McNeil Innovators: Sofia Tahseen works on her biotech startup goals

Sofia Tahseen didn't plan on becoming an engineer.

The Mines sophomore hopes to start her own biotech company someday, so she was originally looking mainly at business schools. But to be successful in biotechnology, Tahseen realized it might be better to have a STEM degree.

“That’s why I chose to do engineering right now and focus on business afterwards,” she said. “I want to join the pharmaceutical industry and build a biotech startup for cancer therapy. I want to challenge myself and test the extent to which I can succeed.”

Because her chemical and biological engineering major is so science-focused, she thought she might have to put her entrepreneurial ideas on hold. Thanks to some encouragement from a friend — and a chance seating arrangement at a campus event — Tahseen is already seeing her ideas take shape, thanks to the McNeil Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Q: How did you first find out about McNeil?

Sofia Tahseen: I knew I was going to take engineering classes and also keep that business idea behind me. When I first got to Mines, I was talking to one of my friends who’s very entrepreneurial focused. He joined Evolve [Mines Entrepreneurship Club] and brought me in, and that’s basically how it all started. I started attending a few events here and there to network and learn more about the businesses that people were in.

Q: What is an experience you’ve had through McNeil that was impactful on your entrepreneurship journey?

Tahseen: I attended Evolve’s Women in Entrepreneurship Night, where they had a panel of speakers talking about their experience starting businesses and going to that event led to an internship at Access Mode. A woman who sat next to me at the event just started asking basic questions like “What’s your name? What's your major?” I didn’t know who she was until she told me to add her on LinkedIn. I did and reached out to her that night. Her name is Zaneta Kelsey, and she’s the co-founder and CEO of Access Mode. I started attending their events and she ended up offering me an internship.

Q: How was your experience as an intern for Access Mode?

Tahseen: The organization has a startup accelerator program, so this summer I worked alongside nine founders who were actively scaling their startups. I did some behind the scenes work by planning their schedules and inviting panelists with diverse backgrounds such as angel investors, venture capitalists, marketing experts, sales people, etc. I also sat in on these panels and gained a lot of valuable insights on how to grow and expand a business. The firsthand experience allowed me to gain a new perspective on what it takes to execute ideas. I also worked on coordinating a Demo Day, where the founders pitched their company. From timing their pitches in the program room, to watching them take stage, it was truly an inspiring experience.

I liked learning about how they were all working together. They had different startups and ideas, but they gave each other incredible feedback. Just building that community and those connections and being among like-minded people has been really helpful.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

Tahseen: I am definitely thinking about how I can build my startup now. I know from working at Access Mode that it takes a lot of time and effort, so I want to plan out when the best time would be to start executing my plan in relation to my engineering degree. I will be working with Access Mode until the end of September, mainly focusing on Colorado Startup Week and attending various events.

Before my internship, I was mostly just trying to get through my first year of engineering classes. But after I actually got into the startup mindset over the summer, working alongside founders, now I’m like, OK, how can I get more involved in McNeil and at the Beck Venture Center and how do I expand my network here to move forward? I’m also planning on joining the leadership board of Evolve and hopefully developing the club even more with the expertise I gained this summer.

Learn more about the McNeil Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation: https://mcneil.mines.edu/