Episode 108

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Published on:

21st Mar 2024

Ep. 108 Unlocking Stem Cell Potential with Ruby Tsai, CEO and Co-founder at Applied StemCell

It currently costs up to $500,000 per dose for stem cell therapy. Applied StemCell is going to change that.

In this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan speaks with Ruby Tsai, CEO and Co-founder at Applied StemCell, for a fascinating discussion on stem cells and how her partnership with a private equity firm - QHP - is taking ASC to the next level. Together, they discuss:

  • How ASC is revolutionizing gene editing
  • Current Cell Therapies 
  • Partnering with QHP

...and so much more.

Top Takeaways

  • Always believe in your business. Ruby firmly believes in Applied StemCell, which led her to leave her position at Stanford University. Her faith in ASC’s potential impact and ability to save human lives truly drove her decision. While initially scared to make the jump, Ruby emphasizes the importance of believing in yourself and your businesses, sticking to your values, and having faith in your work. Highlighting the importance of pursuing what you believe in and what aligns with your values.
  • The importance of the management system. When discussing QHP’s management system, a framework that transforms companies that are at a growth inflection point, Ruby notes "I didn't pay that much attention to it." She shares how she initially overlooked the management system, but after a week of installation training and hands-on experience, she truly understood its significance. Proper implementation of this system leads to increased productivity and effectiveness throughout a team and organization, particularly for companies at a growth inflection point. Rather than getting caught up in day-to-day operational tasks, Ruby emphasizes the importance of focusing on company strategy through the management framework. 
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About the Podcast

Investors & Operators
A Podcast by 51 Labs
The M&A market can be boring, but everyone has a story. The Investors & Operators podcast is about discovering the stories people were holding back, didn’t know how to tell, or forgot about. The goal is simple: fresh, authentic storytelling to bring people together in the M&A community.

With over 1M organic views and counting on LinkedIn, 51 Labs is disrupting the M&A market through the use of videography and content creation. In a market that longs for authenticity, 51 Labs helps strengthen your brand and tell your story. From concept to distribution, we strategize and produce thoughtful content to be used across a multitude of channels, to help you stand out in an otherwise traditionally boring market.

New episodes every other Thursday at 6:00am Eastern.

About your host

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Jordan Selleck

Founder. Recovering Investment Banker. 3x Entrepreneur. Philz Coffee Enthusiast.

Jordan Selleck is a recovering investment banker turned 3x entrepreneur. While teaching English in China, Jordan met an investment banker in a bar and before he knew it he’d spent six years in cross-border investment banking advising global corporates and private equity firms on M&A deals up to $250 million.

As much as Jordan loved investment banking, he always knew he was meant to do something more. In 2016, Jordan founded Debtmaven, a deal management platform for debt financing in the lower middle market. It was while he was marketing Debtmaven on LinkedIn that Jordan found his true passion: building meaningful relationships in the lower middle market.

Seeing over 50% of Debtmaven’s $450million+ in deals come from LinkedIn, he realized he’d found an untapped market and began his journey with LinkedIn consulting. Dozens of clients and a handful of extraordinarily talented employees later, 51 Labs is a thriving marketing agency for the lower middle market that produces captivating content and generates organic traffic across LinkedIn.

Jordan was born in San Diego, grew up in North Carolina and attended UNC-Chapel Hill. He has traveled to 32 countries, lived in China for 18 months, trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a fourth-generation private pilot, SCUBA dives, speaks Mandarin Chinese, and is a husband and father of 2.