#160 Alex Treiner: The Real Startup Saga Behind Sherlock DNA, From Illumina Engineer to Novelist

Alex Treiner is the Founder and CEO of Make Offshore, the Independent Sales Representative for Foxconn Baja California, and the author of "Sherlock DNA: A Startup Saga," a #1 New Release on Amazon based on his nearly nine years inside Illumina. A two-time immigrant and self-described serial reinventor, Alex went from electrical engineer to manager, inventor, and founder of multiple startups, including Tailio, which he sold to Nestlé Purina, before reinventing himself once more as a published novelist now developing the book into a TV drama series.In this episode, Alex joins Federico Ramallo to tell the story behind the story. He traces his path out of the Soviet Union to Israel and then the United States, why he speaks four languages each with the wrong accent, and how that immigrant's drive carried him into the early, high-stakes years of genetic sequencing. He explains what really happened during the nine-and-a-half month nightmare that opens the book, why he chose to fictionalize true events rather than write a memoir, and how he decided which parts of the story to dramatize and which to leave out.The conversation moves into craft and discipline: what it takes for an engineer to actually finish a full-length novel, how he found the patience to embrace imperfection in the creative process, and the difference between a good story and a bad one. Alex shares the pressure an engineer feels inside a billion-dollar race, what a relentless sprint does to a person, a marriage, and a team, and why he believes the screen is the right home for this story. He closes with practical advice for any founder or engineer sitting on a great startup story of their own.Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Alex Treiner03:00 Journey of a Two-Time Immigrant05:57 The Reality of Kibbutz Life08:51 Inside Illumina: The Birth of a Revolution11:52 The Challenges of Engineering14:53 The Protagonist's Journey in Fiction17:58 Writing Techniques and Storytelling20:47 The Emotional Rollercoaster of Writing24:06 Discipline in Writing a Novel26:35 The Journey of Writing a Book29:02 Embracing Imperfection in the Creative Process32:43 The Importance of Perspective in Storytelling35:05 Navigating Pressure and Challenges in Engineering39:22 The Wisdom of Experience and Learning from Mistakes40:26 Translating Stories to the Screen44:10 The Power of Sharing Stories of Resilience49:11 Advice for Aspiring Authors and EntrepreneursLinkedIn · WebsiteEpisode 160 of the PreVetted Podcast.