Founder Mode: Sajith Wickramasekara, Founder & CEO, Benchling

Modern Software for Scientific Progress

Benchling is a comprehensive platform that modernizes how biotech and pharmaceutical companies conduct scientific research and drug development.

Company Scale & Impact:

• 200,000 scientists across 7,000 universities and 1,300 companies use the platform
• 600 employees with offices in Bay Area, Boston, and Europe
• Founded in 2012 through Y Combinator Summer batch

Core Functionality:

1. Experiment Design - Plan and structure scientific research workflows
2. Data Capture - Record experimental results and observations digitally
3. Analysis Tools - Process and interpret scientific data efficiently
4. Collaboration Platform - Share findings and coordinate team efforts

Industry Problem Solved:

• $2.5 billion average cost to develop a new medicine
• 90% failure rate for medicines in clinical trials
• Archaic technology stack - most companies still rely on paper notebooks, spreadsheets, and email
• Four phases of lengthy, expensive clinical trials

Real-World Impact:

During COVID-19, several monoclonal antibodies were developed by companies using Benchling, enabling record-breaking development timelines through the combination of dedicated scientists, robotics, and modern software infrastructure.

Timestamp: [1:06-3:29]

From MIT Junior to Y Combinator Founder

Sajith founded Benchling as a junior at MIT studying Computer Science, driven by a stark contrast he observed between different academic communities.

The Founding Insight:

• Software students had excellent collaborative tools and modern workflows
• Biology students were still using paper notebooks for complex research
• This disconnect seemed "crazy" and represented a massive opportunity

Early Validation Journey:

1. Y Combinator Belief - YC was the only organization that initially believed in the vision
2. University Adoption - Built strong user base at universities with students "living and breathing" in the software
3. Revenue Challenge - Despite high engagement, the company was "making no money"

Fundraising Reality:

• 100+ investor meetings to raise initial funding
• $600-700K raised at a valuation so low that Sajith won't tell current founders
• Dual skepticism: Investors thought biology was a small market; biology companies didn't understand software value

Paul Graham's Strategic Advice:

Focus on becoming the "de facto tool" for people who work with biology daily - if they depend on your software for their core work, that foundation will eventually become incredibly valuable.

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Ownership Mentality Across All Business Levels

For Sajith, founder mode is synonymous with having an ownership mentality - a fundamental difference in how founders approach their companies versus hired executives.

Core Principles of Founder Mode:

1. Multi-Level Operation - Comfortable working at different levels of the business simultaneously
2. Personal Care for Details - Feeling responsible for every detail, no matter how small
3. Universal Standards - Nothing can be "bad" or below standard at the company

Practical Examples of Ownership Behavior:

• Strategic Leadership - Stewarding company strategy and vision
• Tactical Execution - Willing to edit copy on press releases personally
• Design Quality - Noticing when a pixel is off in designs and addressing it immediately

The Standard-Setting Philosophy:

"Anytime you see something that's below your standard and you let it go, you're sort of saying that's okay"

Cultural Extension:

Sajith hopes that senior leaders throughout the company can also develop this ownership mentality, creating a culture where multiple people feel personally invested in maintaining high standards across all aspects of the business.

Personal Admission:

There have been periods where Sajith moved away from this detailed, hands-on approach - and those were consistently the "worst parts" of running the company.

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Disconnection During Rapid Growth Periods

Sajith experienced his most challenging periods as CEO when he became disconnected from customers during phases of rapid headcount expansion.

The Problematic Pattern:

• Faster headcount growth created organizational distance
• Senior executive hires sometimes created barriers rather than bridges
• Mixed results with executive hiring - some transformative, others poor fits

Executive Hiring Challenges:

The trickiest aspect of bringing in new leadership is distinguishing between:

1. Domain expertise and unique skills you hired them for
2. Company culture and standards that must be maintained

Customer Connection Loss:

During growth periods, Sajith and senior leadership became "kind of disconnected from our customers" - a stark contrast to his normal operating style.

Current Customer Engagement Standard:

• Daily customer conversations as standard practice
• 10-15 customer calls per week in many cases
• Constant site visits to users and software buyers
• Personal ground truth gathering as core leadership responsibility

The Lesson:

When founders delegate customer relationships entirely to others during scaling, they lose the direct feedback loop that enables the detailed, standards-driven approach that defines effective founder mode.

