ShaperTalk with Thiel Foundation Scientific Director Hemai Parthasarathy

SF Global Shapers hosted Thiel Foundation Scientific Director Hemai Parthasarathy at a ShaperTalk on Monday, 10/15, and we wanted to share key takeaways from the event:

• When Hemai started at Nature magazine, it was a small publication — she eventually left when it’s size no longer fit her personality and she felt she got as far as she could while staying close to the science.
• She left Nature and joined PLOS in part because, in a digital world with free distribution, it didn’t make sense for institutions to pay so much for access to a magazine with research that in many cases was funded primarily through public means.
• While transitioning from publishing, Hemai spent several years consulting, thinking she would eventually meet a client that she was extremely excited about. She eventually found the Thiel Foundation.
• Hemai conducts science-oriented due diligence on startups, reviewing companies for several months before deciding to provide a grant, and the Thiel Foundation formed Breakout Ventures in order to continue to stay involved with companies as they grow.

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