Running Through Walls
Business & Finance
About
Running Through Walls is a Venrock podcast featuring candid conversations between investors and entrepreneurs. Each episode, we offer a behind-the-scenes look at the breakthroughs, challenges and nuttiness associated with building and growing companies. Venture capital firm Venrock has been investing in entrepreneurs across technology and healthcare since 1969.
Episodes
- SmithRx's Mission to Break the Drug Pricing Black Box
SmithRx CEO and co-founder Jake Frenz joins Venrock's Siobhan Nolan Mangini to talk about the company's mission to fix the opaque and broken US drug ecosystem. SmithRx started by tearing down the existing misaligned model of PBMs with a pe…
- Pursuit over Podium: Rethinking Excellence with Brad Stulberg
Bob Kocher speaks with Brad Stulberg, on the many lessons in his newly-published book The Way of Excellence , including why we find excellence on the side of the mountain, not at its peak. Drawing on the ancient Greek concept of Arete, Bra…
- AI: Smart/Stupid
Leading AI researcher and Professor at the Santa Fe Institute Melanie Mitchell joins Ethan Batraski for a conversation on how our current generation of AI is powerful, promising, and still badly in need of transparency about how it actuall…
- A Giant Leap: Bob Wachter on AI's Inflection Point in Healthcare
Siobhan Nolan Mangini sat down with author and UCSF physician Bob Wachter for a fireside chat about his new book on AI in healthcare, A Giant Leap. In this special live-recorded episode, he reflects on what he learned from interviewing top…
- Empowering Data Engineers
Ethan Batraski speaks with Astronomer CEO Pete DeJoy several months into taking the helm at the company he cofounded over 8 years ago. They discuss the company's journey from their earliest days stewarding the Apache Airflow open-source pr…
- Fix the System, Save Hearts
Farzad Mostashari, CEO and founder of Aledade, and Sunny Kishore, Associate Professor at UCSF, join Bob Kocher for a conversation about why U.S. blood pressure control has stalled for two decades despite having the tools to do far better.…
- How to Hackathon
Bryan Mistele, co-founder and CEO of INRIX, joins Venrock's Brian Ascher to deep dive on the company's use of their Innovation Week to maintain startup-style innovation two decades into their journey. Their conversation serves as a master…
- Beyond the Battlefield Deep Dive with Navy CTO Justin Fanelli
One of the critical questions in our first annual Beyond the Battlefield survey was how we more effectively get technology from the private sector to the battlefield. Who better to discuss that than the man responsible for making those dec…
- Don't be a Schmuck (& other lessons for a great life)
Ezekiel Emanuel joins Venrock's Bob Kocher to talk about his newest book, Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life and dive deeper on what surprised him and how his own life changed through his research. From the ma…
- Building a Warfighter-First Business
Morgan Hitzig speaks with two of Forterra's leaders, Josh Araujo, CEO, and Scott Sanders, CGO about how they refounded Forterra in flight and their approach to implementing autonomy at scale. Their conversation serves as a roadmap for buil…
- Data-Driven Science and Leadership
Dominik Schumacher, CEO and co-founder of Tubulis GmbH, joins Venrock's Nimish Shah to dive deeper on the company's ADC technology which specifically targets cancer cells thereby reducing side effects on the rest of the body, dramatically…
- Healthcare Predictions for 2026
Siobhan Nolan Mangini, Bob Kocher and Bryan Roberts delve deeper into their 2026 predictions for healthcare in this special episode of Running Through Walls. They discuss what they've already gotten right on AI, what they see ahead for inf…
- Where You Can Learn the Most
Hunter Smith, Rhythm Pharmaceutical's Chief Financial Officer, joins Venrock's Nimish Shah for a conversation about how he manages the financial intricacies of a public company to enable them to change the lives of patients with rare neuro…
- Bringing Trust Back to Healthcare
Matt Holt, Managing Director & President, Private Equity at New Mountain Capital speaks with Venrock's Bryan Roberts and Siobhan Nolan about how the healthcare industry should come together to build a system that optimizes for patient outc…
- Marrying the Business with the Science
Sam Kulkarni, PhD, CEO and Chairman of CRISPR Therapeutics, joins Venrock's Nimish Shah for a conversation about how they're using gene editing to find potential cures so miraculous, it almost sounds like science fiction. Sam shares advice…
- Rebuilding Financial Markets
Dylan Parker, Co-Founder and CEO of Moment, joins Venrock investor Nick Beim to discuss how Moment is transforming the fixed income market, starting with rebuilding execution and portfolio management for some of the largest players in U.S.…
