Angela Priest

I'm a data geek and process nerd who loves to build people up and help them grow. For 20 years, I've been turning chaos into order at companies across all stages of growth to ensure that their teams flourish. I'm now throwing my passion for helping people into helping PhDs, PostDocs, and Mid-Career Researchers get jobs in industry. My goal is simple: to help brilliant minds thrive outside the academic world and make real impact in their new careers.

Check out my website to learn more: www.alma.me

Co-Founder and COO

At Alma.Me, we help PhDs kick start their careers in industry through on-demand courses, online communities, networking, and resources to help them make the transition from academia to industry with confidence.

🔬 Scientist

I am a molecular biologist turned startup enthusiast with a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology, and hands-on experience in both academic research and early-stage biotech. My career began at the bench investigating RNA biology, molecular engineering, CRISPR, and cancer diagnostics. The exposure of translational research and how scientific discovery moves from the lab to real-world impact made me realize how I enjoy the entrepreneurial side of science. This deepened my motivation to contribute to solutions that help people sooner, not decades later, as in academia.

🤝 Startup Shift

My path hasn’t been a straight line, and I am glad for that.  After years in academia and an unplanned short stay in a biotech startup, I moved to Vienna intending to continue my R&D career. When an unexpected pause became a turning point. I began exploring the local biotech and startup ecosystem, attending events and meeting founders and investors. I discovered a deep curiosity for the business side of science and venture building. What began as a job-search challenge turned into an opportunity to stretch beyond the lab, develop an entrepreneurial mindset, and turn obstacles into both professional and personal growth.

🛠️ What I Bring

Today, I bring a unique mix of scientific thinking, startup agility, and proactive problem-solving. Skills gained in research, refined in a biotech startup, and strengthened during a period of full-time parenting. I am eager to bridge science and business, whether in an R&D role or as part of an early-stage team driving innovation in biotech, healthcare, or femtech.

👩‍👧‍👦 Beyond Work

Outside the “work”, I am a mother and partner, roles that taught me resilience, adaptability, and how to keep going when things get tough. Additionally, during the pandemic and maternity leave, I felt isolated and decided to act. True to my proactive, get-things-done nature, I co-founded a community garden, strengthening my ability to organize, collaborate, and lead within a small team. This experience taught me that creating something meaningful requires finding the right people to work with, and projects move forward when people support one another and bring diverse perspectives to the table. 

👉 Whether in science, entrepreneurship, or life, I bring grit, curiosity, and the drive to make things better.

Zuzana Krchnakova

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿.

Two years ago, I made a very intentional decision:
to leave my familiar environment, pause a semi-stable career path, and move to a new country.

One of the main reasons?
I intuitively felt that the biggest opportunities don’t come from our inner circle. They come from weak ties, from people outside our usual academic, professional, and social bubbles.

At a recent session on 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 & 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, it was clearly said:
new ideas, new roles, and new collaborations usually come from people we don’t yet know well.

That really resembles my own journey:
 • transitioning from academia to the startup ecosystem,
 • rebuilding a professional identity in a new country,
 • entering the Vienna biotech and innovation scene,
 • and doing all of this while navigating motherhood and all the life changes that come with it.

It also explains why I decided to start sharing my journey publicly.

Sharing event insights, learnings, and reflections on LinkedIn is not about bragging, but about:
 • creating weak ties that can one day become strong,
 • connecting locally in Vienna and globally across the biotech and startup ecosystem,
 • showing my journey in real time, not only the polished outcomes (tbh, I still struggle with showing too much vulnerability),
 • and slowly building visibility at the intersection of science, entrepreneurship, and personal growth.

Networking is a long-term, give-first mindset of showing up, being useful, being curious, and letting people see what you are growing into.

And sometimes, the most life-changing connections begin as nothing more than a brief conversation at an event or a post shared publicly.
Or at least, that’s what I am counting on. 🙂

—

Thank you, Hannah Wundsam, for the session. It was part of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (ELP) by AustrianStartups, hosted at Startup House | by Lumia.

Zuzana Krchnakova, PhD

Are you thinking about building something but aren’t sure what exactly, or if this path is really for you? Are you questioning every other step along the way?

Or maybe you are excited to roll up your sleeves, create, and do it alongside other motivated people with the support of peers who are just as driven as you?

Or perhaps, like me, you come from a completely different background than business and want to learn what running a business actually looks like?

If that sounds like you, I have great news:

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 (𝗘𝗟𝗣) 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻! ✨

For those who aren’t familiar, ELP is a one-year program by AustrianStartups designed for bold thinkers, problem-solvers, and future founders ready to turn ideas into impact.

Curious to know more? Check out my recent posts where I share what we learn, whom we meet, and how the program has helped me, both in business development and even in my personal growth.

If you are ready to challenge yourself, learn from experienced founders, and build something that truly matters, 
𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://lnkd.in/dcpYCvzm

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲: 𝟮𝟱 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝟮𝟯:𝟱𝟵 𝗖𝗘𝗧

More info here: https://lnkd.in/dDeRq2Gw

Hopefully, see you soon in the Startup House | by Lumia! 💪

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

It’s been three months since I became a fellow of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. While the program’s core premise is to foster an entrepreneurial mindset, I didn’t expect this shift to show up so clearly in ordinary, everyday decisions.

