🧬 Cyriac Roeding - Part 1 | From Flea Market Entrepreneur to Silicon Valley CEO | Reinvention During an Exchange Year | Finding Perspective in Japanese Business Culture

The Biotech Startups Podcast

🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast, brought to you by Excedr—empowering life science startups with founder-friendly equipment leasing to fast-track R&D and drive commercialization success.

🔬 Know someone in need of lab equipment? Join Excedr’s referral program: Give your friends $1,000 and earn $1,000 for every qualified referral! 💸

🔗 Get your unique referral link here: refer.excedr.com/ZTHETY.

Part 1 of 4: My guest today is Cyriac Roeding, founder, investor, and CEO of Earli, a company on a mission to transform cancer into a manageable condition. Using innovative gene therapy approaches, Earli’s technology forces cancer cells to produce a synthetic, non-human biomarker—overcoming the limitations of relying on naturally occurring biomarkers that cancer may or may not provide.

Cyriac is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has created ventures at the intersection of physical and digital worlds. He has invested in startups like OpenAI and served as CEO of Shopkick, which was acquired for $250 million. His current focus, Earli, has raised nearly $60 million from top investors. Cyriac's journey from launching his first startup at 15 to being named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer showcases his valuable insights into building successful startups.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How Cyriac's entrepreneurial journey began at age 8 selling at flea markets, leading to selling his first computer program at 15 to a newspaper company
• His transformative exchange year in Texas at age 16 and how it allowed Cyriac to reset his identity
• How his graduation event transformed his school into a beach with Coca-Cola sponsorship and TV coverage
• How he created and hosted a late-night radio show, balancing academic demands with creative pursuits
• How his experience studying in Japan revealed valuable lessons about cultural perspectives
  

If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994

Find Our Guest, Cyriac Roeding, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyriacroeding/

https://www.earli.com/

https://www.joinrewind.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

Excedr Socials & 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:

Earli Inc https://www.earli.com/

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology https://www.kit.edu/english/index.php

People Mentioned:

Marc Benioff https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro

03:06 Early life in Germany and first entrepreneurial experiences at local flea markets

05:03 First job experience at a newspaper company and selling software at age 15

08:59 Exchange student experience in Texas and transformation from German school life

10:52 Life with host families in Texas and personal growth

14:29 Return to Germany and fresh start at a new school

16:31 Early business ventures, teaching computer skills and running a company at 17

20:14 High school graduation and organizing a Coca-Cola sponsored beach event

21:37 University decisions and pursuing industrial engineering at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

26:54 Journey to studying in Japan and securing a scholarship

30:44 Cultural lessons in Japan: experiencing different value systems and problem-solving approaches

36:30 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so