- Software-Defined Warfare
Ellen Lord, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) at the Departmet of Defense, joins Venrock investor Morgan Hitzig to discuss the defense tech ecosystem, building resilient supply chains and efficient tea…
- Healthcare Prognosis 2025
The results of our 9th annual Healthcare Prognosis are in and the healthcare experts who took our survey aren't too optimistic about what's ahead. Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher sat down to discuss the most interesting findings, their perspe…
- Invisible Assistive Layer
Punit Soni, CEO and Founder of Suki, joins Venrock partner Bob Kocher for a conversation about how AI will invisibly assume administrative burdens in healthcare, enabling a future where doctors get to do what they love – serving patients.…
- Lead with Fundamentals
Charlie Glazer, Head of Healthcare Equity Capital Markets at Jefferies, joins Venrock partner Nimish Shah for a conversation on what will move the needle for the healthcare market in the months ahead. He shares advice on transactions inclu…
- Competitive, Meaningful Work
Jonathan Violin, CEO of Crescent Biopharma and Venture Partner at Fairmount, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah about how the company is keeping a frenetic and exciting pace to generate a new class of drugs while preparing to launch o…
- Get Caught Trying
Cameron Turtle, CEO of Spyre Therapeutics,Inc. speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah about Spyre's priorities for 2025, building a collaborative and productive Board, how culture shines through when the going gets tough, and the best adv…
- Keeping Technology Simple & Elegant
Bruce Perkins, healthcare advisor and former Humana leader, speaks with Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher about how he built Humana into a juggernaut of Medicare Advantage and his prognostications for the industry amid CMS-HCC…
- Healthcare Predictions for 2025
Bob Kocher and Bryan Roberts take the mic for a special episode highlighting their predictions for healthcare in 2025. They go deeper on their thoughts about Medicare Advantage under the new administration, how a resurgence of IPOs and M&A…
- Translating the Science
Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, speaks with Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher about the chapters of his career in public health before, during, and after the pandemic. He shares what he got right…
- Electrifying the Market
Elizabeth Pemmerl, Chief Revenue Officer at GitHub, speaks with Venrock partner Ethan Batraski to discuss her nearly decade-long journey with GitHub. Pemmerl shares how she transitioned from working in the public sector to GitHub, go-to-ma…
- If You're Going to Bet on Anyone, Bet on Yourself
David Stark, Chief Medical Officer at Morgan Stanley, speaks with Venrock partner Bob Kocher to discuss his career journey from practicing medicine to taking a non-clinical role in business. Stark shares how he views his role as Chief Medi…
- Know What Problems You're Solving
Alex Rosemblat, former Chief Marketing Officer at Datadog, speaks with Venrock partner Ethan Batraski to discuss his 11-year run at the helm of Datadog's Marketing Team and what's next for his career. Rosemblat shares insights into leading…
- Be Planful as Early as Possible
Heather Turner, CEO at Carmot Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah to discuss her time as CEO. Turner shares how she guided the company through its acquisition by Roche, advice for other CEOs on the verge of an acquisition…
- Think Big, Focus Small
Mark McKenna, chairman and CEO at Mirador Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah to discuss his most recent role at Prometheus Biosciences and the beginning of his new company, Mirador. McKenna shares a behind-the-scenes loo…
- Healthcare Prognosis 2024
We have a special episode today because Venrock's 8th annual Healthcare Prognosis results are in! From drugs (e.g., GLP-1s, pricing negotiations) to fundraising and optimism around the equity market to cybersecurity and AI regulations - th…
- Selectively Ignore to Positively Disrupt
Sami Inkinen, founder and CEO of Virta Health, speaks with Venrock partner Bob Kocher to discuss how Virta has evolved since he was on the podcast seven years ago. Inkinen shares how he views the GLP-1 craze, insights on his go-to-market s…
- Taking Sand Out of the Gears
Latané Conant, Chief Revenue Officer at 6sense, speaks with Venrock partner Brian Ascher to discuss how her previous marketing role prepared her for her promotion to Chief Revenue Officer. Conant shares her approach to keeping product mark…
- Overcoming Skepticism to Deliver Value
