TQ Ventures

A cancer test that runs inside a cup. Taken at home, with results sent to your doctor in 30 minutes. Built in a San Francisco lab by a team that started in a shipping container.

What it actually takes to build it:

“If we spend ten, 20, 30, 40 years working on this, that’s okay. The outcome will be worth it.”

@luca_springer, co-founder and CEO of @numenbio

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Numen
00:56 Why catch cancer early
01:24 The first lab was a shipping container
02:28 What the data unlocks next
03:23 National team MVP to founder
04:13 Why bladder cancer first
05:33 The candle prototype
06:25 Meet Atlas, a lab in a cup
06:55 NASA engineers under one roof
07:32 The Viennese café
08:08 Pipette pong
08:46 From the dungeon to Golden Gate Park
09:28 The only milestone that matters
09:59 40 years on one problem

If you are a founder currently fighting your way through the dark, read Z’s full refounding memo.

Numen co-founder @luca_springer shows off the worst prototype they ever got back from a vendor, and why it convinced them to bring everything in-house:

“We initially worked with a third party on the hardware design, and we wanted to go for a cup design, and this is what we got back.”

Schuster: “It’s like an aromatic candle.”

“Exactly. Like, you can kill somebody with that. We took that out of the shipping parcel and just laughed for a full day.”

“It was also the inspiration behind bringing all the different pillars of the company in-house, in one space, because a lot gets lost in communication.”
@numenbio

In 2021, @ZReitano called his own company a zombie. Today, @ro passed $3B in revenue.

In between, he refounded it. New team, one brand, and 10+ products shut down. Revenue has more than doubled every year since.

We’ve been along for the ride for eight years, from a popcorn-scented office above a movie theater to today. Proud to be in it with him and @saman.

Our favorite line from his refounding memo comes from @cleoabram: “Walking 10,000 steps isn’t that hard. But consistency is.”

His refounding memo is worth your time. Link👇

Inside the lab engineering a future without cancer deaths.

Tomorrow: @numenbio with @luca_springer.