares about the mission. You can teach skills, but you can’t teach a cultural fit, so hire wisely
3. Diversity matters - different ages, genders, races, upbringings, and skill sets are crucial for success. Build your company that way from the beginning
4. There is a patient at the end of your product - never lose sight of WHY you are doing what you are doing, and make decisions with the patient in mind

For more poignant advice on these lessons, read on.

1. Be self-aware and view feedback as a gift

“A professor once told me, ‘It takes two to know one,’ meaning you need data and feedback from other people to know yourself. Really great companies build a culture of feedback. While for some it can be hard to receive, it helps to imagine feedback landing in front of you, and not on top of you. Often the most talented people seek out information about what they are doing well, what they can do better, and how other people experience them as a teammate. Being on a team is a big commitment, so find out what it’s like to work with yourself and use it to grow.”

- Ann Lee-Karlon, COO, Altos Labs

Read Ann’s complete Spotlight here.

“You don’t need to know everything to start a company, and don’t be afraid to know what you don’t know.”

- Angelika Fretzen, Technology Translation Director & COO, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Read Angelika’s complete Spotlight here.  

“Feedback is a gift. Too often I’ve seen managers who were too scared of giving it, yet one of the most important roles as a manager is to engage in professional development, and you can’t grow without feedback.”

- Annalisa Jenkins, Former Head of R&D at Merck Serono

Read Annalisa’s complete Spotlight here.  

“To be a leader, self-awareness is critical. You must believe your actions will have an impact.”

- Quita Highsmith, Chief Diversity Officer at major biotech

Read Quita’s complete Spotlight here.

“As a CEO in healthcare, you have to step back from the science and look at all aspects of the business, not just driving the science forward to the detriment of commercialization. Most founders want to be the CEO so this means you might have to come to grips with the understanding that, as a founder, you may not be the best fit for the CEO role at all stages of the company. That's not to say that scientists and academics can't be great founders. They absolutely can be, but you must understand your role as CEO is not to focus on the science. Recognize what you are good at, what you do and don’t like to do, and know when to hire, so you can continue to drive your idea to its end.”

- Alan Wright, Chief Medical Officer, bioMérieux

Read Alan's complete Spotlight here.  

“A common theme you will hear from anyone who works in pharma or biotech is about failure. Fail fast and learn. Every failure is a step toward success. The failures are often more valuable than the successes. All of these are absolutely true, but there's another crucial aspect you need to watch — recognize when you are out of pivots and when it's time to return the science to academia.”

- Michael Aberman, Former SVP Strategy and IR, Regeneron

Read Michael's complete Spotlight here.

2. Have a clear vision and build a culture that shares your passion

“The only thing that remains constant as a manager is your need to have a vision, a clear destination, and a strategy of how to get there that everyone understands.”

- Dick Daniels, Former CIO Kaiser Permanente

Read Dick's complete Spotlight here.

“The key to being an effective leader is to give your team a clear direction and vision, and make sure they know how critical they are to the success of that vision. Leaders really need to invest in the individuals on their team and spend at least half of their time on mentoring, guiding and leading them. Really learn who they are, identify their strengths and weaknesses, where they have opportunities to grow and where they may need help in filling in gaps. You can have a great idea, but if you don’t have the right team and the right environment, you won’t be able to execute it. What I look for in leaders is their ability to lead, support and empower by watching how they recruit a great team. You can always tell the quality of the team by the leader, and you can always tell the quality of a leader by the team they’ve built.”

- Sara Kenkare-Mitra, President and Head of R&D at Alector

Read Sara's complete Spotlight here.

“Build a team that is passionate about the company and its culture. One of my biggest lessons was that you can teach the right people new skills in a vibrant culture, and I’d take that every day over trying to force a cultural fit to gain access to skills. Great people and teams are resilient and adaptable.”

- Brian Cali, Co-founder Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Read Brian's complete Spotlight here.

“Successful scientific CEOs have charisma and know they are selling a vision. You must recognize your strengths and weaknesses and use that, in addition to your science, to create an inspirational vision that helps people understand the magic of your dream. That same inspirational vision is also the basis of your company culture. Surround yourself with people who want to be there. It sounds like common sense, but it’s easier said than done. Our job as the leader of the company is to get the most out of the people working with us. When building my own teams, I look for people who are overachievers and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.”

