EP. 88 Narrowing decisions is key as a CEO, but hard when you’re a scientist

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Dr. Yael Katz, CEO of BrainCheck which is focused on democratizing cognitive health.  Yael began her career in academia as a neuroscientist.  After the work of grants and publications, she determined that she wanted her output to be more tangible.  A detour to management consulting taught her a lot, including that she had no appetite for management consulting!  Her attention went to finding a problem worth solving and BrainCheck was born.   For Yael, the guts to go after something has never been an issue, but when it comes to narrowing decisions, she finds that hard.  As a scientist, you want to look at the world of possibilities, as a CEO you want to be decisive and focused.  As this young company evolves, innovation has come with the technology and the product, but an equal amount of innovation working on the business model.  Yael has seen that diversity at the top has become more important to some funders yet she notes that her experience with raising $20M, gender never seemed to be a factor.  These days Yael is being asked more and more for advice.  Thinking about her own experience with mentors has been helpful.  Real talk with the balance of not squelching enthusiasm,  something she looks to emulate as she speaks to other entrepreneurs.   Yael Katz, PhD CEO, BrainCheck Founder, CountVision Neuroscientist, authoring over 20 articles with more than 1600 citations Entrepreneur, raising $20M in venture capital from top firms Business leader, overseeing the development and commercialization of BrainCheck’s cognitive assessment and care platform, cultivating a top-notch team with offices in Houston and Austin Passionate about technology, biotechnology, and building businesses