Sunil Bodapati
Chairman & Founder, Enable Medicine: Powering biologic insights to unlock the next generation of cancer therapies
One of the great things about CCL is it is so individualized, as all young professionals face unique challenges. In my case, as a first time founder, CCL has been invaluable for me. From tactical actions like introductions to investors and business leaders, to high level advice on culture and management, the professional guidance is phenomenal.
Company building can be a very isolating experience; I don’t know all the answers but feel I am expected to. With my mentor, who has been involved in startups for much of his career, I’m able to be totally open and say, “I don’t know what I’m doing here. These are the two big things I’m wrestling with,” or “How does this look? How do I make this better?” He provides advice that is both useful to me as a person and to the company as a whole. Most people only build these types of relationships later in life, but it is such an advantage to have this in my 20s as I’m going through this process. This is just my personal experience, but given the deep bench of CCL mentors, any Forum Member will have a mentor—or set of mentors—who can quickly sharpen their thinking.
On top of all that, having a peer group I can trust and be vulnerable with is so empowering. I’ve been able to really invest in the relationships with my Forum Group members because there is such a clear alignment on higher values. Through the careful selection of members and guidance from CCL, you can trust that each person is a good person and will have your best interests at heart, no matter what you share.