The other day, I had to decide whether to go skiing early in the morning when there are fewer people, but it’s –17°C, or later, when it’s crowded but “only” –6°C. On top of that, I had to choose between buying a point ticket or an hourly one. On the surface, it sounds simple: two decisions, each with two options.

But my default way of processing things is far more complicated. As a trained scientist, I immediately see how these choices are interconnected and how one decision alters the assumptions behind the other. Normally, I would overanalyze every scenario, weigh all possible outcomes, and later feel regret if it became clear I had made the “wrong” choice.

But this time, I started laughing at myself when I realized where I was heading.

This may sound trivial, even a bit silly, but that is honestly how I have approached decisions like this until now. And it made me realize something: entrepreneurial thinking isn’t necessarily something fancy or extraordinary. It’s something much more fundamental.

It’s not letting worry stop you. It’s accepting a bit of risk. It’s resisting the urge to constantly judge whether you made the 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 decision.

Instead, you assess your options, choose the most reasonable one, and learn from the outcome, whatever it may be.

Then you repeat.
And live an easier life.

What defines a successful founder?
Not the idea.
Not even the product.
But how deeply you understand the 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵.

Three months ago, when I joined the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program and started seriously thinking about a business idea to pursue, I was afraid of competition. In my mind, discovering that similar solutions already existed meant one thing: game over. 🪦

What I learned instead was exactly the opposite.
Market analysis and competition are not threats, they are the foundation for creating something that truly brings value. That was the core takeaway from a (for me, eye-opening) session on 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 & 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 I recently attended.

The best products can fail in the wrong market.
A mediocre product can thrive in the right one.

Markets follow the logic of supply and demand. They are constantly changing, and you can’t control that.

👉 You can’t change the market. But you can change the product. You can always pivot.

And you should actually learn to 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 competition. ❤️ 

When you don’t yet know enough, competitors give you clarity. They show you how customers think, what already works, what doesn’t, and where real differentiation lies.

Here are some of the biggest insights:

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:
 • Competing on price alone makes you just another option and pulls you into a price war.
 • Saying “we have no competitors” often means you don’t yet understand how people are already solving the problem.
 • A feature founders love doesn’t matter unless it solves a real, frequent, and painful problem for users.
 • Adding more features won’t create growth if you don’t know how to reach and acquire customers.
 • A big vision is inspiring, but customers pay for solutions to today’s problems, not for future dreams.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱:
 • Using familiar pricing and market standards makes it easier for customers to trust and choose you.
 • Comparing yourself to known competitors helps people quickly understand what makes you different.
 • Growth often comes from finding the right customer group, not from improving a product for the wrong one.
 • Watching what happens in your market (like acquisitions and partnerships) can create opportunities much bigger than any single feature.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹, 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: 
Even with a strong business background, it’s still possible to make all the classic mistakes if you don’t truly understand your market.

—

How do you have it in your business? Do you also fear the competition?

—
Thank you, Nina Hoedlmayr, for the session. It was part of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (ELP) by AustrianStartups, hosted at Startup House | by Lumia.

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁.

Yesterday, I attended a 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 event organized by the 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - YSA MedUni Wien, and it reminded me how much effort it actually takes to build a life sciences career beyond the “standard” academic path.

In a time when the life sciences job market feels particularly tough, it was refreshing to hear openly that most careers are not linear, especially once you start looking beyond academia. 

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲: 
🗾building a career in a new country, 
🕰️trying to stay in Vienna long-term, 
🪪rethinking our professional identity, or 
👩‍👧‍👦quietly wondering how (and when) parenthood might fit into all of this (or if at all). 🤨

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿:
🎢there is no single “right” path.

We heard from scientists who have moved between big pharma, small biotech startups, and back into academia, often without a perfect plan, but with curiosity, courage, and a willingness to be a beginner again.

Careers shaped by detours, closed startups, rejected offers, side projects, and gut decisions. Titles changed, responsibilities evolved, but the core skills, like communication, learning fast, asking for help, and staying open, mattered far more than any job label.

What made the event especially meaningful were the conversations in between. Honest discussions about insecurity, confidence, visibility, work–life balance, and the very real challenges women in science face when thinking about family. All of this happened in a supportive, non-judgmental environment that made openness feel safe.

I also deeply appreciated how thoughtfully the speakers were selected, representing big industry, startups, part-time academia, career center, tech transfer, and core facilities, and how many strong female voices were on stage. 👩‍🔬 💃 

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗽, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺.

I am grateful to the organizers, Marina Gladkova, Daria Kholodniuk Avishan Aghayari and speakers, Anastasiia Marchuk, Snezana Radivojev, Camilla Bosone, Anna Bandura, Boryana Petrova, LBG Career Center for taking the time to share their stories and show us their perspectives.

—

Have you ever taken a career step without being fully sure it was the “right” one?

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The Battle

Angela Priest

Zuzana Krchnakova

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The Battle

Angela Priest

Zuzana Krchnakova

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Zuzana Krchnakova's LinkedIn Performance

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