Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to “Spread Love in Organizations”, a podcast for purpose-driven healthcare leaders, striving to make life better around the world by leading their teams with genuine care, servant leadership, and love.
I’m Naji, your host, joined today by Suman Lal, managing director of technology innovation studio, TINTS, a physical space in Kendall square that brings together business leaders, scientists, serial entrepreneurs, investors, Industry experts, corporate innovation teams, and policy experts to explore and apply tools and models in innovations.
Suman is also a senior advisor at the Cambridge Innovation Center, CIC, that operates innovation campuses and labs across cities in the U. S., Europe, and Asia, and in his previous role worked closely with the leadership team to advise diverse stakeholders, uh, stakeholders in cities and regions around the world on building innovation infrastructure and ecosystems.
He is also senior advisor to the Venture Café Global Institute that operates the Venture Café gatherings in 15 cities, often described as the heartbeat of several innovation districts. And I can attest to that. Suman has deep experience in the area of technology commercialization by making independent inventions, licensing intellectual properties.
From major research institutions to four new companies and operating venture studios, where he took interim CEO roles at the portfolio company. Prior to this, Suman did technical sales and distribution for 15 early stage companies over a five year period, gaining valuable insight into how early stage companies transitioned into profitable and scalable businesses.
He has an MD in clinical medicine and an MSc in human genetics and did his PhD in precision medicine and clinical pharmacology. Suman also received his MBA from MIT as a Sloan Fellow focusing on innovation and global leadership. It is so great to have you with me today and, uh, see you again. Thank you, Najee.
Suman Lal: Thanks for having me. And, uh, yeah. Looking forward to this conversation.
Naji Gehchan: First, I want to hear more about your personal story. We know one another, but I want to dig in your personal story this time. How did it all start medicine, genetics, pharmacology, and now a serial entrepreneur and startup builder.
Tell us more about you. Yeah, I know.
Suman Lal: Happy to, happy to give some background. So I’m, uh, you know, originally from India and, uh, back, uh, back home in Kerala, where I come from generally, you know, you don’t have too many career choices if you are good in your studies and, and then, you know, you go to medical school or, or become an engineer.
So I, uh, uh, just happened to, you know, uh, get through the, the entrance exams, uh, to, to med school. And, uh, yeah, in the second year of med school, what actually happened was I, I happened to pick up a book by Ayn Rand and, you know, read, read Atlas Shrugged and then Found and Head and at that time that kind of influenced me a lot.
And I sort of decided that, Hey, this is. I’m not going to be a doctor. I want to, I want to explore other things. So that made the rest of the four or five years easy in terms of going through med school, because I knew that I was not going to, you know, uh, continue in that place in that journey. And, uh, uh, I realized that medicine can be in some ways, put a lot of constraints around you in terms of areas where you can practice.
uh, geographically also, right? And so I, I decided to step into the world of research and that, that really took me to Singapore. And I thought actually I would stay for one year in Singapore, but, uh, you know, the place was very comfortable and, uh, Singapore was investing a lot into building a huge, uh, life sciences and healthcare innovation cluster in the city, and I thought I should just be a part of it.
And, uh, I ended up, uh, staying in Singapore for 12 years. Uh, so part of that was, uh, doing research, uh, doing my masters and my PhD. Uh, but then I also realized that, uh, I’m not. A lot of this has been like experimenting and actually trying to see if I really like it and if not, move on. Right. So that, that was the case with medicine.
That was the case with the research, but remember each experiment was. costing me five to six years, right? So, so that was my second experiment. And I realized I’m not going to be an academic research with a tenure track and stuff. So I thought I should go into industry. So I decided that the best way to do, uh, to learn about the industry and the world of business is to do sales.
And, uh, you know, I became a salesperson, um, I became a distributor, uh, for almost 15, uh, companies in the early stage, you know, life sciences, uh, field. I can tell you, uh, this was the most humbling experience, you know, your MD, PhD. Just gets thrown out of the window. Nobody cares. Right. You’re basically trying to sell and, uh, Oh, it actually helps you really prepare for your future dating life because you know, you get rejection every day, like, so, so, but, but amazing experience.
