Ep.94: Funding Biotech with Conscious Capitalism (to Save the World)—with Arvind Gupta

The old way of doing capitalism is about making money in the short term, and that way of thinking has caused a lot of destruction. But some venture funds are taking a new approach and deploying capital in a way that is net beneficial for society in the long term. So, how do we leverage this new kind of conscious capitalism to support the biotech companies that are making the world a better, more sustainable place?Arvind Gupta is a Partner and at Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm that operates under a framework of conscious capitalism. Arvind is also the Founder and Venture Advisor at IndieBio, the world’s largest biotech accelerator, where he invested in 136 companies in five years and grew a portfolio worth $3.2B. Arvind has been a guest lecturer at UCSF, MIT and Harvard, and he is the coauthor of the forthcoming book, Decoding the World: A Roadmap for the Questioner.Today, Arvind joins us to share his mission to help scientists create companies, explaining why access to equity is more important than capital and what we can do to address the trending economic inequality. He discusses the connection between social revolution and new technologies, introducing us to the idea of conscious capitalism as a way to make an impact AND create better returns. Listen in for insight around the challenges of scaling a bio-related startup and learn how Arvind is working to deploy the capital necessary to build the technology that will save the world. Arvind’s work as the founder of IndieBioHelp scientists become entrepreneurs136 companies valued at $3.2B The connection between revolutions and new technologySocial shift demands new way of doing thingsGen Z, millennials willing to pay to affect change Arvind’s philosophy on the way we view animalsSee as living thing or disposable productReflects way we treat each other The benefits of replacing meat with lab-grown foodSubtract moral cost of meatRemove carbon from supply chain Why Arvind sees COVID as the Great AcceleratorSpeeding up every trendIncludes biology, neo-feudalism What we can do to correct neo-feudalismReinvent education to create mobilityCreate jobs that provide access to equity How Arvind is engaging in conscious capitalismDeploy capital for things feel important + make moneyCreate better returns by changing way things done Arvind’s insight on the idea of designed humansAbility to make compounds by delivering RNA/DNA (but not keep)Editing DNA too dangerous for future generations What’s different about funding a bio-related startupTech is alive under hood and living things don’t always behaveChallenge to ensure production platforms repeatable at scale What inspired Arvind’s transition to MayfieldBio companies need support in series A/B for movement to growLearn from world-class team devoted to conscious capitalism Connect with ArvindIndieBio  https://indiebio.co/Mayfield Fund https://www.mayfield.com/Arvind on Twitter https://twitter.com/arvndgpta ResourcesArvind on Boost VC Podcast EP034 https://theboostvcpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/f2db5d9c-d3c4f571Decoding the World: A Roadmap for the Questioner by Po Bronson and Arvind Gupta https://www.amazon.com/Decoding-World-Questioner-Po-Bronson/dp/1538734311IDEO https://www.ideo.com/Memphis Meats https://www.memphismeats.com/Finless Foods https://finlessfoods.com/New Age Meats https://www.newagemeats.com/George Church’s Woolly Mammoth Revival https://reviverestore.org/projects/woolly-mammoth/Khan Lab School https://www.khanlabschool.org/Navin Chaddha’s Post on Conscious Capitalism https://www.mayfield.com/conscious-capital/‘China’s CRISPR Babies’ in the MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/12/03/131752/chinas-crispr-babies-read-exclusive-excerpts-he-jiankui-paper/The Martian by Andy Weir https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History https://www.dancarlin.com/Yik Yak https://www.linkedin.com/company/yik-yak-inc-Tim Chang at Mayfield https://www.mayfield.com/team-member/tim-chang/Ursheet Parikh at Mayfield https://www.mayfield.com/team-member/ursheet-parikh/Mammoth Biosciences https://mammoth.bio/ Connect with Boost VCBoost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/