Name: Brandon Wilson (he/him)
PhD: Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 2020
What was your main area of research?
I developed various methods for molecular quantification. It is very related to the science done at my company, but I spend more time on the business side these days.
What is your current job?
I am the Co-Founder & CEO of Range Biotechnologies in San Carlos, California.
My job entails fundraising, hiring, milestone planning, customer discovery, sales, technical roadmapping, HR, accounting, and whatever else is needed on a given day.
The best part about my job is that I haven’t been bored once since starting the company. Every day there is an opportunity to learn something new. The freedom is great too.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
I created the position by starting a company.
PhD ➡️ postdoc ➡️ Founder of Range Bio
I also did two internships at startups (both <10 people) in my first few years of grad school, and then started two other companies during my postdoc. That operating experience was very useful when I founded Range. It allowed me to make way fewer mistakes the third time around :)
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia? Was this a difficult decision or one you felt came easily?
Honestly, this was an easy decision for me. Entrepreneurship felt like my calling early on in my PhD.
What piece of advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
The soft skills matter so much more than technical ability. When hiring, I prioritize tenacity, grit, creativity, trustworthiness, and being fun to be around, over any specific technical skill. These things aren’t really taught in grad school, but are very important in the corporate world.