- Michael Yang, Former President and CEO at ViaCyte

Read Michael's complete Spotlight here.

“As a leader it’s your job to provide the people around you with an environment where innovation can thrive. The minute you start working with people, you are dependent on your team to get things done, and you have to evaluate what your role is. You are only as good as the team you have, so give people room to stumble and fail, and then ask them what they learned.”

- Bahija Jallal, CEO and Director of the Board at Immunocore

Read Bahija's complete Spotlight here.

“Every hire must firmly believe in the DNA of the company, especially when you are small. Part of what makes a successful corporate culture is recognizing the success of the person next to you is as important to your career as your own successes.”

- Michael Aberman, Former SVP Strategy and IR, Regeneron

Read Michael's complete Spotlight here.

3. Diversity is crucial for success

“What all boards of directors need is diversity. And don’t just consider ethnic or experience diversity, though both are important - also consider age. On many boards people are older, but if you have a product or service designed for younger people, you need the perspective of your target audience. You also don’t want a board that leaves at the same time because of tenure or age. Rather, you want continuity for a longer period, so by definition you want a balance of different age groups.”

- Dick Daniels, Former CIO Kaiser Permanente

Read Dick's complete Spotlight here.

“Engaging communities of color in science is essential and startups have to start thinking differently about who they are bringing in. Be thoughtful about vendors and partnerships, too. Let your partners know upfront that diversity and inclusion is important to your organization and that you want to work with people who prioritize these same values. Ask your suppliers and partners about their commitments and investments in diversity and inclusion. These seemingly small questions show your company is thinking differently and about the future. In biotech, it's the companies that are proactively asking these questions that are earning the trust of underrepresented communities. By asking bigger questions you will learn more about these communities' wants and needs which is the first step toward earning their trust.”

- Quita Highsmith, Chief Diversity Officer at major biotech

Read Quita’s complete Spotlight here.

“Diversity and equity should be part of the conversation at every young company, realizing that your team will be stronger if it’s more diverse, with people from all backgrounds and walks of life. If you start your organization with diversity as a key component it will be less work in the long run because it will be self perpetuating. Frankly, it’s your obligation to build your team this way. It’s going to give you a better performing company.”

- Brian Cali, Co-founder Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Read Brian's complete Spotlight here.

4. Focus on the end game - the patient

“In biotech you must always remember there is a patient and their family at the end of your product. Teams that keep their focus on the patient and plan data readouts based on when it's right for the disease progression — as opposed to prioritizing investors or fundraising cycles — are going to make better decisions and design better clinical trials.”

- Angelika Fretzen, Technology Translation Director & COO, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Read Angelika’s complete Spotlight here.  

“Spend a lot of time on your target profile - always ask can we commercialize this product and is there a market for it? Also, understand the rules from the beginning to facilitate success because the last thing you want to do is repeat something because it wasn’t done to the standards. Take clinical trials, for example. They are long to start, difficult to do, and may have unforeseen problems, so a clear understanding of why you have to go through the process, who is in the various bodies, and how best to work with them, is critical.”

- Bill Carson, Chairman of the Board at Otsuka Pharmaceutical

Read Bill's complete Spotlight here.  

“Stay close to the mission. We all burn out and sometimes what you need is to step back and trace your role to the larger goal. How are you moving this medicine / therapy / treatment one step closer to the patient? Think back to your first day on the job and recall why you were excited to join this company or team and remember the part you are playing in creating a better world for patients.”

- Ann Lee-Karlon, COO, Altos Labs

Read Ann’s complete Spotlight here.

“Use your conversations with investors to gain insights into how your product can fit into the landscape that justifies the value that you are striving for. Both parties are trying to reach the same goal: to create a product which is only valuable if it REALLY changes a patient’s life.”

- Brian Cali, Co-founder Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Read Brian's complete Spotlight here.

More to come, watch the AV blog, LinkedIn and Twitter for new Pioneer Spotlights.

We would like to thank all our Healthcare Pioneers that have already participated in our Pioneer Spotlight series, and look forward to bringing more great business, career, and life lessons from the rest of our network.