A key employee at Jared Bauer's first company taught him that agencies like the FDA are not enemies. By understanding their goal is to protect patients, he learned to partner with them and proactively address their concerns, a mindset he found highly effective.
To get an unambiguous signal for their technology, Seek Labs targeted African Swine Fever, a virus with a guaranteed 100% death rate in pigs. This provided a definitive success metric (any survival) and avoided the complexities of modeling human diseases in animals.
Jared Bauer discovered his first turnaround opportunity not through formal channels, but by overhearing frustrated investors discussing a failing company while attending a college basketball game. This highlights the value of serendipity and being alert to opportunities everywhere.
The company's BioSeeker AI platform goes beyond discovery. After analyzing genomic data, it directly outputs the functional components for development: the 'guides' for their CRISPR therapeutics and the 'primers and probes' for their diagnostic tests, making AI a rapid creation tool.
Instead of using CRISPR for gene editing (cut and replace), Seek Labs harnesses its natural function. Their platform programs CRISPR to find and 'chop up' viral DNA and RNA, directly lowering the viral load and allowing the host's immune system to take over.
Jared Bauer's MBA professor taught a short module on turning around failing companies. This single class was so impactful it prompted Bauer to liquidate his assets to fund his first turnaround venture, viewing it as his life's work.
CEO Jared Bauer founded Seek Labs with a dual mission: develop better diagnostics and therapeutics. This was directly driven by the death of his infant son, Oliver, from a missed diagnosis and lack of treatment options. The company is a scientific effort to prevent similar tragedies.
Seek Labs prioritizes cultural fit ruthlessly. After skills-based interviews, CEO Jared Bauer asks every candidate the same four questions about their worldview. A perfect resume is irrelevant if they fail this final test, ensuring alignment with the company's core principles.
CEO Jared Bauer applies a core lesson from his time at Apple to biotech: focus on the user experience, not the technical specifications. Instead of highlighting 'how fast the RAM is,' Apple focuses on what it enables, a principle he uses to guide product development.