Steve Jobs once said – ‘innovation differentiates a leader from a follower,’ but I am always compelled to ask if the picture is that black and white? In the global village we are currently living in and with the cutting-edge technologies at our disposal, shouldn’t anyone be practically an innovator (at least in certain sense)? Maybe his mantra needs further tweaking?
It eventually boils down to how many people out there, has the potential to diversify themselves. More Sizeable one’s bag of experience is, broader his/her potential to connect disperse dots and understand the human experiences a notch better.
Probably, what matters the most in creative thinking are the lessons one strive to glean from the experiences over a period at some stage of one’s life. Isn’t it something we can’t miss witnessing among followers?
Michael Johnson (MJ), allowed me to reflect upon this idea more deeply. Michael is 2017 Forbes 30-Under-30 honoree and the CEO and Co-Founder of Visikol Inc. His bio-imaging company spun out of Rutgers University in 2016. He with his fellow Ph.D. candidate, Thomas Villani and colleague, Nick Crider started their business as a fun space to work.
Michael’s diverse background with experiences in the technical and business establishments, particularly of running a biotech business, allowed him and his team to have that ‘extra mileage’ every entrepreneur wishes to gain. In this Face-à-Face interview, he spoke about his exciting roadmap from doing research on remote sensing at NASA to building light sheet microscopes.
RC: It is an impressive profile, Michael! Will you like to elaborate a bit about your education for our readers?
MJ: My undergraduate degree was in Biology, from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, where I also completed a secondary education certification. Following my undergraduate work, I interned at NASA, working in a packaging lab and then concurrently began a Ph.D. at Rutgers in Environmental Sciences, where I was an NSF IGERT Fellow.
RC: Great! But how much did your background help you, in the end, to navigate towards translating science to implementable technologies?
MJ: My educational background was not at all in the field I am currently working on. At Visikol I am at present responsible for the overall strategy of the company as well as the commercialization of Visikol technologies. However, I have always been very keen about the practical aspects of technology, and how the application of cutting-edge technologies can address real-world problems. It was through the interdisciplinary component of the NSF Ph.D. Fellowship that Thomas and I met in 2014. That was the start of developing Visikol technology for animal tissues.
RC: From NASA’s remote sensing to building light sheet microscopes – you have covered a spectrum, didn’t you? Talk me through the transition.
MJ: I think a lot of people choose to focus on one specific field and try to be exceptional in that one field. For me, I have always focused on being good in multiple areas. What excites me is using the synergies between several fields to address persisting problems.
In business, I believe that the breadth of knowledge is a tremendous asset to have. As part of this mission, I have worked to become an expert in accounting, finance, and marketing, as well as various technical disciplines. To do so, I read A LOT of books, and I am not afraid to throw myself into a new field. I think that the mark of a great scientist is someone who can quickly become an expert in a new area with no background in that field.
(Illustrators: Disha Chauhan and Saurabh Gayali)
RC: What made you undertake such diverse projects; what was a common thread that tethered it all?
MJ: I have always been a proponent of getting a breadth of experiences rather than going deep into every minuscule detail of one field. I think this has to do with my general curiosity for diverse areas and my tendency to get bored with doing the same thing always.
For example, when I was working on my Ph.D., I also decided to take a full-time marketing role at Johnson & Johnson. Back then, I had no background in marketing or business. This experience, of course, pushed me, but it also allowed me to grow. If I had worked more in my specific area, I would have gotten marginally better in a field I was already pretty good at.
The common thread in all of my work was diversifying my skill set and expanding past my core discipline. Our company’s current focus is quite diverse, Light sheet microscopy is just a side project, and we are planning to expand from there on.
RC: Congratulations! for getting the recent funding for Visikol. Tell me a bit about this funding and how your team went about it?
MJ: So our recent round of funding was from my two former bosses at Whitehouse Analytical Laboratories, who are technically ‘‘angel investors’’ and not VCs. Both types of investors have their unique pros and cons depending on your companies’ position.
Just to elaborate, angel investors are typically wealthy individuals or groups of individuals, whereas VCs are groups that invest other people’s money from endowments or investment funds. Usually, VCs’ tend to write larger checks than Angel Investors. For us, Brian Mulhall and Alan Weiss were angel investors, who were perfect for us as they have done exactly what we are trying to do; that is building a successful contract research organization.
