The Most Useful Skills I Took from Big Pharma into Startup Life
I spent over a decade at AbbVie, working across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, and risk management. Big pharma is a complex world — highly regulated, deeply cross-functional, and often slow-moving for good reason.
When I made the move into startups and venture capital, I wasn’t sure how much of that experience would translate. Startups move faster, take bigger risks, and operate with fewer resources.
But as it turns out, some of the habits and skills I developed in big pharma have been surprisingly valuable in the startup world — just applied differently.
1. Thinking in Systems
In a large company, every process touches multiple teams, regulations, and systems. You learn to see the whole picture and understand how one change can ripple across the organization.
In a startup, this mindset is just as important. If you change the product, it can affect regulatory filings, manufacturing timelines, sales messaging, and cash flow. Thinking in systems helps you make better decisions — even if you move faster.
2. Risk Management as a Core Skill
At AbbVie, identifying, assessing, and mitigating risk wasn’t a special project — it was part of the job. That included everything from supply chain disruptions to compliance issues.
In a startup, risk is everywhere, and you don’t have a dedicated risk department. Being able to spot potential pitfalls early — and build lightweight ways to manage them — can save time, money, and credibility.
3. Working Cross-Functionally
Large companies force you to work with people from very different backgrounds: scientists, engineers, finance teams, marketers, and regulatory experts. You learn how to translate information between groups so everyone is aligned.
In startups, this ability is gold. You might be explaining the same concept to an investor, a scientist, and a potential customer — each with different priorities and levels of understanding.
4. Vendor and Partner Management
In big pharma, I worked with contract manufacturers, CROs, equipment suppliers, and more. I learned how to scope work clearly, manage timelines, and hold partners accountable.
Startups outsource a lot by necessity. If you can manage vendors effectively — and avoid misaligned expectations — you get better results without burning relationships.
5. Process Discipline Without Bureaucracy
Big companies can drown in process. But at their best, processes help things run smoothly and reduce mistakes.
In startups, the trick is to take the useful parts of process — clarity, repeatability, accountability — and drop the layers of unnecessary approval. That balance lets you move fast without creating chaos.
Final Thought
I didn’t come into the startup world as a software engineer or serial founder. I came in as someone who had spent years operating in a high-stakes, complex environment — and that turned out to be more transferable than I expected.
The context is different, but the fundamentals are the same: understand the system you’re operating in, manage risk, work well with others, and execute reliably. The rest you can learn along the way.
