I was lucky enough to attend this year's Ginkgo Ferment Summit at the end of October 2021. Because of the pandemic, this was the first time in two years that Ginkgo Bioworks held the event. Here are a few learnings.

While we are interested in the work life-science companies do and their contribution to making the world better, the truth is we need to go deeper than products or the latest series funding.

Earlier this year, messagingLAB was named II❤NYCSmall Business Thank You 100. This was awarded to 100 New York City small businesses that stayed open and thrived during the pandemic.

Once you’ve engineered your microorganism to produce your billion-dollar molecule, how are you going to scale up production?

In 2020, A16Z’s Vijay Pande and Judy Savitskay wrote a paper called, The Biggest Open Opportunity in Synthetic Biology, listing out the need for novel bio-manufacturing platforms.

Bilbao, the capital of Spain’s Basque country, sits in a river valley surrounded by green mountains. Dominated by the Frank Gehry-designed metal-clad Guggenheim, the city was the site of this year’s first-ever Food4Future conference.

Last month, Boston Consulting Group and Hello Tomorrow released a report called Nature Co-Design: A Revolution in the Making, exploring the impact of harnessing nature's design principles, applying deep tech's Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle, and its economic implications.

Last week I mentioned, I've been obsessing over generic drug manufacturing.

This isn't an out-of-the-blue Karl Schmieder obsession. I've worked on communications projects for biopharma manufacturers and, for about a decade, have written about quality control issues associated with foreign manufacturers.

Two weeks ago, during one of SynBioBeta's Townhalls, synthetic biology pioneer Drew Endy reminded us to define the future.

I have to admit, I'd been writing a newsletter based on Rita Gunter McGrath's book SEEING AROUND CORNERS. McGrath is one of my favorite business strategist. Her work is practical and highly actionable.

My piece involved some sci-fi systems thinking and speculation about our post COVID-19 world. Ultimately I was unsatisfied with the draft, So, I put it aside and decided to write something else. 

You would probably guess that it's easy to tell a story when times are good. The biggest challenge then is that everyone else is telling a good story. When there's a crisis and the world's been turned upside down, that's when leaders and their stories matter most. Here's why:

At Messaginglab, we value communications and connections.

I started this company to help life sciences companies better communicate with their audiences. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic feels like one of those times when stories are more important than ever.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, I want to take a moment to share a few thoughts and updates on what I am doing to serve you and my clients.

Everything is different. A month ago, I was helping plan an April 30th consumer biotechnology conference. Two weeks ago, my co-organizers and I were discussing whether or not we should cancel the conference because of COVID19 news. Seven days ago, the pandemic was declared. New York City asked us to stay home. The U.S. declared a national emergency.

In my last post, I wrote about brands and brand building. This week, THE ECONOMIST ran a story on brand building titled “It Has Never Been Easier to Launch a New Brand.” The article explains why you’re seeing so many new brands -- Harry’s, Allbirds, Casper, among them.

Why is it easier to launch a new brand?

Because it’s never been easier to identify, target, build, and connect with an audience. The thing that differentiates these new brands from the old incumbents is their story.

In 2019, we helped redesign and launch two new brands.

Building those brands was a special treat for us since it required using the following skills: research, assembling a team of designers, packaging specialists, and specialty printers. It also required leadership skills.

Both brands are on the market and are doing well. Ask us about them.

If you are building a brand, you may need to start from the beginning.

I spent the last several weeks on the road. I'm happy to be home.

At all those events, I reconnected with friends. Met new people. And I was exposed to a ton of information.

If you're like me, you'll make a point of attending conferences to advance your career, expand your network, and build your business.

I have to admit that when I first started going to conferences, I didn't really have a plan or a strategy. But the more I was exposed to people who are smarter than I am, I realized I should have a plan.