Be Passionate About Your Product: Interview with Dikla Czaczkes Akselbrad, CEO of PolyPid
My conversation with Dikla Czaczkes Akselbrad, CEO of PolyPid.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Dikla: My formal background is in finance. I graduated with a BA in accounting and economics from Tel Aviv University and then earned my MBA from there as well. I have gained experience over the past 20 years working with Israeli biotech companies, some of which were already public when I started, while others began as private companies when I joined that I helped bring to the public market during my tenure. As a young professional I focused on the financial aspects of companies but as I gained experience, I realized how each facet of a company has a role to play, whether it is HR, go-to-market strategy, finance or R&D. I joined PolyPid in 2014 which went public in 2021. I was recently appointed as CEO of PolyPid, and I can honestly say that I have attained a key career goal in my current position. With my experience over the last 20 years, I try to bring a broad perspective to my work with PolyPid.
Failures have contributed to my growth in more obvious ways. In overcoming failures, I have been able to appreciate my resulting growth and development. However, in addition to setbacks, I believe growth comes from our successes. I’ve experienced this firsthand through the cycle of biotech. Many companies have periods of failure followed by successes. This cycle repeats, sometimes multiple times. It’s clear that we become very focused during times of struggle, but in order to succeed you must give equal focus during times of success. While this lesson can be transferred to any industry, it is particularly relevant in biotech or pharma, where an idea can go through many transitional years before anyone sees the results. Many years are spent building a product, validating it, moving onto the research phase, and then into the development phase before a new drug even begins to make its way to commercialization. I am proud to have played a role here at PolyPid for these critical years of research and development and look forward to bringing our innovative product line to market.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?
Dikla: A key to growth is knowing how to maximize value while taking risks - especially in the biopharma industry. When evaluating conservative management versus risk management, we have to take calculated risks to ensure we are pushing our products to their limits, while continuing to hit quality and efficacy targets throughout the process.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Dikla: An effective leader has foresight while always keeping the company vision in mind. Whether five, 10 or 20 years in the future it is vital that plans be made with long term goals in mind. A great leader should not let day-to-day challenges distract the company from reaching its long-term vision. This is easier said that done. We can sometimes fail to view the connection between a new hire for a specific role and their effect on the company many years down the line.
An impactful leader will see each role as part of the bigger picture and be able to identify where each employee will fit in line with the company’s goals. The same mentality can be applied to a product design or even decisions made at a manufacturing facility. Always look ahead to see how this decision will affect your long-term corporate goals.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Dikla: I have been fortunate to have a mentor in every role I have had in the last 20 plus years and I have found it vital to my success. I’ve found that having a mentor that challenges me. Don’t shy away from being asked critical questions by those you respect, whether that person is in or outside of your organization. Being able to pick up the phone to bounce ideas off or ask advice from mentors is significant.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Dikla:
Be passionate about your product. Others can sense this passion and it will spark their excitement and enthusiasm. Think of investors, partners, patients, potential end-users; seeing your passion helps these key stakeholders buy into your vision.
Have spice. Bring your personality to the position. Whatever makes you unique will ensure you stand out to others.
Stay focused on the long term while employing creativity to day-to-day tasks. Your long-term path should be clear to employers, executives and shareholders, but you still need to know when a pivot might be needed to ensure your end goals are reached. This has helped me and the organizations I have worked with persevere through many difficult periods over the years.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Dikla: Communication is the most important factor when building and leading management teams. This may seem obvious, but without clear communication, the core management team cannot work positively and bring your company to the next level. This can be challenging but it is imperative to work through any communication issues to ensure success.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Dikla: I was once at a seminar geared towards the Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of many companies. During the session about the role of CFO in the company, the lesson was that the letters “CFO” do not only stand for “Chief Financial Officer” but rather they must stand for “Chief Focus Officer.” This idea stuck with me and inspired me to look at my role not only limited to the financial aspects of the company. It forced me to focus on the broader picture of the company. I always pass this tip on to my financial officers, and find myself strategizing this way all the time. I’ve now taken this lesson with me from my position as CFO to my role as CEO.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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