I think I actually gave a talk. At one of the institutes in Singapore to the postdoc association that basically the gist of the talk was all of you guys should just quit what you’re doing and do other things. No, no, you’re not going to get a Nobel prize. Okay. You’re not going to discover this molecule to cure cancer.
Um, there are a lot of other things to do in this world. So try, try other things. And one of them could be sales. Um, so, so I did that for five years and it was just incredible. Uh, very humbling, but very, very valuable experience. But, uh, after five years and, you know, becoming a Singapore citizen, I thought I should, uh, try something new, which is where we crossed paths in the world of MIT, because I only applied to one place by the way, right.
And I know, uh, when I was looking at what is a, what is a great, uh, Institution with a background for people like ourselves to go to. Uh, that is, it was not a question, right, in terms of, look, I should just come to MIT. And well, it’s been 10 years since I made that decision that I can share more, but that was really what, uh, the, the, the pre MIT US days were like, I mean, that, that was the first half of the journey.
Second half is like, yeah, we can, we can get into the details of that has been fun. Well, I want to get into the details of this and really maybe as you go through the details of the second half, as you said, or this past decade, I really want to think through it because you’ve been like challenging yourself.
And as you said, like each bet you made, like you’re an MD, you’ve done PhD. So it’s long bets. And then re challenge all your knowledge and all, uh, yourself to do something with curiosity, with more. And you obviously now building an ecosystem that would bring all those different experts that you’ve been at some point to bring, to bring breakthrough innovation.
So I’d love as you talk to us in this past decade, uh, in, um, in Boston after MIT, uh, how do you think through it? With your past experiences and expertise that you’ve built. Yeah, I think, you know, it’s, you know, talking about moving from one thing to the other, there’s, it’s a lot of, there’s a lot of good curiosity, but I actually think it is also for me about, I also, I used to think what brings me the biggest joy.
And to me, it has always been the joy of understanding something. And that’s kind of why I’ve stayed in school a lot, you know, learning, there’s continuous learning, right? So, I’ve always designed my life and career around, is there an opportunity to learn? So whether it is in medicine, whether it is in research, whether now you’re doing sales between by the, by the way, between all of those three, now we are talking maybe 15 years, right?
And, uh, coming to MIT of course was incredible learning experience, but then in the world of innovation, as you apply that in, in the real world. It’s, it’s nonstop learning again, right? And but this time, as was the case, uh, at MIT in the Sloan program, you’re learning a lot from not an academic environment, but also from, uh, your peers and your colleagues and customers and other innovators.
And you know, in the world of innovation, now this is, you’re talking about scientists and, uh, inventors and investors, entrepreneurs, and, uh, you know, industry executives. It is, everybody is trying to, and everybody I realize is like me and, you know, have their, had their own journey to get here and want to do something impactful and apply all their knowledge in solving, you know, the variety of problems that we have in this world.
And there is that, there is that connection that you have with all of these folks, but also a shared purpose and, and it has been just amazing to be able to work with. Interesting people doing interesting things. And that is what most of the last 10 years has been. And because of the broad background that I’ve had, uh, I could basically apply it in any area of healthcare and life sciences, when you talk about medicine and, you know, healthcare.
But, uh, interestingly, my first startup turned out to be in cosmetics. And, you know, I I ended up in hair care, who knew, right? But talk about pivoting. Uh, and you know, the market tells you where you should go and, uh, yeah, that’s, that’s, uh, that’s what got me started and that took me to New York. Um, so I spent five years in New York City.
Uh, where I was actually all about haircare.
Yeah. That’s fascinating. I didn’t know about that. Yeah. You know, guess what? The first job after MIT Sloan with my MBA as a Sloan fellow was to actually take over and operate a hair salon where I was the, I was a hairstylist. So this is what I did in New York for two years after graduation from MIT. And, uh, I can guarantee you, my parents were not happy.
