
09/15/2025
"If I knew how hard it was, I wouldn't have started. So in many cases, it's actually just good to make a leap of faith and start something."
In part 1 of The Biotech Startups Podcast conversation with OPTIC Founder & CEO Andrey Doronichev, a big theme is how early exposure to uncertainty can become an entrepreneur's greatest asset.
In this episode we cover:
– Growing up during the collapse of the Soviet Union and how massive upheaval at age 9 created either immunity to chaos or complete avoidance of uncertainty
– Learning to survive when his family went from intellectual elites to struggling for basic necessities, waiting in bread lines at 5 AM in Moscow winters
– Discovering computers and programming as a "third path" between struggling academia and corrupt success, leading to his first paid gig at age 14
– How restrictions on information access in the Soviet Union shaped his later career choices and drive for technological freedom
– The Silicon Valley Bank crisis and how childhood trauma built the resilience to immediately shift into survival mode when $9.75M disappeared overnight
It's a powerful reminder that our greatest challenges often become our most valuable capabilities…
Head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify for this episode and more stories only a biotech exec can tell!
Apple Podcasts: https://hubs.ly/Q03J84q-0
Spotify: https://hubs.ly/Q03J867c0
YouTube: https://hubs.ly/Q03J849n0