In this insightful episode, Rishad Usmani sits down with Niki Santo, co-founder and CEO of Swaza, a Silicon Valley biotechnology startup. Niki shares her compelling personal journey, marked by profound loss and a head injury in 2020, which led her to redefine her life's purpose and pivot into biotech entrepreneurship.

Key Discussion Points:
A Transformative Year (00:00:31 - 00:02:06): Niki recounts her "Jobin year" in 2020, losing her mother early in the COaVID-19 pandemic and experiencing a head injury that forced her to relearn how to walk. This period of intense personal change led to a radical shift in her focus towards building "things that matter" and investing for impact rather than purely for financial gain.

The Genesis of Swaza (00:02:07 - 00:03:43): Discover how Niki, initially an outside investor, became the CEO of Swaza, a company at the forefront of medical innovation. She discusses the convergence of her renewed purpose with her co-founder Jay Rajadas's efforts to develop key technologies in response to COVID-19, leading to their groundbreaking Nanofluid breathing aid.

Redefining Purpose and Career (00:03:46 - 00:09:52): Niki shares her advice for finding true purpose, encouraging listeners to create an "honest list" of what they genuinely want to do, be, and achieve, free from external pressures. She explains how this practice transformed her own career path, from executive leadership in education to leading a biotech startup.

Routine vs. Flexibility in Entrepreneurship (00:09:53 - 00:13:43): The conversation delves into the challenge of maintaining routine in the dynamic world of startups. Niki advocates for a "stable mental model" focused on managing effort and energy, and adopting a weekly container approach to prioritize "big rocks" (important tasks) over merely urgent activities, drawing from the Franklin Covey system.

Bias to Action vs. Thoughtful Planning in Healthcare (00:13:44 - 00:22:23): Rishad and Niki explore the critical balance between moving fast and ensuring safety in healthcare. Niki emphasizes that while a bias towards action is generally beneficial, it's never an excuse for a lack of intentional thinking, especially when the guiding principle is to "first do no harm."

External vs. Internal Validation (00:22:24 - 00:28:44): The discussion highlights the dangers of seeking external validation (like constant pitch competitions) over nurturing core business and team dynamics. Niki shares a cautionary tale from an investment banker, reminding founders that sophisticated investors scrutinize the primary business's underlying numbers, viewing excessive external "activity" as a distraction.

Swaza's Groundbreaking Technology (00:28:45 - 00:32:53): Learn about Swaza's Nanofluid breathing aid, a topical solution comprising liquid nanoparticles that facilitate dynamic gas exchange in the lungs by addressing physical barriers like fluid and scar tissue. This technology is designed to work with natural breathing to sustain patients while underlying causes of lung injury are treated.

Future Applications and Go-to-Market (00:32:54 - 00:39:50): Niki outlines the strategic path to exit for Swaza, including potential partnerships with big pharma and public market funding. She also discusses the broader "blue sky" applications of their technology, from treating COPD exacerbations and diabetic ulcers (via wound healing technology) to defense use cases like high altitude sickness, dive injury, and enhancing human performance, envisioning a future where it could be a portable "epipen for oxygen."

Intuition and Hiring (00:39:52 - 00:46:23): Niki challenges the reliance on intuition, especially in hiring, explaining that intuition can be influenced by cognitive biases. She shares a personal example of how her initial intuition regarding finding a "cardboard cutout" CEO was flawed due to ingrained biases about who "should" lead a biotech company, especially as a woman and a minority.

Addressing Funding Disparities (00:46:24 - 00:52:08): The episode touches on the disheartening statistic that only 2-3% of VC funding goes to women-founded companies, with an even smaller fraction for minority women. Niki suggests that normalizing effort, implementing data-driven, fair practices in hiring and policies (like flexible work arrangements), and focusing on merit regardless of demographics are crucial steps towards creating a more equitable ecosystem. She stresses that "it's not charity; this is good business."

Niki Santo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikivsanto/
Swaza: https://www.swaza.life/

Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/
HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/
LearningwithRishad: https://www.learningwithrishad.com/