In a Q&A with ThriveGlobal, 10x Genomics CEO Serge Saxonov says he decided to become an entrepreneur during college when he attended a panel discussion about entrepreneurship and was drawn to the drive and single-mindedness needed for such a pursuit.
"It was precisely this sense of all-encompassing purpose to build that something of sustained value that resonated with me," Saxonov tells Thrive Global. "From that point on, I knew that I wanted to build companies that matter."
He co-founded 10x Genomics in 2012, after working at both 23andMe and QuantaLife. As Saxonov tells Thrive Global, getting investors for 10x Genomics took some convincing since the company needed a lot of funding to just get started, but he adds that the challenges are what make it interesting, even now.
"In fact, if there were no difficult problems or massive challenges ahead, I'd conclude that we weren't aiming high enough," he says.