I mean, they have not been happy since I left medical school, but, uh, since then it has been downhill because, uh, you know, dad calls me one day and like. You, you told me you’re going to America and, you know, going to MIT and doing an MBA. I heard now you are a, a stylist, like, what are you doing with your life?
So this was hard to explain. And uh, I did tell him that, look, this is about, um, product development and this is about, uh, entrepreneurship and, uh, yeah, that didn’t, that didn’t fly very well, but. Yeah, but it was an amazing journey because we were originally developing a product for medical devices and we realized that we could actually use the same principles of the technology to break the disulfide bonds in the hair.
And, well, we know the world of, uh, you know, uh, medical devices and drugs really well. There’s a lot of regulations. Guess what? In the world of cosmetics, there is no, nobody, nobody is regulating it. And, and because of that, there’s a lot of very toxic stuff out there, which is being used every day. And I found an opportunity to actually develop something that is safe, a safe way to straighten hair.
But then there was no regulatory hurdles. I could just open up a salon and try it. And I did. And, uh, yeah, that was the first few years of, uh, New York City and doing cosmetics and beauty and hair care in New York City. I can guarantee you it’s really fun.
So, so take us from, uh, doing cosmetics. And haircare in New York City to now building tents. Yeah. So, and tell us a little bit more about this amazing new venture that you’re creating. Sure. The short version of that is, uh, I, uh, I brought on a, an amazing CEO to, uh, to take over the project in haircare who came from the world of beauty and cosmetics.
And then I was exploring what else to do. And this is really serendipity, right? I was having a coffee with one of my friends. And, uh, really talking about what’s next. And he said, maybe I should meet his dad. And, uh, uh, I ended up meeting his dad who turned out to be a professor at Columbia who had developed an amazing technology, uh, using intravenous omega 3 fatty acids.
You know, the fish oil that we all take, uh, are supposed to take, uh, uh, which if you inject it, you could actually reduce, uh, tissue organ injuries. By 90%. Now we are talking about, you know, heart attacks and strokes, uh, which can be prevented by this injection of the safe, uh, fish oil. So I, I, I looked at the results and I was like, this is amazing data.
Um, I could actually commercialize this. And I actually formed a company from, uh, based on the technology from Columbia university, uh, to actually develop a therapeutics for treating stroke. And, uh, well, I joke that I didn’t really move from, you know, very far. I went from hair to brain, uh, but it really went very, you know, a completely different space from beauty and cosmetics to now, uh, early stage biotech.
So I found myself as the CEO of a startup in biotech, but that took me into this amazing world of, of drug discovery and development, which I think is the most fascinating The most complex, I once commented on LinkedIn that, uh, you know, it’s easier to send something to Mars than actually develop a drug.
I mean, it’s just, you know, it’s, it’s biology, right? I mean, you cannot predict what’s happening and yeah, I’ve sort of stayed in that world since that brought me back to Boston, which is the Mecca for, uh, for biotech, for doing that thing. So, you know, people like you and the rest of our colleagues. Uh, doing amazing things in Boston.
So I came here and, uh, you know, the first place I took a desk was at CIC, the Cambridge innovation center. And again, you know, uh, chance. I clicked the newsletter, which, uh, an internal newsletter from CIC, which, uh, led me to joining CIC in their consulting team. Uh, which, uh, was really about talking to, uh, cities and states and regions around the world to build places like Kendall Square.
So that was really about building innovation ecosystem. So I found myself on two ends of this innovation spectrum. On one end, I was trying to see if this molecule binds to this target. What is the affinity? Is this a development candidate? What kind of experiments you need to do to get, take it to an IND?
Um, Thank you. And at the same time, I was also talking to governments in Singapore and Saudi Arabia and, you know, Mexico and Latvia about, uh, how do you build an ecosystem and innovation ecosystem like this? And, uh, so that, that was an amazing experience, uh, which, which led me to really understand the power of communities and the utility of space.
