Welcome to the latest installment of SaaSlife SPOTLIGHT, where we shine a light on innovative SaaS companies and their leaders. Today, we are thrilled to feature Carmen Kivisild, the CEO of Elnora AI.
Carmen shared insights into her founder journey, the challenges of building a startup, and the exciting future of Elnora AI.
The CEO's Journey
Dan: Thank you very much for joining us, Carmen. How are you?
Carmen: Good, thank you. How are you?
Dan: I'm good, thank you very much. Busy times at Elnora AI?
Carmen: Definitely. We're doing our pre-seed round, which means that, you know, it's a full-time job. So I actually have several full-time jobs. One is being CEO, one is being a mom, and another one is fundraising.
Dan: They always say that when you start your own business, you're always working in the business as well as on the business. So, how many hats can you wear at one time, right?
Carmen: Too many. Too many, for sure.
Defining Elnora AI
Dan: So, if we start with a brief overview of Elnora AI. Imagine I'm a 10-year-old, a fifth grader, and you're explaining Elnora AI to me. Please give me a brief overview.
Carmen: Okay, sure. So, basically, what we do is that we are inventing new drugs—by drugs, I mean medicines. We are developing a platform for academic researchers—people who work in universities and do great science. We’re building a product for them so they can plan their experiments, conduct them in the lab, and share the data with the rest of the world. Then we take this data, which includes numbers and information about the experiments, and feed it into the drug discovery process to come up with new drugs.
Dan: Wow. So, real-world application. You’re looking at getting ahead of the curve before there's ever a major challenge in the world. You're getting ahead of it.
Carmen: Exactly. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies currently get their information about drug targets from scientific literature, which is often biased and focuses on "sexy" topics. There is a sort of inbreeding of topics around one disease. We are bringing in information about discoveries made just five minutes ago in academic labs. This puts us on the frontline of drug discovery.
The Inception of Elnora AI
Dan: What was the inspiration behind setting up Elnora AI?
Carmen: Before I became the co-founder and CEO, I was a regular scientist myself. Everyone I know who goes into science has the same goal: to help the planet, help people, and save millions and billions of lives. After 12 years in academia, I realized that all my work and passion didn’t have the real-life impact I dreamed of. I wanted to make a new drug that would save everyone, but that never happened.
Dan: I think anybody listening would certainly agree there's no such thing as a regular scientist.
Carmen: For all my life, I’ve been surrounded by people with PhDs. Whenever I meet another friend, we quickly shift from regular topics to drug discovery, new articles on Alzheimer’s, and similar subjects. That’s normal to me.
The Journey So Far
Dan: What's the journey been like so far for Elnora AI and for you as a co-founder?
Carmen: It’s been quite good. We are a tech-bio company, which means we have a technology side—our platform is a SaaS product for academic researchers. We also sell this SaaS product to biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, we have in-house drug discovery focused on viruses and antivirals, which is a very hot topic. We get a lot of interest from VCs. However, it’s also a tough scenario because many startups are doing similar things. Our unique aspect is including academic researchers in the pipeline, which helps us in fundraising.
Facing Challenges
Dan: What has been the biggest challenge so far?
Carmen: People. You might think I’d say money, but while we all need money, having the right talent at the right moment is crucial. I’m lucky to have a great co-founder, but getting everyone else aligned with the vision is difficult. We recently hired two amazing machine learning experts, but finding people who understand both science and coding is super difficult.
Dan: It’s a common theme among startup CEOs: hiring the right people, maintaining the culture, and driving the vision.
Carmen: Exactly. It’s tough because I lack time, especially with the pre-seed round. I’ve been traveling a lot, so I’m not always with my team. Managing people and getting them aligned is challenging if I’m not there. If I could sit with my team every day, it would be better, but I don’t have the time.
Looking Ahead
Dan: Where do you see Elnora AI in the next 12 months?
Carmen: In 12 months, I hope we’ll be discussing how having negative data from experiments has fueled AI-led drug discovery. If I can show you the actual impact of incorporating new data into our AI models, transforming the industry, that will be the main topic.
Personal Growth as a Leader
Dan: As a founder and CEO, where would you like to see growth in yourself? Are there areas you want to develop?
Carmen: My background is 100% science. I don’t really know the business side of things. I’ve seen Netflix series and learned some tricks, but I’m learning how business is done every day. For example, I recently attended a business retreat with VCs and founders. I had to pitch my idea in a sauna. It was a new experience. I need to level up my business skills, even in extreme circumstances.
Building the Right Culture
Dan: How would you describe the culture at Elnora AI?
Carmen: Our culture is based on my own values. We don’t count hours; you can have unlimited holidays as long as you do your work. We respect and give freedom to our employees. Diversity, equal opportunities, and respect are very important to me. I treat my employees as I want to be treated.
Dan: Is that how you portray the business in the talent market?
Carmen: The main reason people join us is not the salary or flexible hours but because they are mission-driven. We look for people who see the end goal of making life better for everyone. Our employees need to be passionate about our mission.
Joining Elnora AI
Dan: For anyone interested in joining Elnora AI, how should they contact you?
Carmen: They can message me on LinkedIn or email contact@elnora.ai. I usually reply to all messages. Respect is important to me, so I try to respond to everyone.
Fundraising and Future Plans
Dan: Are you still looking for VC investors?
Carmen: Yes and no. We started fundraising three weeks ago, and we have long-term interest from VCs. We’re trying to finalize the details, but there’s still potential for others to join us and change the world together.
Dan: Congratulations on the Focal announcement as well. Can you give us a brief overview?
Carmen: Focal is a demo day without an accelerator program. They received 2100 applications and chose 35 companies to pitch. The quality of startups and founders was incredible. It has brought a lot of attention to us, and I still get emails from VCs who saw our pitch.
Advice for Aspiring Founders
Dan: What advice would you give to anyone looking to set up a SaaS business?
Carmen: Put your whole self in. You can’t do it as a side business. If you don’t believe in yourself enough, why will anyone else? Show commitment so others can also commit.
For those interested in learning more about joining or investing in Elnora AI, you can reach Carmen on LinkedIn or via email at contact@elnora.ai.
Conclusion
From inception to future aspirations, Elnora AI's use of modern technology not only has real world application but it has the potential to impact millions and save lives!
To listen to the full interview - please check it out!
Stay tuned for more insights from SaaSlife SPOTLIGHT as we continue to shine a light on the brightest stars in the industry.