CEO Check-In Series: Jane H. Hollingsworth
FROM WORKING WITH ONE COMPANY TO WORKING WITH MANY
In 2011, Jane H. Hollingsworth talked to Ashton Tweed for one of its first CEO Leadership Series interviews. At the time, she was the co-founder and CEO of NuPathe Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a transdermal patch to treat migraines. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries acquired NuPathe in 2014.
Today, Ms. Hollingsworth is the Managing Partner of Militia Hill Ventures, which invests in fledgling life science companies in the Philadelphia region. She’s also Executive Chair of one of those startups, Talee Bio, a gene therapy company focusing on cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases. Ms. Hollingsworth recently talked with Ashton Tweed about why she moved on and why she’s committed to helping other companies grow.
Why did you decide to leave NuPathe in 2012?
NuPathe was moving into the commercialization stage and there were many other great company building opportunities out there. I wanted to rev up the life sciences industry in the region and to do that in a variety of ways. One thing that became obvious to me is that we were not taking advantage of all of the great potential that existed in this region.
How do you know when it’s time to move on?
It’s about opportunity and learning new things. It’s also about using our talents to the fullest for our own benefit and to benefit of others. I often see more risk in staying and doing the same thing than I see in moving on to do something new. We all have a different perspective on risk and how that plays into decisions on when to move on or not. The key is to assess the situation well and know yourself and what you can do.
How is Militia Hill Ventures encouraging growth in the area’s life sciences industry as a whole?
We do that in a variety of ways because we believe that growth is dependent on many factors. One very important way is to create and build new companies that are addressing critical unmet needs of patients. We also launched the MHV Innovation Hub in University City to provide a core space for life sciences where young companies can grow and we can have events important to our industry that foster the collaboration and networking that is so important to a thriving community.
