Capitalizing on her 14-year-old self’s science enthusiasm 12 years ago, Cathy Tie, transformed herself into a successful bioinformatician and entrepreneur.
At 18, the young Canadian became the co-founder of the $1 million dollar worth Ranomics company, a health risk prediction provider. While she co-founded Locke Bio, an e-commerce platform for pharmaceutical and other FDA-approved product suppliers when she was 23.
Today, the 26-year-old sci-entrepreneur shares that having a broader view is her key to being integrative and cross-disciplined in the many fields she is engaged in, as art and creativity are easier said than done.
During an interview with CNBC, Tie mentions her ability to connect ideas and see them far differently from how others perceive, including how science can grow and expand for beginners which she thinks is more artistic and creative than technical.
This skill, however, is uncommon among teenagers. Yet, Tie’s innate dexterity manifested in her secondary years as she reserved a special place for science and relevant practical activities in her heart ever since a kid.
Discontented with the standard curriculum, she wrote unsolicited letters to her professors seeking to tour the school labs, perform studies, and assist in their scientific projects, which taught her a lot until she had her first paper published in a peer-reviewed journal at age 16.
However, she realized that getting entrepreneurial financing is better than relying on academic allowances since she could do more research. She applied to entrepreneur programs to assist her in the startup world.
Upon getting acquainted with Leo Wan who was then a Ph.D. student at the school where she was a neophyte, they worked together and were admitted into IndieBio, a startup platform that finances and mentors science entrepreneurs.
With Tie having prime knowledge on how to figure out issues on genetic trial precision, she subsequently co-founded Randomics with Wan after quitting college and leaving for San Francisco where she became the CEO for the three early years.
Thereafter, she was asked to apply and was accepted to The Thiel Fellowship, which aids a $100,000 subsidy to out-of-college inexperienced entrepreneurs.
A year following her collaboration with Cervin Ventures, she founded Locke Bio, which currently has three U.S. and Canadian business resources.
Tie’s business is nonexempt to challenges that a company experiences, yet, hard work and reflection make it possible for her to always “see the bigger picture. In this light, she and her team have a lot ahead for the company.