In this round of funding, we were not just looking for money – we were also looking for guidance from gurus in this space, who knew how to build a business from scratch – which is a unique skill.
The other important thing about investors is the working relationship you have with them – It’s sort of like dating. You want to partner with someone you can work together with and spend a lot of time with. Like dating, you will know with some investors right away, that it is not going to work.
Currently, we are focusing on building out our service platform which we call 3Screen.
RC: Exciting times! However, the scientist within me has to ask, what is this 3Screen service all about?
MJ: Our 3Screen services accelerate drug discovery in a few different ways.
The first of which is by obtaining all of the data from tissues to make more informed decisions. Today, histopathology is conducted in 2D using a few slices from tissues, whereas our 3Screen services rely upon our Visikol HISTO technology and imaging tissues in their entirety, thus getting all of the information from them. This technology is not beneficial for all the applications but is very helpful for heterogeneous and complex tissues.
The other way we are doing this is through quantitative image analysis – presently the majority of tissue analysis is conducted qualitatively by a person. We intend to shift this paradigm of tissue imaging to a quantitative approach through our proprietary image analysis algorithms.
(Illustrators: Disha Chauhan and Saurabh Gayali)
RC: What are the different products/services in your suit currently, and who are you targeting?
MJ: Our company offers products targeted primarily at academic researchers. However, with our 3Screen platform, we also bring quantitative image analysis and whole tissue imaging to the drug discovery space. Further, our 3Screen services allow pharmaceutical companies to leverage our algorithms for 3D tissue analysis for traditional 2D digital pathology. Our suite of products is comprised of patented tissue clearing reagents and kits that help researchers to visualize their tissues in 3D.
We incorporate advanced 3D visualization for different tissues (e.g., spheroids, microtissues, organoids) in order to offer 3D in vitro assays and whole tissue imaging services for characterizing complex features, such as vasculature in whole tumors.
We also offer simple quantitative histopathology services from traditional 2D slides that allow us to extract key features of interest from H&E and IHC slides.
RC: What differentiates your products and services from others?
MJ: We see ourselves as a 3D imaging/digital image analysis-contract research organization.
The primary differentiator of our products is that they are easy-to-use and affordable. Our rapid tissue clearing reagents are designed for high-throughput and labeling compatibility. Additionally, these reagents are designed to be reversible so that 3D imaging can be validated with traditional 2D histology for use in translational and clinical studies.
Our services leverage our tissue clearing technology combined with our image analysis algorithms and expertise in 3D tissue imaging to offer a wide-range of best-in-class assays for pharmaceutical companies. Moreover, we utilize high-throughput tissue processing along with our high content confocal imaging system.
(500-micron section of a cleared whole mouse brain labeled to visualize the vasculature, using lectin-FITC. The Video is used with permission of Michael Johnson)
RC: What is your version of success for Visikol? How do you imagine Visikol v.2030?
MJ: Our definition of success from a business perspective is pretty simple: PROFITABILITY! Our focus is on building a scalable business.
From an impact perspective, Thomas, Nick and I have been developing the Visikol technology into several high-value imaging platforms and are working to disrupt the bio-imaging paradigm. Our version of success is to help pharmaceutical companies get therapeutics to market more quickly and to help academic researchers answer the complex primary research questions more efficiently.
By 2030, I would want Visikol to be a full-service drug discovery contract research organization, as well as pursue our own drug discovery programs. 12 years is a lifetime in the business world, and it’s tough to predict this far out into the future.
RC: Being a leader and entrepreneur is not easy. Can you narrate a small story that taught you some of the biggest lessons regarding starting your own company?
MJ: Building a company is very challenging, but what worth having has been easy?
I have learned a plateful, a mile along about starting Visikol, but the most crucial thing I learnt is that; your co-founders and team are everything!
(The Visikol Team (L-R) – Dr. Michael Johnson, Nick Crider, Dr. Tom Villani, Dr. Graeme Gardner, Dr. Erin Edwards, and Alex Magsam)
I have been very fortunate that my co-founders and I think very differently, yet we have incredibly complimentary skill sets. Most importantly we all challenge our first principles and can take very critical feedback.
I think what kills a lot of startups is ego and an individual trying to push THEIR IDEAS or not willing to listen to those around them. My team is excellent in this regard, we all accept that we can be wrong and we all take the time to understand why each one of us has a particular viewpoint on an issue.
What kills a lot of startups is ego
RC: Tell us about the prominent challenges you faced in your entrepreneurial journey. How you turned them around in favor for Visikol?
MJ: I think the most prominent challenge for us was building credibility in our space.
No one is going to buy your products or use your services if they don’t know who you are or they don’t believe in what you are doing. I was initially naïve to think that if you build something great everyone will knock at your door – this is not true.
That is why I laugh when people ask you to sign an NDA before they tell you about their technology. There is a huge misconception that people will instantly start buying your enhanced technology where the reality is that customers are very slow to adopt new technologies. The challenge is typically not the technology, but getting it in the hands of your customers and making them believers.
Building a business and building this credibility involves personal relationships a lot more than I originally had thought. Even if your goal is just to sell your intellectual property off and not grow a business, you still need to thoroughly build these relationships with the people who might acquire you.
The way we have overcome this issue is to spend significant resources on conferences, trade shows as well as collaborate with the key opinion leaders in our space. We have worked to develop co-marketing partners as well as launch app notes and publications.
Challenge is typically not the technology, but getting it in the hands of your customers and making them believers
RC: When you hire people now, your company profile says, and here I quote
“We don’t care about where you went to college, your last name, your address, or who your advisers were. We only care about what you can do.”
…… so, who are you looking for (personality and skills) in your recruits?
MJ: Here is what I continuously get – “I just finished a XX degree in biology, from XXX University and would be excited to bring my skills to your company. Please take a look at my resume, and I look forward to hearing from you.”
I despise this – There is this expectation that because someone went to school and got good grades, that an employer should just give them a job. Here is the truth – everyone who is applying has a college degree, everyone has a good GPA, and everyone has internship experience. Here is what I want to know:
Why are you different than all of the other candidates?
Why do you specifically want to work for Visikol and not any other company?
What specific skills do you have?
What SPECIFICALLY are you going to help with at the company?
What I would love is that, if a candidate emailed me and said – “Visikol sucks at XXXXX, I have done XXXX numerous times and have published on the topic. I can improve XXXX and allow Visikol to improve its service offering and increase profitability greatly.”
As for personality – everyone who works with us needs to be curious and passionate. We can teach skills, but it is incredibly challenging to change personality.
Spend a lot of time, effort and find a few mentors
RC: What would be your number one piece of advice for someone looking to venture into an entrepreneurial journey?
MJ: Don’t listen to experts – find a guru. There is an abundance of “experts” who claim to know precisely what is best for you and your business. I don’t care if these people are executives at major pharma companies, prolific academic researchers or multi-millionaires – they have likely never done what you are trying to do. Just because someone has years of experience in your field does not mean they know how to help you. Most people just have not built a company from scratch, and they have no idea how to help you, no matter how much experience they have or how expensive their MBA was.
This concept can be tough to handle, as we always tend to listen to experts. However, you should ignore them – Spend a lot of time, effort and find a few mentors who have done EXACTLY what you are trying to do. You know these people are the right people because they will not charge you for their advice and will never tell you what to do.
(Illustrators: Disha Chauhan and Saurabh Gayali)
RC: I am a big fan of the ‘’experimenting’’ and trying out ‘’something new’’. However, many of us weigh security over experimentation. How do you protect the culture of experimentation?
MJ: Interesting question and lots of ways I can take this – I will take this from the personal perspective. To achieve something great, you have to take a massive risk – otherwise, everyone would do it, and everyone would achieve it.
I think this all comes down to a fundamental principle – money is freedom.
While many people have an emotional aversion to risk-taking, in my opinion, the reason why most people don’t take personal and professional risks is that they do not have enough money – sounds crazy right?
