Nurlybek Mursali, Biodock - Stanford PhD, getting into Y Combinator, raising money from A16Z

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How do you turn a research idea into a successful BioTech startup? What does it take to raise funding and scale in Silicon Valley? How can a PhD background shape an entrepreneur’s journey? 

In this episode, Nurlybek Mursali, founder of Biodock, shares his journey from being a Stanford PhD student to launching an AI-powered biotech company. He talks about the ups and downs of fundraising, how his team secured half of their investment round in just one day, and what it was like going through Y Combinator.

We also get into the Kazakh startup scene, the future of Biodock, and what makes Stanford such a unique place for entrepreneurs. Plus, Nurlybek opens up about the lessons he’s learned, the historical figures that inspire him, and some of his most unconventional takes on startups and innovation.

Enjoy the conversation!

Arman Suleimenov:
Nurlybek Mursali:
Producer, Daniyar Akhmetzhanov:

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Timestamps:
0:00 Show must go on!
2:31 Why this episode is in English?
3:12 What does Biodock do?
5:34 Role of screens in pathology
5:48 What is pathology?
13:38 Implementing LLMs in Biodock
14:19 The world before Biodock
15:28 How the idea for Biodock came up
20:04 Meeting his co-founder
21:44 First steps of Biodock
26:20 Pricing structure
27:43 Biodock before Y Combinator
30:57 Y Combinator experience (Spring 2021)
32:52 Raising funding before Demo Day
33:23 Securing 50% of the round in one day
35:55 How VCs find YC startups
36:54 Why they skipped Demo Day
38:50 Biodock after YC
39:11 Why staying in the Bay Area matters
42:05 Best practices for raising funding
44:41 Advice for pre-seed fundraising
45:44 How to win against competitors
47:08 Designing the competition slide in a pitch deck
49:34 Who are Biodock’s customers?
50:29 Easiest vs. hardest parts of building a company
52:01 How to decide what to build first
53:34 How Nurlybek manages his time
54:11 Most effective ways to reach customers
54:45 Why remote work is the best?
55:14 Biodock in 5 years
55:54 Stanford PhD experience
1:04:09 Topic of his dissertation
1:06:50 Life in a research lab
1:09:53 Why Stanford?
1:12:51 Sir John Gurdon and his impact
1:13:11 The Godfather of cloning
1:16:00 Kazakh community at Stanford
1:16:57 Entrepreneurial spirit at Stanford
1:18:23 Why it's easy to work with Stanford
1:21:54 David Rosenthal
1:22:22 Fun story about the origin of Yahoo
1:23:43 Stanford GSB Ignite Program
1:26:50 Hot takes
1:29:39 Thoughts on Kazakhstan’s startup scene
1:31:42 Kazakhstani founders in the USA
1:33:29 Top 3
1:41:01 Historical figures Nurlybek admires
1:43:09 Message to the audience
1:44:57 Question to the audience

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