What would you do if you had the opportunity to fund a potentially transformative cancer treatment—but the science wasn't proven yet?

For Stephanie Oestreich, PhD, MPA, this isn't a hypothetical question. As Managing Director of the Myeloma Investment Fund, she helps evaluate early-stage biotech companies developing innovative approaches to multiple myeloma. The challenge is balancing scientific potential, financial risk, due diligence, and—above all—the fund's ultimate mission: helping accelerate a cure for patients.

In this episode of Create the Future Podcast with Rick Williams, Stephanie explains how she approaches some of the most difficult decisions in high-stakes investing.

She shares why the fund's "North Star" is so important, how she evaluates opportunities when there is still significant uncertainty, and why the goal isn't simply to eliminate risk—but to understand, make it transparent, and find ways to mitigate it.

Stephanie also takes us inside the investment process: analyzing the landscape, bringing in scientific, medical, legal, intellectual-property and financial expertise, conducting extensive due diligence, and ultimately bringing the information together for a composite decision by the investment committee.

One of the most compelling leadership lessons comes from Stephanie's experience as a violinist. She describes the leader as a conductor—someone who doesn't need to personally play every instrument, but must understand enough about each contribution to bring the entire team together and create something greater than any individual could produce alone.

You'll also hear how this approach applies to emerging technologies such as in vivo CAR-T, where the potential impact could be enormous but important questions remain unanswered. Stephanie explains how leaders can evaluate that kind of opportunity without pretending the risk doesn't exist.

This conversation is ultimately about much more than biotech or investing. It's about decision-making under uncertainty, managing risk, aligning a team around a North Star, and having the courage to pursue opportunities where the outcome is not yet proven.

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𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄 𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐂𝐇:

Stephanie Oestreich, PhD, MPA, is Managing Director of the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF), the venture philanthropy arm of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. She leads the fund's investment strategy and brings more than two decades of experience across biopharma, biotech, business development, strategic alliances, venture investing, and healthcare innovation.

Stephanie earned her PhD in biochemistry from Harvard Medical School and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. She has held leadership roles at companies including Novartis, Roche/Genentech, Galecto, Mnemo Therapeutics and Evotec, and has also worked in venture investing. She is additionally a faculty member at MIT and a semi-professional violinist who has performed with orchestras at Carnegie Hall and other international venues.

The Myeloma Investment Fund invests in promising companies, clinical assets and technologies with the goal of advancing new therapies for multiple myeloma. It uses a venture-philanthropy model in which returns are reinvested into the fund to support future research and development.

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐒 & 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓:

Create the Future Podcast with Rick Williams is a leadership podcast for executives, entrepreneurs and leaders who are making difficult decisions that shape the future of their organizations—and sometimes their own lives.

Host Rick Williams explores the real-world decisions behind leadership, growth, innovation, risk, culture and organizational change.

Each episode features leaders who have faced consequential choices and shares the lessons, frameworks and experiences that can help other leaders make better decisions.

Because the future isn't something we simply wait for.

We create the future by the decisions we make today.

Learn more about the Create the Future podcast at RickWilliamsLeadership.com

How do you make difficult decisions as a leader when your career, company, health, family, or future is at stake?

In this episode of Create the Future with Rick Williams Podcast, Mary Grothe shares the difficult leadership and life decisions that took her from burnout, relentless business success and a painful company exit to a new life built around faith, family, service, purpose and freedom.

Mary Grothe is the Founder & CEO of Sunday Salmon, a nonprofit in Castle Rock, Colorado, and the author of "Destination; Remarkable: Surviving the Dark Side of Success". She has built and scaled multiple companies, served as a chief revenue officer, and experienced firsthand the pressure that comes with high achievement and executive leadership.

Her story raises an important question for every leader: How do you know when it is time to make a difficult decision—and how do you make that decision wisely?

In this conversation, Mary explains the decision-making framework she now uses to evaluate difficult choices. She writes down the possible decisions, considers the potential short-term challenges and long-term outcomes, visualizes what life will look like after each decision, considers who else will be affected, and ultimately asks herself one critical question:

Does it give me peace?

Mary and Rick also explore the connection between leadership, burnout, personal identity, organizational responsibility and purpose. Mary shares why she believes leaders should not confuse who they are as individuals with their role as CEO or founder—and how building a strong leadership team helped her move away from carrying everything herself.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to make difficult decisions when the stakes are high

• A practical decision-making framework for leaders and CEOs

• How to evaluate the short-term challenges and long-term consequences of a decision

• Why leaders should visualize the possible outcomes before making a major decision

• How to recognize when success is coming at the expense of your well-being

• How burnout can force leaders to reconsider what success really means

• Why leaders should separate their personal identity from their company or job

• How trusted advisors, spouses and leadership teams can improve decision-making

• Why successful leaders don't try to make every decision alone

• How delegation and a strong leadership team can reduce executive burnout

• The role of faith, service and purpose in Mary's new leadership philosophy

• How difficult seasons can ultimately lead to personal growth and a more meaningful life

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About Mary Grothe:

Mary Grothe is a faith-based leader, Founder & CEO of Sunday Salmon, bestselling author, keynote speaker and host of the Fearless Faith Radio Show. Her work focuses on leadership, faith, purpose, personal growth and using marketplace talents in service to others.

Her book Destination; Remarkable: Surviving the Dark Side of Success explores the darker side of achievement and the journey toward a more meaningful definition of success.

Learn more about Mary Grothe:

https://www.marygrothe.com/

Connect with Mary on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marygrothe

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About Create the Future with Rick Williams Podcast:

Create the Future Podcast with Rick Williams is a leadership podcast about the decisions, experiences and lessons that shape leaders and organizations.

Rick Williams speaks with business leaders, entrepreneurs and other accomplished professionals about the difficult decisions they have faced—and what those decisions taught them about leadership, business, resilience and creating the future.

If you're a CEO, business owner, senior executive, entrepreneur or aspiring leader, subscribe to Create the Future Podcast with Rick Williams for conversations about making better decisions and becoming a more effective leader.