Health Transformer Spotlight: Meet the Serial Entrepreneur Behind StataDX's Point-of-Care Neurological Testing Platform

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Jul 30

Written By Nicole Kinsey

Sidhant Jena, a member of our Alzheimer’s & Brain Health Moonshot Community, is a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record of scaling companies from concept to FDA approval. As the leader of StataDX, he envisions a future where monitoring brain health is as simple as checking blood sugar levels. The company is developing the first point-of-care platform for neurology, leveraging patented sensor technology from Harvard's Wyss Institute. StataDX is creating a finger-prick blood testing platform to simplify the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions, transforming how brain health is monitored and managed.

Produced by Nicole Kinsey

StataDX Is Innovating Neurological Monitoring with a Groundbreaking Point-of-Care Testing Platform

We’re excited to introduce Sidhant Jena, a serial entrepreneur and member of our Alzheimer’s & Brain Health Moonshot. With his company StataDX he is revolutionizing brain health monitoring by developing a finger-prick blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions, leveraging cutting-edge technology from Harvard’s Wyss Institute. Originally from Delhi, Sidhant moved to the U.S. for college, navigating both cultural and climate changes. In our spotlight interview, Sidhant opens up about how his ability to thrive in chaos has driven his success and why he focuses on building complementary teams rather than hiring people like himself. He also reflects on a key milestone – shipping a million tests in his first company – and shares insights into the challenges he's overcome along the way.

What was the transition like moving from India to the U.S. for college?

It was a big deal! It was very different...culture change, weather change. I moved to Rochester, NY, from Delhi, which, as we know, New York is not the warmest place on earth. So it was freezing!

What is your superpower as a founder?

I operate fairly well in chaos, which is what a startup is, right? And I like building teams. I like it when I'm handling the ship and getting things done. I thrive in chaos, so that certainly helps me.

Is your ability to operate well in chaos something you were born with or did you develop it?

I grew up in India, which is chaotic. Delhi is chaotic, it’s a big city. It just comes naturally.

What are your core philosophies around building a great team?

They need to be complimentary, that's number one. Often there's a tendency to recruit people who are like you or similar to you. I grew up playing cricket and tennis, so a lot of team sports. For me that was how you build teams, because everyone has a function and they're not similar to each other in terms of their size and build and what they do. I think startups are similar to that. You have a technical team, you have a business team, you have a marketing team, and they don't necessarily have the same backgrounds, whether personally or professionally.

What has been your proudest moment as a founder?

I think it was with my first company when we shipped our millionth test. That was a pretty exciting time. To go from like a PowerPoint or just an idea on paper and get to a million tests in a year. I think that was 2018 or 2019.

Can you describe a low point in your journey and how you recovered from it?

With my first company, we had a failed study in 2017, and we were running out of cash. It was a time when we had to decide what to do. I mean, we missed the performance metric we're going after by a very small amount and it was heartbreaking because we spent almost a year and a half preparing for it. It often happens in biotech or medtech when you miss your target end point by a small amount. But then we recovered. Six months later we had a distribution partnership with a major strategic and we were able to raise some money.

What are you doing differently in this startup compared to your previous ventures?

I would say, don't drink your own Kool-Aid. I think that's one mistake I've seen a lot of startups make. And I was guilty of it myself many times where you believe your own hype a little too much and science doesn't work that way, right? I mean, it's either yes or no, it works or it doesn't work. So, especially in the field we’re in, diagnostics, there's no gray area, there's black and white, you know, does your test work, does it not work, right? So I think we need to keep reminding the team about that. The good times are good, but the bad times are not far away if you're not careful.

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