My Entrepreneurial Story from Founding to Merging: An Anecdote
Aka, if you see a fork in the road, take It.
Stephanie Pasas Farmer, PhD
President and Founder at BioData Solutions Consulting and Software
As a female entrepreneur, I’m proud to have founded, not one, but two separate companies serving the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry: the first being BioData Solutions®, LLC, and the second being Ariadne Software®, LLC. Entrepreneurship is a choice, and these types of choices can be daunting. But because I had learned along my journey to keep an open mind, and at times, go against conventional wisdom, they were less intimidating. And that’s how BioData and Ariadne came to be, and that’s how our first solution was the state-of-the-art, Red Thread software.
In 2015, I founded BioData, a bioanalytical consultancy that advises pharmaceutical developers on addressing unmet medical needs and bringing safer and innovative drugs to the market. Before starting BioData, I followed a more traditional career path as a scientist who started in the lab and then moved up to managing labs and programs. During my last tenure heading a bioanalytical lab for large molecule research, my colleagues and peers sought my advice on bioanalytical strategy and troubleshooting. However, due to the confidential nature of our work and conflict of interest with other groups, I was unable to support them. The onus to turn away this opportunity to provide guidance was ethically sound and the right decision given the circumstances, but I found it frustrating and disappointing because I really enjoy problem solving and finding out-of-the-box solutions to resolve challenges. I therefore decided to branch out and establish BioData Solutions.
Ariadne, on the other hand, pioneers in cutting-edge software solutions and tools. Founded in 2018, it is known for Red Thread®, which automates certain repetitive analytical processes and reduces development time and costs, as well as boosts consistency in the approach and results. Currently, Red Thread automates the statistical analysis of bioanalytical data and the review of bioanalytical reports, both of which are services provided by BioData to its clients. Despite overlapping clientele, starting Ariadne as a standalone company three years after starting BioData was a conscious choice I made for a few reasons: differences in funding and investment strategy for a consulting firm vs software firm; considerations around S-corporation vs C-corporation; decision of growing the team with consultants (1099s) vs employees (w2); and the ability to exit the software firm but retain the consulting firm in the future.
Although founded separately for different reasons and at different points along my journey as a startup entrepreneur, in April of this year I brought both entities under one umbrella. There are several reasons for merging these companies this year – mostly because both companies serve the same clientele, and the teams are very cross-functional now than ever before. Moreover, as the founder of both, it felt like the right decision at the right time to help streamline operations for clients, employees, and myself alike.
Founding and growing a startup is a roller coaster ride, and I have faced my fair share of challenges. Thus far, my key take-aways from those hurdles include learning to prioritize work-life balance; at times allowing myself to go against conventional wisdom; keeping an open mind; and making choices that, if circumstances changed, allowed me to reverse direction or quickly pivot to a different option.
In fact, Ariadne was first founded to answer a challenge I ran into while overseeing BioData Solutions – BioData needed a software solution to help automate bioanalytical analysis for me and my consultants. As I observed my clients looking for solutions to increase efficiencies, I chose to commercialize it. As Ariadne grew, we wanted to create more software modules, and needed funding to grow swiftly. Unlike the traditional and conventional option of seeking investors and grants, I eventually arrived at the non-traditional decision to self-fund instead of relying on investors.
However, 2023 brought time for change. Among other lessons I learned along my entrepreneurial journey, I knew it was time to reverse direction and create efficiencies and synergies among the teams for seamless operations. It was now time to pivot 180 degrees from my original decision to launch Ariadne separately from BioData, and to merge the two entities. Taking the previously siloed companies and bringing Ariadne under the BioData Solutions umbrella created better work-life balance by streamlining our people and human resources, enabling and enhancing collaboration amongst the team, and consolidating our internal resources, as well as those of our clients.
On April 1, 2023, Ariadne Software officially became a brand of BioData Solutions. We are now even better equipped to hold true to our Mission of bringing safer and innovative drugs to address unmet medical needs. And to our Vision to help develop safe and effective medicines through appropriate strategic and developmental guidance, thought leadership, and technological advances.
With our companies now united, we’re better aligned to ensure our values of Expertise, Efficiency and Precision, and I look forward to more valuable experiences on the entrepreneurial journey ahead.
To learn more about the merger, please read our Press Release: BioData Solutions announces new incorporation of Ariadne Software.
AAPS Newsletter recently published a more detailed article on my entrepreneurial journey with challenges I faced and lessons I learned: Finding Success in Pharmaceutical Startups – A Female Founder’s Perspective.
In May 2023, BioSpace interviewed me and few others to write about: What You Need to Know to Launch a Biotech Startup.