Think about it this way – If you have a mortgage, Audi A4, and high expenses, it is likely that you NEED your security and job. However, if you instead live in an inexpensive apartment, drive a 1999 Cavalier and haven’t bought new clothes since high school you will be able to save a significant amount of money. This money is your freedom. It can allow you to quit your job at any time if you don’t like it and jump into a new career or startup.
You lose your freedom to experiment when the risk of failing at the experiment is too high
If I were driving an Audi instead of a Cavalier, I would never have been able to jump into the driver seat at Visikol. I would also have been stuck with a 1% salary increase per year because I would have been too afraid to push my boss to give me a higher salary.
Simply put, you lose your freedom to experiment when the risk of failing at the experiment is too high.
RC: Last but not the least, what is your mantra for balancing work and life?
MJ: Sleep quickly, never waste a second and don’t multitask!
I believe that to achieve great things you have to outwork your opponents, never waste a second of your day and always question your first principles. If your colleagues are working 40 hours a week and you are working 80 and are twice as efficient, you are going to get four times as much done – I am always trying to hack my efficiency and move faster.
However, while I have worked many hundred-hour weeks and seldom work less than twelve hours in a day, I think it is essential to remember one thing – we are humans and not robots. As humans we require balance and cannot just work all the hours in a day – Interestingly, our productivity declines the more hours we work and working too many hours can dramatically reduce our overall productivity.
Sleep quickly, never waste a second and don’t multitask!
As for balance, I am very serious about working out and taking care of my body. I work out six days a week and have not missed a workout in fourteen years – since I was fourteen. I am also very serious about spending time with my wife and family and always make an effort to have family time on my calendar and to spend a lot of quality time with them – what is the point of achieving something great if you have no one to share it with?
In trying to achieve balance I have realized that multitasking is not possible and you only wind up doing multiple things poorly instead of one thing well. Your phone is also your worst enemy – delete your apps and STOP going on social media – This, in my opinion, is a tool for wasting your precious time on earth. If you are out with friends or family, take your phone and leave it in your car and never think about it – focus on the moment.
Michael convinced me that having a great idea does not make a successful entrepreneur. It is a mixed-recipe of passion, altruism, strong work ethics and excellent people skills. Most importantly, it comes down to how open one is towards taking a plunge beyond the comfort zone
Author
Rituparna Chakrabarti pursued her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Georg-August University (Göttingen, Germany) and is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), Göttingen. For her, the interface of Science and art is THE PLACE to be! To unwind herself she plays mandolin and eagerly looks for a corner at a coffee house to slide herself in with a good read or company.
Editor
Paurvi Shinde is a recent PhD, in Biomedical Sciences (Immunology) with expertise in T cell activation pathways. She currently works as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, where she studies the mechanism of how alloantibodies are formed against ‘non-ABO Red Blood Cell antigens’. Apart from science, she loves editing scientific articles to convey the message behind it, in a clear and concise form.
Illustrators
Saurabh Gayali recently completed his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from National Institute of Plant Genome Research (JNU), New Delhi. He is currently working in the same lab in projects involving the study of abiotic stress response in crop plants apart from actively seeking the post-doctoral position. He has a keen interest in data analysis, visualization and database management. He is skilled 2D and 3D designer with a specific interest in scientific illustration. In leisure, Saurabh plays guitar and compose music, does photography or practice programming.
Follow him on Instagram
Disha Chauhan did her Ph.D. in IRBLLEIDA, University of Lleida, Spain in Molecular and Developmental Neurobiology. She has post-doctoral experience in Cell Biology of Neurodegenerative diseases and is actively seeking a challenging research position in academia/industry. Apart from Developmental Neurobiology, she is also interested in Oncology. She is passionate about visual art (Illustration, painting, and photography) and storytelling through it. She enjoys reading, traveling, hiking and is also dedicated to raising scientific awareness about Cancer.
Follow her on Instagram
The cover photo, video and other inset images are kindly provided by Michael Johnson and are copyright of Visikol Inc.
If you have any questions regarding Visikol follow them on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn
Blog design Rituparna Chakrabarti
The contents of Club SciWri are the copyright of PhD Career Support Group for STEM PhDs (A US Non-Profit 501(c)3, PhDCSG is an initiative of the alumni of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The primary aim of this group is to build a NETWORK among scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs).
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