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