Bryan Roberts

Bryan Roberts, a seasoned venture capitalist at Venrock with over 25 years in the game, shares his insights on the wild world of investing. He reflects on early wins with Illumina and Athenahealth, and his experiences during the dot-com bubble. The discussion dives into the importance of creating optionality for startups, avoiding bad VC habits, and the controversial Theranos case. Additionally, Bryan offers advice on navigating disagreements with founders and the psychology behind making investment bets.

Bryan Roberts, longtime Venrock partner and early-stage healthcare investor, shares stories from the firm’s Rockefeller roots to building a Bay Area presence. He talks portfolio construction, backing first-time founders, differences between bio and health tech timing, views on AI/ML in discovery, and what makes for non-consensus, founder-first investing.