Thanks. As a very anchoring mechanism to bring people together and, you know, post COVID, it became really relevant. And I should also mention that what we learned at MIT in the world of system dynamics is incredibly, which is an incredibly powerful field. I wish it was applied in a much more, you know, uh, in a variety of settings.
Um, and I, I looked at, if you look at Kendall square, it’s an ecosystem. And I realized that, Hey, I could actually build an ecosystem, a mini ecosystem in, if you look at it through the system dynamics framework, where space is the anchoring setup, like CIC, the Cambridge innovation center, where we just now the world’s largest innovation campus, by the way, um, where.
On top of that space, and that is, that is what I’m building right now. This is the technology innovation studio. If you take space as the base layer, okay, you’re talking office space, co working space, labs, all of that. And you build a layer on top of that, which is a, which is about a curated network. And you bring people around specific topics.
interest groups. So for example, I formed a quantum interest group to look at applications of quantum in different areas, starting with discovery, uh, one in consumer products, uh, you know, health, productivity, and wellness, biotech, et cetera. That becomes a very active layer where people come together. When you bring interesting people together in from different areas, Interesting things are bound to happen.
So that’s the second layer. The third layer is where I have opportunities to actually do consulting for all the people that want to engage with the Boston ecosystem and through the studio. And that’s mostly for large corporates. And the layer on top is an innovation lab where anybody can come with an idea and experiment and develop their MVP and do their customer discovery, market validation.
And if you think there is something interesting there, we form a company and then what, right? So that, that’s why I am building a layer on top of that. And this is in participation with the MIT. alumni angels of Boston, uh, and New York actually to form an angel group, right? So think about it as an ecosystem tense.
The Technology Innovation Studio is a mini ecosystem where it’s a combination of a dedicated physical space, a curated network, high quality events and programs. Consulting, product development and innovation and investments. So that’s, that’s really what I’m building. And I have no illusion that this is going to be quick.
This is a 10 year, 20 year game. It is really designed for keeping myself busy, satisfy that curiosity and joy, uh, aspects. But, but really ways to create value in the innovation world and also have structures and vehicles to capture that value. I know this is a, sorry, this is a long answer, but that’s really, you know, it’s, it’s really a, uh, a mini ecosystem that I’m building.
This is, this is ambitious, great, powerful. And my follow up to this is if you look into the next decade. You know, we talked about the past and now we’re talking about the future with what you’re building. What are you most excited about to deliver through Tins? You know, in the intersection of tech, medicine, innovation.
Yeah, so I think really what I’m hoping to be when I say I as in Tins becomes a When I say, you know, it’s a studio, but it’s actually also a playground. It is an, it’s a mechanism to accelerate innovation. And I sort of become, my keyword would be Playground, studio, facilitate and accelerate innovation, right?
If I can actually, and be an enabler, and if I can be all of that to work with different stakeholders, whether you’re a scientist, whether you’re an investor, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a small or a big company, I could actually work with each of these stakeholders In the innovation ecosystem, and you’re talking also about governments and agencies and all sorts of groups to help accelerate innovation.
And that could be by infrastructure, that could be by making a medicine, that could be by developing a new business model, uh, or education. I hope that TINSS becomes a new model for innovation, an innovation engine, which can be then replicated. In innovation cities around the world, and I want to develop that model, which I can then replicate because fundamentally these stakeholders and the nature of innovation in all of these ecosystems are the same.
And I want to develop that prototype here, experiment with it, get to a certain point where I can take it to other parts of the world, and hopefully I’m able to do that through my partnership with CIC, which is now the world’s largest innovation campus and is already present. In 11 going on 13 cities, so it is a road map to expanding globally through CIC, because it is also about physical space, as I mentioned, it is an anchoring element of this.
