BCLA's Ideation Panel

On Thursday November 10th, 2022, Biotech Connections Los Angeles (BCLA) hosted an Ideation Panel in collaboration with Hero House and Nucleate at Hye Rise in Glendale. The Ideation Panel featured Lili Yang, Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at UCLA, Lucy Abgaryan, Co-Founder and CEO at GrittGene Therapeutics, Llewellyn Cox, CEO of LabLaunch, and Armine Galstyan, Principal at SmartGateVC. With over 60 attendees from academia and industry, we were able to facilitate a conversation surrounding how companies are founded and what it takes to transform a research idea into a successful startup.

The Ideation Panel began with a brief introduction from Oskar Sundberg, Co-Vice President of BCLA, Bryan Gerber, Co-Managing Director of Nucleate LA, and Armine Galstyan, Hero House who spoke about their work to enhance LA’s biotech landscape. Following these introductions Armine transitioned into introducing our panelist and moderating the discussions for the day. Panel discussions were held for about 45 minutes where panelists had the opportunity to share their ideas on how to get involved in the ideation process, connect with like minded individuals, and the steps academia is taking/should be taking to bolster entrepreneurship among academics.

The overarching message of this panel, that resonated with all panelists, was networking. Regardless of your location, or career phase, people naturally will want to help and give guidance to push a good idea forward. Networking is essential for team building and finding like minded people to build a company with. If you are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship, LA is the place to be because it’s extensive resources, funding and driven entrepreneurs.

The Ideation Panel concluded with networking and light refreshments where panelists and attendees had the opportunity to continue the earlier discussions on a more personal level.

We would like to thank the panelists for sharing their insights on the ideation process, as well as attendees, core sponsors, and team members for making this panel a great success! Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on social media for upcoming BCLA events to keep you connected with the Los Angeles biotech community.