Biofounders: Fun conversations with unconventional founders, biohackers, CEOs, and investors you haven’t met yet | Follow along on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram | Support the podcast with a 5-star rating on Spotify ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In this Biofounders episode:
[0:00 - 1:53] Introduction by Sofia
[2:29] Grace introduces herself
[8:14] Turning a design hobby into a job in biotech branding
[11:21] How branding in biotech has changed in the last decade
[16:08] Common fears around branding and storytelling in biotech founders
[18:48] B2B vs B2C biotech branding fears and needs
[22:35] Bringing dinosaurs to the NYSE for Ginkgo’s IPO
[24:21] How AI has changed our jobs
[29:09] Questions relevant in today’s biotech ecosystem
[34:10] Going from biotech tools to products that people want
[35:30] How do you build a brand when everybody’s doing the same thing?
[38:25] New formats for biotech branding and a secret new project
[41:28] What makes Oscillator unique
[43:38] Making things that don’t suck and branding as a means to make science work
[47:33] Working with Christina Agapakis and finding her own voice
[51:29] Rituals to stay creative
Grace is a chemical engineer turned creative director, or as we would both agree, a Biocreative.
At Ginkgo Bioworks, she orchestrated branding for the company’s IPO, which was the largest of a biotech startup ever, and she cofounded GROW, a magazine about the societal aspects of biotechnology, which circulated more than 15,000 copies around the world.
She was the first scientist to be recognized by Young Guns as one of the top creatives under 30 in the world, and her work has been recognized by the Art Directors Club, Webbys, Society of Publication Designers, and PRINT.
In 2022, she started doing freelance work for companies like Bitbiome and Solugen, and last year, she joined forces with Christina Agapakis to start Oscillator, an agency that crafts new stories where biology and technology meet.
This episode is definitely for the biocreatives, whether you’re into branding or storytelling, or you’re simply curious to learn how it’s like to work at the intersection of art and science.
We talked about why branding can sometimes feel like therapy for scientists, fears of B2B and B2C biotech companies in their storytelling, what questions she would ask if she was leading a biotech magazine today, what biotech is missing these days, new branding formats, and the Oscillator ethos.
