QA with Craig Tashjy, CFO at Cingulate Therapeutics - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

QA with Craig Tashjy, CFO at Cingulate Therapeutics - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Craig Tashjy, Cingulate Therapeutics Life science startups are increasingly important, with non-traditional investors such as Google becoming significant providers of venture capital. In this episode, I talk to Craig Tashjy, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and co-founder of one such startup, Cingulate Therapeutics in the USA. Since its launch in 2012, Cingulate Therapeutics has been developing two drugs for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In addition to managing the company’s finances, Craig administers its human resource and employee benefit programmes, and he offers great insights into the startup employment experience. What was the inspiration behind your startup company? We believe our endeavour will be a success for millions of people around the world For me it was very personal. I have ADHD and a son who has it as well. So I know from experience about the unmet need for an effective treatment for ADHD that lasts right through the entire day. As for the rest of our team, almost everyone involved is either engaged in the treatment of ADHD (along with other CNS issues) or has a personal connection to it. So the subject is near and dear to us and that’s where the passion and inspiration come from. What makes you confident it will be a success? There are several reasons. Primarily, we know our active ingredients work, because they’ve been clinically proven over many decades. We also know the delivery system works because it’s been commercially proven in other therapeutic categories. We have a great development partner, a solid regulatory approach, patents and strategic partnerships in place. We believe we will achieve success on multiple levels â€" but most importantly, we believe our endeavour will be a success for millions of people around the world (approximately 50 million in the US alone) living with ADHD. How easy was it to secure funding? Not very! No matter how good your idea or proposal, raising money is never easy, especially when you’re doing it in a private capacity. Fortunately, we’ve been able to ‘partner financially’ with a terrific collection of individual investors who came to know our story and saw the strong potential of our developmental plan. That being said, until we divest one or both of our ADHD assets or fully commercialise, we will be seeking the right funding partners. How did you find the skills you needed when you were starting out? You dont have to be a big pharma company to gain access to great expertise in certain areas We were fortunate when starting out, that we, as founders, were able to wear many hats and didn’t mind doing so in order to move things forward. This approach greatly reduced our startup costs and allowed the vast majority of our resources to be directed at our development plan. As well, in specific areas where our own skill levels are thin, we look to bring in consultants. We’ve been able to form some high level relationships in this manner. That’s the beauty of the life sciences â€" there are so many tremendously talented people out there. You don’t have to be a ‘big pharma’ company to gain access to great expertise in certain areas. How different is it working for startups than working in ‘big pharma’? Although I’ve not worked in the pharmaceutical industry prior to Cingulate Therapeutics, I have spent many years in corporate settings. Building a startup takes a different sort of mindset and enjoying it requires a different type of personality. There is no big corporate umbrella overhead â€" which can be both good and bad. It can be more daunting but certainly more exciting. Where does the excitement come from? Having worked on the corporate side for many years, I can tell you its a whole new ball game As a startup, the excitement comes from many places. For example, we see a relatively short runway between obtaining data and the next big milestones. Things happen fast and move quickly. Having worked on the corporate side for many years, I can tell you it’s a whole new ball game. When you work for big corporates, you typically don’t come to work every day thinking ‘in thirty or sixty days this could all change’, whereas that’s how it is for us. We have regular conversations with folks out there â€" pharma, venture, etc. â€" who have a keen interest in what we’re doing. It’s exciting because it’s a different atmosphere, a different tonality. For more about life science startups, stay tuned for our next Viewpoint episode. To view our current vacancies for life scientists, please visit our life sciences jobs index. Stay up to date with latest news from across the globe by joining our LinkedIn group, Life Sciences Industry Insights with Hays and follow us on Twitter @HaysLifeScience. If you enjoyed this blog then you might also appreciate  some of the following: 5 things life science startups are looking for on your CV Life sciences recruitment: where are we headed? Trends that will change life science hires in 2016 QA with Neil Campbell, President and CEO at Helmonics Start me up: embracing the age of life science startups Big Data, big impact on life science skills demand // Share this blog: