Part 1 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is Stephanie Sirota, Partner, and Chief Business Officer at RTW Investments, a full lifecycle life sciences investment firm dedicated to solving the most challenging unmet patient needs. Stephanie is a seasoned expert and leader in business development, strategic partnerships, communications, and investor relations. Prior to joining RTW, she was a director at Valhalla Capital Advisors. She worked in the New York and London offices of Lehman Brothers, where she advised on various mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and capital market financing transactions for the firm's global corporate clients. Her deep insights into investment banking, strategic partnerships, and business development, offer founders many lessons.

Join us as we sit down with Stephanie as she discusses her upbringing and early exposure to different cultures and how it influenced her business leadership style. She shares key insights into how being a high-level tennis player has armed her with the competitive mentality to help her succeed in investment banking. We discuss her path through academia at Columbia University, the value of not specializing too early and allowing yourself the opportunity to explore your interests, and how it led her to where she is today. Stephanie explains how these life experiences helped shape her career and how it led to the transition from journalism to investment banking. Please enjoy my conversation with Stephanie Sirota.

Find Our Guest, Stephanie Sirota, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephsirota/
http://www.rtwfunds.com

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
https://www.excedr.com

Timestamps:
00:00
00:24 Intro
02:00 Episode starts, Steph’s upbringing and how it influenced her leadership and business style
06:33 How her love of tennis started, how her competitive mentality helped sharpen her professional resolve
10:44 How ego death in sports offers life lessons, more translatable lessons from sports to the business world
13:51 Balance of education and sports at SNU, sports career’s abrupt end, transitioning to the next phase of her life at Columbia
16:19 Studying literature at Columbia University, appreciation of the humanities, organically choosing your track
18:24 The value of a well-rounded education and being able to organically find what interests you
21:15 Steph’s progressed from a Master’s in journalism to investment banking with Lehman Brothers, finding the hook in your story
22:53 Outro

Social & Website
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr
Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Top VC Firms for Biotechs https://www.excedr.com/blog/top-vc-firms-for-biotech 
VC Term Sheets https://www.excedr.com/resources/venture-capital-term-sheets 
VC Term Sheet Clauses: A Glossary of Key Terms https://www.excedr.com/resources/vc-term-sheet-clauses-and-terms 
What are Your Funding Options https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-startup-funding-options 
Getting Funding for Lab Research https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-to-get-funding-for-lab-research 
Post vs Pre Money Valuations https://www.excedr.com/resources/pre-money-vs-post-money 
Marketing and Sales for Startups https://www.excedr.com/blog/marketing-sales-strategies-for-biotechs 
What is Capital Outlay? https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-capital-outlay