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Reshma Shetty, Founder of Ginkgo Bioworks at the Female Founders Conference
19 segments available
Recorded live at our Female Founders Conference in New York, Reshma Shetty shares the story of building Ginkgo Bioworks. We’re also posting the other talks from the Female Founders Conference today. You can see all of them and read the transcripts at https://blog.ycombinator.com If you’d like to learn more about the Female Founders Conference, head over to https://femalefoundersconference.org
Segments Timeline
Honoring the Community
Reshma Shetty opens her talk at the Female Founders Conference by expressing gratitude for the opportunity to speak and acknowledging the inspiring group of women present. She introduces herself as a co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, setting the stage for her discussion on biological engineering.
"thank you all for being here today it's a real honor to be around such an amazing group of women I'd like to thank Sharon and Kat for inviting me to come talk to you all it's a real honor as Jessica s..."
The Power of Biological Engineering
Shetty explains the core mission of Ginkgo Bioworks, emphasizing the incredible capabilities of plants and biology as advanced technologies. She shares her passion for harnessing biological engineering to create innovative solutions, highlighting the self-replicating and self-repairing nature of biological organisms.
"the best way to sort of introduce what we do is if you take a look at this picture and you can see there's a lot of Technology on this desk and does anybody know what the most advanced piece of techno..."
Programming Biology
In this segment, Shetty discusses the concept of programming biology, explaining how the sequences of DNA dictate the behavior of organisms. She emphasizes the potential of designing biology to meet specific needs, which is the foundation of Ginkgo Bioworks' work.
"can only dream about but that biology does routinely every day right and this is why I fell in love with biological engineering and why I started ginkgo is because I wanted to be able to harness this ..."
Designing Organisms
Shetty shares insights on how Ginkgo Bioworks approaches the design of biological organisms, comparing their work to that of renowned designers in technology. She highlights the importance of improving the efficiency and intelligence of biological design processes.
"it's capable of so if we can learn how to program that DNA if we can learn the right 80s G's and C's to synthesize - right then we can program biology to do what we want and so that's what we do every..."
Scaling Companies
Transitioning to the topic of scaling companies, Shetty reflects on her previous talk at the Female Founders Conference, where she discussed starting companies. She sets the context for her current focus on the challenges and strategies involved in scaling a startup.
"so you might be asking why am I here today what am I gonna teach you all about biological engineering well when Kent and Sharon asked me to speak Sharon asked me to specifically talk about a little bi..."
The Challenge of Female Founders
Shetty recounts a challenge posed by Jessica, urging the audience to create a female-founded unicorn. She expresses excitement about Ginkgo Bioworks achieving unicorn status, reflecting on the unexpected journey of building the company over the past decade.
"issued a challenge the group right she gave a talk about how to not fail as a start-up and Jessica sort of posed a challenge for all the women in the room she said I want to see a female founded unico..."
Advice on Fundraising
In this segment, Shetty shares her perspective on fundraising, countering the common advice against raising too much money. She argues that raising sufficient funds can be crucial for a founder's mission, as long as spending is managed wisely.
"whether I would get to the spot today I would have said hell no but you know there you go life takes you in acts and expected places and as a biological engineer I'm just so excited about being able t..."
Managing Raised Funds
Shetty discusses the psychological impact of raising significant funds, highlighting the pressure to spend that money effectively. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining discipline and avoiding unnecessary expenditures after securing funding.
"think a lot about how to grow and scale the company effectively I hadn't executes effectively and I as I thought about what I could talk to you um today I wanted to really focus on some advice that ha..."
Avoiding Company Bloat
Shetty warns against the dangers of company bloat that can arise after raising funds. She explains how the pressure to expand can lead to inefficiencies and increased spending, which can jeopardize a startup's success.
"their startup right but if you actually dig in and look at what Sam and others are saying what they're really talking about is being smart about how you spend that money so I would actually advise rai..."
The Role of a Scrooge McDuck
Shetty introduces the concept of having a 'Scrooge McDuck' in the organization, someone who focuses on efficiency and cost management. She stresses the importance of maintaining a lean operation to ensure long-term success.
"once you've raised money and that's what's leading to these headlines that are awarding founders not to raise too much money so after you raise a lot of money you can sort of have a holy cow moment ri..."
Stereotypes and Leadership
Shetty addresses the unique challenges female founders face, particularly when adopting a frugal approach. She discusses the stereotypes that can arise and the personal risks involved in being perceived as overly strict or unsympathetic.
"now I have all this money and so now how am I gonna achieve all those goals I set out to I promised I would and I think so you'll go through that right and you'll say okay and you'll get over it but s..."
Balancing Efficiency and Growth
In this segment, Shetty emphasizes the need for startups to balance growth with efficiency. She explains how maintaining a lean operation can extend a startup's runway and provide more options for future growth.
"and leanness that got you to where you are today there's going to be a unconscious pressure to sort of throw that out the window right and that's gonna manifest itself in a bunch of different ways all..."
Defining Success Metrics
Shetty discusses the importance of defining success metrics that focus on efficiency. She encourages startups to measure output per person and other efficiency metrics to ensure sustainable growth.
"some level they're all true right like you raise more money you should go hire some people to do new things right that's why you were given the money in the first place and yeah I like HR is important..."
The Importance of Team Alignment
Shetty highlights the significance of aligning the entire team with the company's mission and metrics. She explains how clear communication of goals can enhance productivity and focus within the organization.
"you have to raise how much more you have revenue you need to bring in to pay for your team gets that much higher right so if you can figure out a way to raise money but keep the discipline keep the sc..."
Mission to Metrics
In this segment, Shetty shares insights from a conversation with Ali Rouhani about mapping a company's mission to its metrics. She emphasizes the need for startups to have a clear understanding of their purpose and how to measure success.
"is not an easy thing to do particularly right after you've raised a bunch of money right this is gonna be all sorts of pressure to chose it go try to spend your way out of problems right but you've go..."
Continuous Refinement
Shetty discusses the ongoing process of refining a startup's mission and metrics. She encourages leaders to be adaptable and open to changing strategies as the company grows.
"personal risk for be considered the battle ax right the tough person who's saying no to everything right and he's an unsympathetic I'm caring leader right and that's just a certain reality I wish that..."
Efficiency as a Core Metric
Shetty stresses the importance of including efficiency metrics in a startup's overall strategy. She explains how focusing on efficiency can drive better decision-making and resource allocation.
"be the longer your runway is the more optionality you're gonna have as you go forward with your startup so your goal is really to try to scale your startup scale your revenues scale your customer base..."
The Scrooge's Role
In this closing segment, Shetty reiterates the critical role of having a 'Scrooge' in the organization to maintain focus on efficiency and sustainability. She reflects on Ginkgo Bioworks' mission and strategy, emphasizing the importance of driving efficiency in their operations.
"this nut this is a huge competitive advantage no matter how much you raise no matter what this is can be huge for your team and the reason for that is that all sorts of problems scale with a number of..."
Closing Remarks
Shetty concludes her talk by thanking the audience and the organizers of the Female Founders Conference. She expresses her excitement about the future of Ginkgo Bioworks and the potential of biological engineering.
"things get harder and harder as your organization grows and so if you can again grow your business by whatever metrics are important revenue customers eyeballs whatever number of GMOs you can produce ..."