Founder Mode: Jen Herbach, Founder & CEO, Adventris Pharmaceuticals

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• Adventris Pharmaceuticals is developing cancer vaccines targeting the KRAS mutation, which drives over 30% of cancers (lung, colon, and pancreatic), with a long-term vision of moving into cancer prevention.  Copied to clipboard!
• Inspired by Brian Chesky's talk, Jen Herbach adopted a 'founder mode' approach by actively managing the science and implementing daily stand-ups, which led to personnel changes but ultimately increased team productivity and accountability.  Copied to clipboard!
• Jen Herbach and Adventris Pharmaceuticals prioritize retaining board control over valuation in future funding rounds, a strategy reinforced by Y Combinator advice, allowing them to make swift, science- and patient-driven decisions without investor board interference.  Copied to clipboard!

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Adventris Cancer Vaccine Mission

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(00:00:11)

• Key Takeaway: Cancer is fundamentally an immune system failure where the body fails to recognize uncontrolled cells as foreign, which Adventris aims to correct by educating the immune system.
• Summary: Adventris is developing cancer vaccines designed to enable the immune system to recognize cells it previously failed to see, metaphorically giving the immune system ‘glasses.’ The company is initially targeting the KRAS mutation, a driver mutation present in over 30% of all cancers, primarily lung, colon, and pancreatic cancer. Their immediate focus is treating localized pancreatic cancer patients who would otherwise relapse with metastatic disease, with a long-term goal of moving into prevention for KRAS-driven cancers.

Clinical Timeline and Background

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(00:03:45)

• Key Takeaway: Adventris is finalizing its product and plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA soon, aiming to dose first patients in early 2027.
• Summary: The company is close to finalizing the product for patient trials and anticipates submitting the IND application shortly. Jen Herbach’s background includes undergraduate science studies, an initial goal to become an oncologist, and subsequent business school, leading her to spend her career bringing novel oncology drugs to market. She co-founded Adventris with her college roommate, who became an oncologist.

YC Experience and Founder Mode

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(00:05:41)

• Key Takeaway: YC provided crucial guidance on startup operations, specifically teaching the founders how to effectively tell their story and communicate with investors, putting them in the driver’s seat.
• Summary: Jen Herbach found the Y Combinator experience invaluable because, despite knowing life sciences, they needed instruction on founding and storytelling for startups. The YC training helped them structure their investor pitches effectively. This experience directly preceded her realization, after attending Brian Chesky’s talk, that she needed to stop delegating science management and start getting into the weeds.

Implementing Founder Mode Changes

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(00:06:54)

• Key Takeaway: Post-Chesky talk, Jen Herbach began actively managing the science details, which initially caused friction but resulted in removing unaligned team members and establishing better accountability structures.
• Summary: Herbach realized she should not avoid managing the day-to-day science, contrary to her initial rule of thumb. She implemented daily stand-ups, which caused initial complaints, but two team members who resisted this increased oversight subsequently quit. The remaining team, now more productive, agreed to maintain accountability meetings, though at a reduced frequency.

Investor Relations and Board Control

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(00:10:29)

• Key Takeaway: Following YC advice, Adventris successfully refused an investor’s demand for a board seat, maintaining founder control which proved critical when later disagreeing with investor input on scientific strategy.
• Summary: The founders followed their YC partner’s advice to refuse board seats during early SAFE rounds, valuing independence over immediate investor inclusion. When an investor challenged their scientific strategy, Adventris felt empowered to reject the advice because they knew the science better than the investor, who lacked domain expertise. This independence allowed them to move nimbly, prioritizing patient and scientific data in decision-making, even if it caused friction during a concurrent funding round.

Future Funding and Control Strategy

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(00:14:02)

• Key Takeaway: Adventris recently added an independent, non-investor board member by choice, and for future funding rounds, they prioritize maintaining board control over achieving the highest possible valuation.
• Summary: The company continued to raise on SAFEs without a priced round or investor board members until recently, when they voluntarily brought on an experienced biotech consultant as an independent board member. When planning future large funding rounds necessary for human trials, the founders are seeking advice on retaining control. They are prepared to accept a slightly lower valuation in exchange for maintaining board control, aligning with advice from other life sciences CEOs.