Element founders Molly He and Michael Previte
Early this week I got to sit with Element Biosciences founders Molly He (CEO) and Michael Previte (CTO) in their comically big board room and we had a great in-depth conversation about their careers and building Element.All up a fantastic discussion and in my humble 😏 opinion an entire MBA packed into one hour of easy listening!1. How the hell did you two get here?- Molly’s personality: competitive sprinting, love of travel and risk-taking, proteomics obsession- Mike’s early work in cancer research, multi-drug resistance, and developing a deep interest in the complexity of biology2. The Elemental Elements of Element- How Molly, Mike, and Matt met (Illumina, PacBio, Foresight Capital)- Fundamental motivation: do “smart science” - Early challenges in getting the chemistry to work in a moldy lab3. Flashback: the PacBio and Illumina Years- PacBio’s single-molecule real-time sequencing: the need to engineer polymerases for precise optical detection- Illumina’s ecosystem building and how crucial sample prep, workflows, and system-level thinking are for success 4. Oof: Competing with Illumina- The need for brand-building and overcoming customer risk aversion (“no one gets fired for buying IBM”)- Tactics like running customer samples internally to show quality and reliability5. Differentiating Technology & Vision- Element’s approach to “smart science” rather than purely high-throughput sequencing data generation- Building a sequencing system with the ability to capture broader multiomic information (protein engineering, optical methods)- Emphasis on simultaneous/spontaneous multiomics readouts (DNA, RNA, proteins) from the same samples on the same machine6. Market Dynamics and Customer Adoption- Compatibility with Illumina workflows (sample prep, data output) to reduce switching costs- The impact of new entrants (e.g., Ultima Genomics, Roche and potential market fragmentation around different core competencies7. Looking Ahead: Multiomics & Precision Medicine- The need for deeper, integrated biological assays to tackle chronic diseases such as diabetes- Limitations of only knowing gene sequences without functional data (RNA expression, protein profiles, morphology)- Long-term goal to move beyond being “just” a sequencer company and enable more holistic, comprehensive biology insights8. Reflections on Entrepreneurship & Innovation- “Naivety” (or “delusion”) as both a necessity and a driver of ambition for founders- The balance between taking big risks and being prepared with strong science/engineering fundamentals- Continued commitment to building a powerful platform that can adapt to future breakthroughs in life science research