"Passion is chaos. You're doing unreasonable things sometimes for reasons you can't explain to anyone why. That's just what I want.” In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee sits down with Ivan Liachko, CEO and co-founder of Phase Genomics, to reveal how a childhood passion for genetics, relentless family support, and Ivan’s trademark persistence—“better to be annoying than forgotten”—helped him break into science as an immigrant and rise to biotech leadership. Ivan shares candid lessons on embracing unpredictability, turning setbacks into opportunities, and the parallels between research and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the power of authentic curiosity, running toward problems, and leading with bold optimism.

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

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