By Chervee Ho, Co-founder & CEO, BioChromatographix International (BCI)
When you’re building a startup, there are plenty of hard problems to solve: raising money, convincing customers, explaining your technology to people who aren’t sure whether you’re describing science or science fiction. But nothing, nothing, quite compares to the adventure of hiring when nobody has ever heard of your company or your technology.
That’s exactly where we found ourselves at BioChromatographix International (BCI). We’re reimagining purification for advanced therapies with our AXISFLOW™ platform — an innovation I like to say is “ahead of its time.” But when you’re ahead of your time, you face a simple question from every candidate:
“Who are you again?”
Step 1: Embrace the Awkward Pitch
The first few interviews were almost comical. We’d start explaining what we do: monolithic chromatography, convective flow, viral purification and I could see the polite smiles forming. A few brave candidates would nod vigorously, as if to say, “Yes, yes, I totally understood all that.”
But here’s the thing: In a startup, you don’t just hire people who understand your technology. You hire people who believe in your mission and are curious enough to learn the rest. Once we embraced that, the conversations got easier.
Step 2: Hire for Grit, Not Titles
When nobody knows your company (yet!), you can’t wave a big brand name to lure talent. Instead, you look for people who want to build, not just join.
We found our best teammates not by chasing the shiniest CVs, but by asking questions like:
- What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to figure out on your own?
- When things go wrong, how do you react?
- Would you still join us if your mom has no idea what AXISFLOW™ is?
It turns out, the people who lean into uncertainty with humor, resilience, and a little bit of stubbornness are exactly who you want in a startup.
Step 3: Sell the Journey, Not the Perks
Let’s be honest: we don’t have beanbags, kombucha taps, or stock options that look like golden tickets (yet). What we do have is the chance to build something from scratch something that could change the way advanced therapies reach patients.
So instead of competing on perks, we sell the journey. The story. The chance to say: I was there when this was just an idea, and I helped make it real.
And believe it or not, that pitch resonates. It attracts people who don’t just want a job — they want an adventure.
Step 4: Celebrate the Team You Build
Here’s the best part: once you survive the awkward pitches, the skeptical questions, and the “sorry, we need someone more established” rejections — you end up with a team that’s nothing short of extraordinary.
At BCI, I’m proud (and a little giddy) to say we’ve done exactly that:
Great Co-Founders. Scott, our Chairman & CTO, brings decades of experience and a restless imagination. He’s the big-picture dreamer who insists chromatography doesn’t have to be boring and somehow makes us all believe it too.
Alois Jungbauer, Scientific Advisor. Our scientific compass. While the rest of us race ahead with enthusiasm, Alois keeps us grounded, sharp, and credible. He’s the calm voice reminding us: “Great breakthroughs come from rigorous foundations.”
Eric Soon, Director of Technical Development & Manufacturing. The steady hands and sharp mind who turns our wild ideas into scalable reality. Meticulous down to a tee, with organizational skills so sharp they might qualify as a superpower.
Sze Yi Lau, Product Manager. Our quiet introvert on the outside, firecracker on the inside. Sze Yi has the courage to cross boundaries — stepping between science, product and customer needs with grace. She’s living proof that introverts can make some of the boldest moves.
Natalie, Scientist. Bright, cheerful, and tenacious, Natalie somehow combines technical rigor with infectious positivity. She never stops learning, always finding better ways to share her ideas — and when she speaks, it’s with both clarity and grace. Science with sunshine, basically.
Fumi, Sales. Courageous in taking our story to the world, Fumi exudes humility and adds humor to every conversation. He’s the one who makes sure AXISFLOW™ doesn’t just stay in the lab but lands with the people who need it — all while putting everyone around him at ease.
And me, Chervee. My job? Herd this wonderfully brilliant bunch, juggle seventeen things at once, and laugh when plans inevitably go sideways. (Coffee is less a habit and more of a survival strategy.)
Together, we’re a mash-up of scientific brilliance, commercial smarts, and startup grit. Curious, scrappy, and endlessly resourceful, we solve problems with whiteboard sketches, late-night WhatsApp brainstorms, and a healthy dose of laughter at the chaos.
And honestly? That’s our unfair advantage. Big companies can outspend us, but they can’t out-believe us.
The Survival Playbook in a Nutshell
So if you’re another founder hiring in the wilderness, here’s our survival playbook:
- Embrace the awkward pitch. If they don’t get your tech right away, that’s okay — find the ones curious enough to ask.
- Hire for grit, not titles. Your best people are builders, not passengers.
- Sell the journey. The right candidates aren’t chasing perks; they’re chasing purpose.
- Celebrate the wins. A small, committed team can move mountains.
As CEO, I couldn’t be prouder of the people who’ve joined me and Scott on this adventure. They didn’t just accept jobs at an unknown startup — they chose to believe in a vision bigger than all of us.
And when you have a team like that, suddenly the impossible feels not just possible… but inevitable.
