Episode 184
š§¬ The Rebellious Mindset That Builds Successful Startups | Jimmy Sastra (Part 1/4)
"Maybe because of that experience, we still keep in touch. I feel fortunate that my friends and I built something together back thenāeven if it started with murals and late nights, it taught me about creativity, risk, and teamwork." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jimmy Sastra, CEO and co-founder of Monomer Bio, unpacks his global journey from The Netherlands and Japan to transforming lab automation in biotech. Shaped by his fatherās engineering legacy at Philips and ASML, Jimmy recalls lessons in creativity, rebellion, and resilience that guided his path from the University of Pennsylvania to a PhD in robotics. His story reveals how curiosity and systems thinking became the foundation for Monomer Bioās mission to empower scientists through smarter, automated lab solutions.
The Biotech Startups Podcast Ā· Excedr
October 27, 202529m 0s
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Show Notes
š§¬ The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedrāhelping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.
As a TBSP listener, you can get exclusive perks through Excedrās partner networkāspecial savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners.
"Maybe because of that experience, we still keep in touch. I feel fortunate that my friends and I built something together back thenāeven if it started with murals and late nights, it taught me about creativity, risk, and teamwork."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jimmy Sastra, CEO and co-founder of Monomer Bio, unpacks his global journey from The Netherlands and Japan to transforming lab automation in biotech. Shaped by his fatherās engineering legacy at Philips and ASML, Jimmy recalls lessons in creativity, rebellion, and resilience that guided his path from the University of Pennsylvania to a PhD in robotics.
His story reveals how curiosity and systems thinking became the foundation for Monomer Bioās mission to empower scientists through smarter, automated lab solutions.
Key topics covered:
- Early Influences: Growing up in an engineering household sparked Jimmyās lifelong curiosity and drive to build.
- International Perspective: Moving between The Netherlands, Japan, and the U.S. taught adaptability and openness.
- The Rebellious Years: Graffiti turned creative defiance into problem-solving instincts.
- Academic Foundations: UPenn and his robotics PhD honed discipline and innovation.
- Engineering Meets Biology: The vision to automate labs and empower scientists was born.
If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening.
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Jimmy Sastra, at these links:
Website: https://monomerbio.com/
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
The Innovatorās Dilemma: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=46
The World Is Flat: https://www.thomaslfriedman.com/the-world-is-flat-3-0/
Emotional Intelligence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_Intelligence
Mark Yimās Robotics Lab at UPenn: https://www.grasp.upenn.edu/people/mark-yim/
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
HKUST: https://hkust.edu.hk/
TileDB: https://tiledb.com/
MIT: https://www.mit.edu/
Intel: https://www.intel.com/
Boston Dynamics: https://www.bostondynamics.com/
Xerox PARC: https://www.parc.com/
University of Pennsylvania: https://www.upenn.edu/
Robot Operating System: https://www.ros.org/
Strateos: https://strateos.com/
Parul Bordia Doshi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parul-b-doshi/
Sachin Chitta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinchitta/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
04:34 International Upbringing and Three Defining Traits
06:05 Growing Up in Eindhoven: Philips and ASML Stories
07:46 Moving to Japan at 15: A Cultural Reset
08:34 Early Exposure to Business Strategy Books
11:14 Rebellious Phase: Graffiti Crew and Getting Arrested
14:07 High School Years and Academic Interests
15:41 Choosing Bioengineering: An Endless Frontier
17:47 Wet Lab Experience and Manual Labor Reality
19:22 PhD Journey: Robotics and Parameter Optimization
23:04 Simplifying Complex Systems Through Mathematical Models
26:34 Graduate School Mentorship and Peer Support
27:35 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science companyāfrom pre-seed to IPO.