So CIC, if I may say, is the biggest sort of cluster. In all the cities that CIC operates. Okay. It started in Japan three years ago. It’s this biggest hub in Japan. Okay. Biggest hub in Kendall square, biggest one in Rotterdam in Warsaw. If I can actually work with the biggest cluster to actually now also deploy in these ecosystems, I believe it can be, it can be really powerful.
So that’s my dream.
And I know you do everything to get there. So I’m looking forward for this journey. Uh, that started really great. Like, you know, we will have backlinks in our podcast to your website. You’re doing amazing, uh, activities already through then. So really congrats on picking this up that fast. I’m going to give you a word now, uh, Suman, and I would love your reaction to it.
Yeah. So the first one is leadership. I have come to realize that, and I think about this every day. That to make true impact, I’ve looked at again from a, and I’m actually really making the Venn Sim diagram with my colleague on the system dynamics model of accelerating innovation. And if you draw that diagram with all the variables in there, you would really come to the point of realizing that it’s fundamentally about Issues like trust and leadership that makes the maximum impact and that has a, that has an enormous impact, which applies, which, which amplified impact, I should say across everything.
And part of the reason why I am developing an innovation immersion program for high school and college students intense is to bring them into our world and show them examples of leadership. Because that’s what makes all the difference. You have to, you have to lead. There are amazing talented people who are really great at what they do, but also need direction and that leadership to then bring that together into designing something or making a product or building a business and, you know, solving a problem.
So I find it as, and I, I try to be. learning and be surrounding myself with the leaders that I can learn from every day. And I find that, uh, yeah, there’s a long way to go. I mean, I know you it’s, it’s humbling. Uh, but, uh, yeah, long answer, but I should say that it’s, it’s really the most important word. I mean, I’m glad you, you, you mentioned that.
So the second word I’m sure you’d love to is entrepreneurship. Yeah. Well, I have some, uh, Bill Olet says that, you know, everybody can be an entrepreneur and, uh, you know, His book says it’s, uh, it’s, uh, it’s about disciplined entrepreneurship. Doesn’t apply to me because I’m, I’m really not disciplined about, you know, most things.
But, uh, I, I’ve been wanting to actually maybe take a class or talk about the case against entrepreneurship. I actually believe that it’s not for everybody. It actually, uh, requires it. It’s, it’s not just about getting out of your comfort zone. I think it requires a, uh, a lot of things to come together. Uh, to be successful in that journey.
And a lot of people are not really designed for it. And I, I, myself, I have been an entrepreneur for a very long time and I question myself every day, like, is this, is this the right thing to do? I was. Uh, yesterday evening, I was, uh, uh, listening to a founder who has built a 4 billion company who basically started his talk by saying that the biggest challenge for him was, was really trying to decide whether this is the right thing to do and to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
And it was not easy. And we talk a lot about. people who are successful in the world of entrepreneurship because you know, that’s what we read in the news, but, uh, it is a tough space. It’s, it’s, it’s really about a lot about failure, but getting back up and trying again. So I think it boils down to grit.
And, and, and really not, not giving up and fundamentally how long you can keep doing that. I mean, we all, uh, look to the courts by Terry Roosevelt about, uh, you know, the man or the woman in the, in the arena who, you know, who, who is still standing and then actually, you know, fight in the battle. So I think, um, you’ve got to, you’ve got to really enjoy the journey.
And I think, I think one part that people also always may not consider is. health, family, friendships, uh, you know, whether your spouse, uh, is, is, is on board with these things or your partner, um, there are a variety of considerations and these are not taught in schools and, uh, you know, when you, when you just try to do this in the real world, well, uh, that’s, that’s when you get punched in the face and it’s, uh, You, you ought to, you know, at some point you’ll start enjoying it and drinking your own blood.
I think that’s, that’s, that’s the real world of entrepreneurship. So I, I would say beware of what you wish for. The third one is Kendall Square. Yeah. Yeah. I think I feel very blessed. I’m right now, uh, sitting at the Venture Cafe in Kendall Square at CIC. And if you look at it from, I sort of, you know, tend to take it for granted sometimes, but if you look at it from the rest of the world perspective, America leads the world in, in, in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation.
