Thought Leaders in Healthcare IT: Sequencing.com CEO Brandon Colby (Part 1)

This is a fascinating conversation on personalized Genomics Analysis applications.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to you as well as to the company.

Brandon Colby: I am the Founder and CEO of Sequencing.com. My background is in medical genetics. I specialize in ways to convey genetic information in a very easy and understandable way to consumers or for healthcare providers.

The journey of how I came into this role started at my birth. I was born with a genetic disease that affects my skin. Although it looks normal, if I were to run just a little bit, I would have blisters all over my feet. I was always sitting on the sidelines. My parents would tell me that I was different from other children and that I couldn’t play sports or games with other children.

It’s because of that that I went into genetics with the prospect of learning how I can understand my genes and also overcome some of the control that I felt it had over my life. 

Sramana Mitra: What did you do for education? 

Brandon Colby: I majored in Genetics at the University of Michigan. I went on to receive my medical doctorate from Mount Sinai in New York. Then I went on to do a residency internship in California. Then I received my MBA from Stanford.

Sramana Mitra: What year did you finish Stanford?

Brandon Colby: I graduated from Stanford in 2007. 

Sramana Mitra: What did you do after that?

Brandon Colby: I ventured into my first startup that was similar to 23andme, except that we focused on healthcare providers. We would provide genetic testing and we would enable intensive but understandable genetics reports focused on wellness. A large number of companies were coming into the field of personal genomics. We were all searching for a business model that made sense. 

Sramana Mitra: When did you start Sequencing.com?

Brandon Colby: Sequencing evolved out of that first company where we were providing testing. I saw that the amount of data that was being provided by 23andme was excellent. The testing that we were performing had a very high cost of goods but the margins were low.

We specialized in the software and the analytics of the genetic data. That’s where Sequencing.com came from. It has grown into the world’s largest marketplace of DNA analysis, apps, and reports. It came from the concept that for genetic data from most DNA tests, it’s not acquiring the data that’s of importance but what you do with the data and how you analyze it. That’s what Sequencing.com focuses on. We analyze a person’s DNA from any genetic test and we provide very clear, straightforward guidance whether that’s for health, wellness, nutrition, or even ancestry. If there’s anything you want to find out about your DNA, you can come to Sequencing.com and we provide the answers.

This segment is part 1 in the series : Thought Leaders in Healthcare IT: Sequencing.com CEO Brandon Colby
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