Isan Chen, CEO of MBrace Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Racquel Bracken to discuss his career trajectory leading up to his founding of MBrace. Chen shares the impetus behind his decision to become an oncologist, why he switched…
- Relentless Execution
Patrick Conway, CEO of Optum Rx, sits down with Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher to discuss his first few months on the job. Conway also shares his views on the best early metric indicators of success, the effectiveness of Med…
- Do the Easiest Version of the Hard Thing
Ed Park, co-founder and CEO of Devoted Health, sits down with Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher to discuss the founding of Devoted. Park talks about his priorities for the next five years, the value he sees in AI and LLMs, Medi…
- The Ins and Outs of Being CEO
Ying Huang, CEO of Legend Biotech, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah about his career path to Legend Biotech and the lessons he learned from transitioning from Wall Street to an operating role. Huang also discusses what he prioritize…
- Using Rugged Flexibility to Master Change
Brad Stulberg, best-selling author of The Practice of Groundedness and co-author of Peak Performance , speaks with Venrock partner Bob Kocher about Stulberg's new book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing—Including Y…
- Optimizing Teamwork
Senthil Sundaram, CEO of Terns Pharmaceuticals, speaks with Venrock's Nimish Shah about the lessons learned balancing personal health events while being CEO of a young company. Sundaram also discusses the "Working Genius" model, an approac…
- Take the Road Less Traveled
Dr. Sheila Gujrathi, a biotech industry veteran with a strong track record as an entrepreneur, physician executive, translational scientist, board member, and drug developer, speaks with Venrock's Nimish Shah about the lessons learned in h…
- The Truth Will Always Be Revealed, So Act Accordingly
Sam Kintz, co-founder, and CEO of Enliven Therapeutics, speaks with Venrock partner Nimish Shah about the journey that led him to found Enliven. Kintz delves into lessons learned during his time at Roche Venture Fund, and how his time at S…
- C.O.R.E. Culture with the Right Team
Venrock partners Andrew Gottesdiener and Nimish Shah speak with Michael Henderson, CEO of Apogee Therapeutics, about his role's unique challenges and opportunities. Henderson discusses his accelerated career trajectory, valuable lessons th…
- The Innovation Frontier of Wealth Management
Venrock's Nick Beim speaks with Steve Lockshin, founder of Vanilla, about lessons learned as a serial entrepreneur in wealth management services. Lockshin shares what drives him as an entrepreneur, the need for more digestible information…
- Be Humble About What You Know (And Don't Know)
Venrock partner Nick Beim speaks with Bill McNabb, former chairman and CEO of Vanguard, an asset management company that pioneered low-cost investing for the consumer. McNabb shares important leadership lessons including the importance of…
- Thinking Long Term is the Greatest Gift
Farzad Mostashari, founder and CEO of Aledade, speaks with Venrock's Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher about improving the quality and efficiency of patient care with a focus on preventative care. With the recent launch of Aledade Care Solution…
- Diversifying the Cap Table
Venrock partners Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher, speak with Heather Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of Solv, about Solv's mission, building more cap table diversity in tech, and the healthcare field today. Fernandez delves into Solv's Series C…
- The Balancing Act of Drug Discovery
Larry Hamann, co-founder, president, and CEO of Interdict Bio, speaks with Venrock Vice President Mariana Mihalusova about lessons learned from his career in drug discovery. Hamann delves into where his love for organic chemistry stems fro…
- Bust the Liars Without Elevating the Liars
Venrock partner Bob Kocher speaks with Dr. Drew Altman, CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and founding publisher of Kaiser Health News (KNH), about dealing with misinformation and skepticism with expertise and facts. Altma…
- Healthy Skepticism in Product Management
Jim Del Favero, Head of Product at Figure, a fintech company using blockchain to help homeowners better tap their home equity, joins Venrock partner Brian Ascher to discuss what makes a great product manager. Del Favero reveals why great P…
- Culture and Connection
Venrock partner Brian Ascher speaks with Nicole Alvino, co-founder and CEO of Firstup, about effective workforce communication both digitally and in person. Alvino highlights fostering employee connection through authentic and transparent…