And if you go to zoom in, you know, Boston is one of the hubs, uh, for, for innovation and technology and entrepreneurship. And when you come to Boston, it’s Cambridge and in Cambridge, it’s Kendall Square, right? And it is the most innovative, without a doubt, I think it’s the most innovative square mile on the planet.
And to be immersed in that ecosystem and work in the center of the center of the universe of innovation. Uh, it took me 25 years to get here, but I think it’s a blessing, uh, to be surrounded by, you know, like minded people, uh, who are working to change the world. And, uh, it’s, it’s actually, it’s magical. And, uh, I think it is reproducible if you actually do it the right way, but it always takes time.
Uh, but meanwhile, one of my desires and goals is to Leverage what is in Kendall Square and develop mechanisms to transfer and share and collaborate and partner with other similar aspiring cities around the world. Because at the end of the day, we are all trying to solve global problems and it has to be achieved through collaboration and Kendall Square cannot do it alone.
And there is great talent. Technology, great people everywhere. And I would love to see that those highways being built between Kendall square and, and Riyadh and Singapore and, you know, and Madrid and Tokyo. So, uh, and, and other places. So, yeah. Um, that’s, uh, that’s how I’m, that’s my view of the world right now.
The last one is spread love and organizations. Wow. That’s, uh, you know, I. I am really, uh, looking forward to working closely with you on, on learning about, you know, all that experiences and, uh, that you have, uh, gained over time. I think it is also related to the topic of leadership that you started off with, because fundamentally if you don’t demonstrate and, and, and, and apply compassionate and authentic leadership in organizations.
then it’s very hard to achieve its full potential. And I hope by some of this work that you do and by others, we get to share that knowledge and experience of authenticity. of compassion, uh, of hard work and empathy. And those in combination is, is designed to make not just individuals, but also organizations really achieve their true potential.
And, uh, yeah, we, we continue to do our part and be in that journey. So, uh, we are all students, uh, in that respect. Of course, and, um, it’s one of the shared purposes we both have. Any final word of wisdom, Suman, to health, to healthcare leaders around the world? Well, I, I think, uh, healthcare, uh, is, remains out of reach to A big part of the world, even in 2024, and a lot of us in operating in different aspects of healthcare have a tremendous responsibility to, to bring care to where it is needed.
And sometimes it does not require amazing technology. It is really doing what is right, doing the right thing, um, and, uh, keeping the patient in mind. And sometimes actually even stepping into the world of actually prevention, uh, which is probably better than cure. And, and at those times, you know, we, we have to, of course we all have, we all have the responsibility to, to build a business and have the organization successful.
But in the world of healthcare, it really requires looking at problems through a different lens than in other industries where. You have the human being and the patient in front of you. And, uh, and that might require unconventional thinking and business models. And I hope, uh, industry leaders set an example for that and, and the rest of the world, uh, will, will follow.
Well, thank you so much again for being with me today. It was a great conversation. Thank you. Thank you so much, Najee. And, uh, yeah, I look forward to. Uh, continuing to, you know, hear, uh, more of your, uh, your, uh, podcasts and, uh, other speakers and also learn from all the work that you’re doing. So thank you.
Thank you for having me. Thank you. Same, same here. And I’m sure we will cross paths, uh, through tense, uh, in the near future. Thank you all. Thank you all for listening to Spread Love and Organizations podcast. Subscribe and connect with us on spreadloveio. com or wherever you listen to podcasts. Most importantly, spread love in your organizations and spread the word around you to inspire others and amplify this movement our world so desperately needs.
Naji Gehchan: Thank you all for listening to SpreadLove in Organizations podcast. Drop us a review on your preferred podcast platform
Follow us on LinkedIn and connect with us on spreadloveio.com. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and feedback. Most importantly, spread love in your organizations and spread the word around you to inspire others and amplify this movement, our world so desperately needs