West coast vs. East coast, Angel funded penny pinching vs. immediate VC investment and many other factors contrast the start-up stories for these two companies even though they were both technology platform opportunities. Of course, many other characteristics were shared, and the most important was a belief in the technology. In this presentation, I will describe the very different paths taken for the commercial development of two similar technologies aimed at two very different classes of product. However, the differences only begin there. A collection of many, many factors influence company development and lessons emerge as some are handled well and others, not so well. By comparing the challenges and responses at the two companies, I hope to at least kindle discussion if not provide a few fundamental guiding principles.

Tale of two companies: Comparing the founding and early growth of Sutro BioPharma and GreenLight Biosciences

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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