Timestamp: [7:02-7:59]

Essential Insights:

1. Founder Mode as Ownership - True founder mode means maintaining personal responsibility for every detail, from strategy to pixel-perfect design
2. Customer Connection Critical - Direct, frequent customer engagement (10-15 calls per week) provides the ground truth necessary for effective leadership
3. Growth Challenges - Rapid scaling and executive hiring can create dangerous disconnection from core business fundamentals

Actionable Insights:

• Maintain standards religiously - When you let subpar work slide, you're communicating that mediocrity is acceptable
• Stay customer-connected - Daily customer conversations should remain a CEO priority regardless of company size
• Evaluate executive fit carefully - Distinguish between domain expertise and cultural alignment when hiring senior leaders
• Operate at multiple levels - Effective founders seamlessly move between strategic vision and tactical execution

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Leadership Accountability and Customer Connection

The Problem with Delegation:

1. Senior leaders building "machines" - Focused on creating systems to talk to customers rather than direct engagement
2. Rationalization trap - Easy to justify that founder-level customer contact isn't scalable as company grows
3. Cultural cascade effect - Senior leadership behavior reflects throughout the entire organization

The Dangerous Outcome:

• Multiple layers of disconnection - Leaders who never interact with customers running customer-facing organizations
• Gradual deterioration - This happens slowly over time, making it harder to detect
• Cultural confusion - Mistaking delegation for proper scaling when company grows

Sajith's Solution:

• Assert cultural standards - Learned to be more direct about expectations for senior leaders
• Non-negotiable requirements - Customer interaction is mandatory for senior executives
• Personal modeling - Continues talking to customers and shares learnings in weekly staff meetings

Key Insight:

"How can you run our customer-facing organizations if you don't talk to customers?" - This fundamental question drives Benchling's leadership philosophy.

Timestamp: [8:01-11:00]

The Psychology of Executive Hiring Delays

The Recognition Timeline:

1. Quick assessment window - You know within 30-60 days if a senior hire will work out
2. Multiple warning moments - Internal "oh, this is not good" realizations happen frequently
3. Delayed action problem - Despite knowing the issues, founders don't act fast enough

The Self-Deception Cycle:

• Investment justification - Long searches, rigorous processes, and reference checks create commitment bias
• Coaching fantasy - Believing you can steer them in the right direction through mentoring
• Past success replication - Executives repeat behaviors that worked at previous companies, not necessarily what your company needs

The Inertia Factor:

• Powerful resistance to change - Once patterns are established, they're hard to break
• Ground-level awareness - Employees often know about problems before leadership does
• Information isolation - Too many layers prevent founders from getting ground truth

Sajith's Learning:

"I had many 'oh' moments unfortunately didn't do anything about them fast enough. Inertia is powerful."

Timestamp: [9:07-10:21]

Modeling Behavior and Verification Methods

The Modeling Approach:

1. Lead by example - Sajith talks to customers constantly and shares learnings
2. Weekly staff meetings - Updates always include customer interaction insights
3. Mutual learning expectation - Senior leaders should share their customer interactions just like the CEO shares his

The Verification System:

• Behavioral consistency - Hard to ask for behavior you're not willing to model yourself
• Regular reporting - Customer insights become part of standard leadership communication
• Cultural reinforcement - Customer connection becomes embedded in leadership routines

Business Context Matters:

• 1,300 paying industry customers - Small enough to know personally, unlike consumer businesses with millions of users
• Deep relationship knowledge - Knows contract signers, admins, even their kids' names
• Relationship-driven business - Personal connections are critical for B2B success

Non-Negotiable Standards:

• Clear expectations - Customer interaction is mandatory for senior executives
• No delegation excuses - Won't accept "we have teams for that" as a reason to avoid direct contact
• Founder authority - Doesn't let outside hires change core company operating principles

Timestamp: [11:01-11:52]

Building Intuition and Pushback Skills

Confidence Evolution:

1. Trusting gut instincts - More comfortable relying on personal judgment about senior leader expectations
2. Questioning conventional wisdom - Less willing to accept "this is how it's been done before"
3. Five-why methodology - Comfortable asking "why" multiple times to understand reasoning

Early Success Created Challenges:

• Initial executive hires were excellent - First management team helped take company to different level
• Spoiled by success - Wasn't prepared for executives with different playbooks
• Learning curve - Had to develop skills for managing less aligned leadership

Conflict Management Growth:

• Not naturally conflict-happy - Acknowledges this isn't his natural personality
• Learned skill development - Recognizes readiness for conflict as something to be developed
• Boundary setting - Won't let external hires change fundamental company operating methods

Current Leadership Philosophy:

• Selective acceptance - Will consider different approaches but asks deeper questions
• Non-negotiable standards - Maintains core requirements regardless of external pressure
• Personal authority - Confident in pushing back when someone suggests he shouldn't do certain tasks

Timestamp: [12:20-12:59]

Essential Insights:

1. Customer connection is non-negotiable - Senior executives must maintain direct customer relationships, regardless of company size or conventional scaling wisdom
2. Act fast on hiring mistakes - Founders typically know within 30-60 days if senior hires will work, but inertia and self-deception delay necessary action
3. Model the behavior you expect - Leaders can't ask for behaviors they're unwilling to demonstrate themselves

Actionable Insights:

• Establish customer interaction as a mandatory requirement for all senior leadership roles
• Trust your gut instincts about executive performance within the first 60 days and act quickly on concerns
• Maintain direct customer relationships even as the company scales, using insights to guide leadership expectations
• Don't let external hires change core operating principles that made your company successful

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