From PhD to Head of Business & Product

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As the Head of Business & Product at Inceptive in Seattle, Washington, Do Soon helps bridge scientific innovation with company strategy and commercialization.

In this role, he:

• Helps lead commercial partnerships

• Works closely with teams to define product direction and company priorities

• Combines scientific expertise with business strategy and product development

• Collaborates across teams to help shape the future direction of the company

Best part of the job:

• Do Soon says the best part is working alongside extremely talented and kind people.

Do Soon found his position through networking.

Key steps in his career journey:

• PhD ➡️ postdoc ➡️ Industry (big pharma) ➡️ Network to co-founding startup

For Do Soon, the decision to leave academia came easily.

Academia did not align well with the life he wanted to build, particularly in supporting his wife’s career. At the same time, he felt that many of the most exciting opportunities and innovations were happening within the private sector.

His story is a reminder that career decisions are often deeply personal.

Leaving academia is not always about dissatisfaction with science itself, but about finding environments that better align with one’s goals, relationships, values, and sense of excitement about the future.

1. Don’t frame your career decisions as “academia versus industry.”

   Instead, focus on what you actually want your day-to-day life and long-term career to look like. Thinking concretely about the kind of work you enjoy doing each day can provide much more clarity than focusing on labels alone.

2. Network extensively.

   Do Soon credits networking as one of the biggest drivers of his career trajectory. Keep in touch with people, form new relationships, and invest in genuine professional connections over time.

   Opportunities often emerge through relationships rather than applications alone.

3. Be excited about your work.

   One of Do Soon’s guiding philosophies is to pursue work you would genuinely enjoy doing for free and then find a way to build a sustainable career around it. Passion, curiosity, and enthusiasm are often some of the most valuable things you can bring into a role.

Do Soon’s journey highlights how nonlinear careers can emerge when scientists stay open to opportunities beyond traditional academic paths.

By focusing on relationships, curiosity, and the type of work that genuinely energizes him, he built a career that blended science, business, and innovation in ways that aligned with both his personal and professional goals.

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