When Joachim Eeckhout says he started small, he’s not kidding. He and a friend began curating biotech news from a Paris dorm room, eventually launching LaBiotech.eu, a media brand that became a trusted voice in European biotech. What caught my attention is how they learned the landscape: by biking across France with a camera, interviewing CEOs, and turning it into a documentary. That’s how they built credibility and a network from scratch. As a fan of cycling, science and documentary filmmaking, that sounds like a dream job to me. Or me 40 years ago…That kind of storytelling, doing something unexpected and human, creates lasting connections. In our attention economy, Joachim’s approach stands out. He now runs The Science Marketer, helping life science companies do smarter marketing with a voice and personality.Content doesn’t need to be flashy. But it does need to be authentic, consistent, and personal. Joachim suggests starting with what you would actually want to see yourself. That’s how you find your edge or your angle. If you aren’t subscribed, now might be a good time…We dug into the mechanics of content-led growth: how podcasts and newsletters aren’t just media channels—they’re trust-building engines. When someone hears your voice regularly or reads your thoughts in their inbox each week, you go from being a company name to a known entity. Familiarity builds comfort, and comfort builds trust. And unlike a sales call, this kind of content scales. It creates what Joachim calls “a simple funnel”. You share your perspective, your expertise, and a bit of your personality, and over time, people move closer to working with you.Funnels have gotten a bad name lately. Nobody wants to feel like a lead. So how do you build one without turning people off? The goal is to show up with something valuable, consistently, and let the content do the work. This is especially important for founders and CEOs. The ones who are willing to show up, not just to talk about the science, but to let people see who they are, how they think, and what kind of culture they’re building, stand out. Customers don’t just pick a service; they pick a team. The value of good content is letting them get to know yours without pressure.Joachim shares my love of repurposing. Too many companies make a great webinar, record a brilliant interview, or write a strong article and it’s one and done. They move on. But that single piece of content can become the seed for a dozen others. Joachim talked about how he helps clients turn webinars into PDFs, transcripts into blog posts, clips into LinkedIn videos, even media pitches that include actual footage of someone making their point, instead of a generic quote in a press release.We both agree that posting content more than once on the same platform is a mental hurdle more than a real one. Most people won’t see your post the first time. And if they do, they probably won’t remember it. So why not reshare it? Especially if it was good. Posting the same content again weeks or months later isn’t lazy. It’s efficient and effective. Joachim brought up Plasmidsaurus, a company that markets seriously essential biotech services by being obsessed with dinosaurs. It works because it’s memorable, and it doesn’t compromise the quality of the science.The whole conversation was a reminder that in biotech, seriousness doesn’t have to mean boring. Passion, creativity, and a little risk-taking can go a long way in earning trust and growing your brand.Your deepest insights are your best branding. I’d love to help you share them. Chat with me about custom content for your life science brand. Or visit my website. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cclifescience.substack.com

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related