Case Study: Silene Biotech (Exit: CuriBio)

How a B2B2C Pivot Unlocked the Baby Boomer Market and a Strategic Exit

Company: Silene Biotech, FDA-Registered Stem Cell Collection and Preservation Role: Founding Executive Team, GTM and Marketing Leadership Timeline: 2017 to 2019

Acquisition Press Release

Silene Biotech had something genuinely novel. An FDA-registered stem cell collection and preservation service, delivered through a 90-second blood draw administered by a trained phlebotomist. The science was sound. The funding was in place following Techstars Seattle. What the business needed was a GTM strategy capable of turning an early-adopter concept into a scalable service with broad market appeal.

I joined the founding executive team to build that strategy and own the commercial execution.

The Situation

The initial DTC model had generated traction with biohackers and tech innovators, but that segment had a ceiling. Reaching the baby boomer market, which represented the real growth opportunity, required a fundamentally different approach. Baby boomers made healthcare decisions differently. They needed physician endorsement, clinical credibility, and a level of educational support that the existing model wasn't designed to provide.

Three barriers needed to be addressed before scale was possible:

• Physician trust: Patients in the target demographic needed to hear about stem cell collection directly from their trusted healthcare providers

• Knowledge gap: Both patients and physicians lacked awareness of stem cell collection and regenerative medicine, requiring a narrative that could speak credibly to both audiences simultaneously

• Scalability: The DTC model alone couldn't sustain long-term growth or profitability without a broader distribution infrastructure

What I Did

Market Strategy and Service Repositioning

I developed a comprehensive GTM strategy built around an agile plan to optimize across multiple market opportunities simultaneously. The first move was repositioning the service itself.

I rebranded as StemFreeze, an integrated offering that combined stem cell preservation, biological age analysis through a SpectraCell Telomere partnership, and telemedicine consultation. The new packaging made the service more approachable, more clinically credible, and significantly easier to explain to both physicians and patients. Adding BeTheMatch as our donor research partner and Fred Hutch as our storage partner gave the offering institutional credibility that the original DTC brand couldn't match.

Physician Partner Strategy

To unlock the baby boomer segment, I developed a physician partner strategy that expanded reach and created a trusted referral pathway into the service.

• Partnered with leading physicians across Washington, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to educate their patients on the benefits and sell through their on-site clinics

• Developed CE-accredited educational materials and tools that gave physicians what they needed to have confident conversations with patients

• This channel directly improved sales within older patient segments and created a sustainable referral model

Regional Distribution and Channel Partnerships

• Partnered with all Bloodworks Northwest locations as our primary collection partner, expanding reach across Washington

• Launched a white-glove mobile phlebotomy concierge service to reach patients at home, in the office, and at workplace events

• Expanded into 3 regions with 4 affiliate clinics across the west coast

FDA-Compliant Content Marketing and Donor Strategy

Given FDA advertising constraints around direct purchase promotion, I developed a content-driven strategy anchored by "Stem Cells in Plain English," a thought leadership resource designed to educate and build trust before conversion.

• Used AdWords campaigns to drive downloads rather than direct purchase, feeding prospects into physician-led conversion pathways

• Refined donor messaging strategy to improve opt-in rates and reach physician audiences

• Executed an integrated digital strategy across SEO, SEM, social media, and email

The Outcomes

• 10% month-over-month revenue growth sustained through channel expansion and service repositioning

• 1,200 customers and $1.1M in subscription revenue generated through channel partners

• Donor opt-in rate improved from 40% to over 80% in under 24 months

• 10K downloads of thought leadership content with a 12% conversion rate to paying customers

• Expanded into 3 regions with 4 affiliate clinics across the west coast

• Strategic acquisition by Curi Bio in 2019, with the anonymous donor IP and dataset acquired for research into stem cell-based platforms and technologies

What This Work Reflects

Building a market from scratch inside a highly regulated, clinically complex category requires more than creative marketing. It requires the ability to identify what's blocking growth, design the strategy to remove those barriers, and build the partnerships and infrastructure to scale what works. At Silene, that meant operating across clinical education, channel development, brand strategy, and digital execution simultaneously to bring a genuinely new service category to market.