Dr. Ankit Mahadevia is an accomplished entrepreneur, author, and advisor. As a CXO at Curie Bio, and as an independent Board member and advisor, he assists emerging biotechnology companies with matters of growth, financing, and advancement to human trials. He has served as an advisor and board of directors member at Judo Bio, a company developing novel oligonucleotide therapeutics for the kidney since 2023. Dr. Ankit Mahadevia also serves as an advisor for Inductive Bio (New York) and Oath Bio (San Francisco). During his career, companies he has led or supported have raised over $1 billion. He is also a member of the charity organization Life Science Cares.
In 2022, Ankit published Quiet Leader Loud Results (Post Hill Press). Here, collaborating with a number of introverted leaders across a variety of disciplines, he explores how introvert leaders can achieve results for their organizations while still being themselves. He has spoken widely on this topic, including at the Wharton School, Northwestern University, Harvard University, large pharmaceutical corporations, nonprofits, and startups.
Dr. Ankit Mahadevia graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University, majoring in economics and biology. He earned his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his master of business administration in healthcare management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I do not have a typical day. Each hour to the next varies greatly based on the projects I’m working on and the companies I serve. My prime time is in the morning; after I get the kids to school, I like to build in at least 30 minutes of time where I can plan out the day and what’s important. It’s also when I do my best writing.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Iteratively and systematically. Best advice I got when writing was to just get started, as it’s far easier to edit something you don’t like than have nothing at all. When I wrote Quiet Leader, Loud Results, I broke the book down into its component chapters and then wrote, without fail, daily from 8 am after the kids started their Zoom school day until 9:30 am. Over time, paragraphs became chapters, become the full book. Then I stepped back and did the process over again with editing and rewriting.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I am excited that the world seems to be leaving increasingly more space for diverse personality types. Earlier in life, the extroverted archetype seemed to be wholly dominant. Lately, perhaps in our more tech-enabled culture where the written word on a screen is powerful, the introverts seem to be ascending. Tech CEOs, investors like Warren Buffet, and others are providing examples that you don’t have to be the loudest in the room to be effective.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Knowing when I do my best work. I find a quiet place that’s not my home office, block my schedule, and I can get more done in those two hours sometimes than I do in other whole days.
What advice would you give your younger self?
What you learn matters most—prioritize this over money, titles, and everything else. Read everything you can—you can learn from others’ experience, as well as yours.
Tell us something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on.
The Chicago Bears will win the Super Bowl in the next five years.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Weight training. I wish I started 10 years sooner. I hurt less, sleep better, and just feel generally better.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I write and organize my thoughts. Just the act of writing out what’s overwhelming me makes the feeling go away and also organizes me to take things on one at a time.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
I got over my hesitation that I belonged, as an introvert. This has helped me focus less on what I think I can’t do compared to an extrovert but focus more on how I can uniquely help the organizations I work with deliver on the mission. Stylistically, I’ve figured out I don’t need to be loud or forceful to get my point across and convince others of my point of view.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Early in my career, I was leading one of my first biotech projects, and I tried too hard to appear to be in charge instead of being myself. I lost my teammates’ trust and my credibility, and it was a wakeup call for me to find a better way. Ultimately, after years of practice and trial and error, I’ve found a style that works for me.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Uber for kids. Most of my life is planned these days around transporting my sons to and from where they want to go. I know such services exist, but I want one that I can really trust and that’s user friendly. (Disclaimer—I have never used such a service or sent my kid in an uber!)
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Comet (Perplexity’s search engine). It’s AMAZING. I use its copilot to get smarter about everything I read, and the research is fast, well-sourced, and accurate.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Was more like 60 GBP for the Roomali roti, ruby chicken, gunpowder potatoes, and a Limca at Dishoom Covent Garden. (Half the reason I flew to London was for this meal, so maybe it’s more than $100…)
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Kahneman and Tversky’s Thinking, Fast and Slow. I read a lot about human behavior and organizational behavior, and the principles in this book show up again and again. Seemingly irrational behavior can be explained by whether humans are using “fast” or “slow” decision pathways. It has gotten me to understand better how people think and get better at how I communicate and decide.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Landman. I love the grit of all the main characters, the business dynamics, and the interpersonal dynamics. The oil business is like drug development in a lot of ways—you drill a lot of dry wells, but one good find can have a huge impact. Thankfully these businesses aren’t 100% similar.
Key learnings
- You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room to be effective.
- Finding time to write in the mornings is a great way to organize your day and be productive.
- For introverts, getting over hesitation about being an introvert is a key to unlocking future success.