Episode 212

🧬 The Serendipity Mindset: Unlocking Career Opportunities | Caleb Appleton (Part 1/4)

"You have to learn to embrace serendipity. You can't plan everything out because it will never go to plan." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore Partner at Bison Ventures, Caleb Appleton's formative years growing up in College Station, Texas, where being surrounded by Texas A&M University shaped his worldview and exalted academia as the ultimate career path. Now a Partner at Bison Ventures, Caleb takes us through his journey to Georgia Tech, where he dove into biomedical engineering and landed an extraordinary undergraduate research opportunity working with CRISPR technology in its earliest days, collaborating with pioneers like Feng Zhang when the field was just emerging. Through hands-on lab work—pipetting, troubleshooting Western blots, and contributing to published research—Caleb began questioning whether a PhD was truly his path forward. The episode explores pivotal lessons about embracing serendipity, how a neighbor's connection unlocked a transformative research experience, and why growing up without exposure to business and industry careers ultimately shaped his unconventional journey into venture capital.

The Biotech Startups Podcast · Excedr

February 2, 202630m 18s

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Show Notes

🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping 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 Excedr’s partner network—special savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners.

"You have to learn to embrace serendipity. You can't plan everything out because it will never go to plan."

In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore Partner at Bison Ventures, Caleb Appleton's formative years growing up in College Station, Texas, where being surrounded by Texas A&M University shaped his worldview and exalted academia as the ultimate career path. Now a Partner at Bison Ventures, Caleb takes us through his journey to Georgia Tech, where he dove into biomedical engineering and landed an extraordinary undergraduate research opportunity working with CRISPR technology in its earliest days, collaborating with pioneers like Feng Zhang when the field was just emerging.

Through hands-on lab work—pipetting, troubleshooting Western blots, and contributing to published research—Caleb began questioning whether a PhD was truly his path forward. The episode explores pivotal lessons about embracing serendipity, how a neighbor's connection unlocked a transformative research experience, and why growing up without exposure to business and industry careers ultimately shaped his unconventional journey into venture capital.

Key topics covered:

Growing Up in a University Town: How Texas A&M shaped Caleb's worldview and reverence for academic careers
Choosing Georgia Tech: Selecting a biomedical engineering program based on rankings and campus culture
Early CRISPR Research: Working with cutting-edge gene editing technology as an undergraduate from 2011-2015
The Reality of Lab Work: From cell culture maintenance to troubleshooting experiments and contributing to publications
Embracing Serendipity: How chance connections and willingness to ask for help create transformative opportunities

If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening.

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Find our guest, Caleb Appleton at these links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-appleton-86563484/

Website: https://www.bison.vc/

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:

Gene Therapy Basics (overview of approaches including ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR)

https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Gene-Therapy

Genes and Gene Therapy (patient-friendly explainer)

https://medlineplus.gov/genesandgenetherapy.html

Gene Therapy: A Biopharmaceutical Basics Overview

https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/analyteguru/gene-therapy-a-biopharmaceutical-basics-overview/

Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:

Texas A&M University: https://www.tamu.edu/

Georgia Tech (Georgia Institute of Technology): https://gatech.edu/

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology): https://www.mit.edu/

Johns Hopkins University: https://www.jhu.edu/

Rice University: https://www.rice.edu/

Gang Bao, Ph.D.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gang-bao-a121146/

Feng Zhang, Ph.D.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/9571b41/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

04:27 Growing Up in College Station, Texas

05:19 Impact of Texas A&M and University Town Culture

08:09 Education as the Ultimate Career Path

12:39 Choosing Georgia Tech Over Johns Hopkins

17:07 First Research Experience and Getting into CRISPR Early

21:06 Embracing Serendipity in Career and Life

23:38 Day-to-Day Lab Experience and Undergraduate Research

26:59 Working on CRISPR Delivery Challenges

28:02 Leadership Styles and Getting Published as an Undergrad

28:55 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 company—from pre-seed to IPO.

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