Entrepreneur Bill Liao Discusses His Career and Purpose

Bill Liao is an Australian born Irish entrepreneur. I spoke with Bill to learn about his life in business, his current projects, and what he is aspiring towards in the future.

Beginning with his background, Bill discussed what it was like growing up with a mixed-race family in Australia at a time that was much less accepting and unforgiving.

“I have a  Chinese father and a Scottish/English Australian mother. I come from a loving family with many joys and celebrations including Xmas and CNY and also the embracing of two distinct languages. It was a bad time to be multiracial, however. There was a lot of grief at schools in Melbourne, being different. I was badly bullied. One incident had me being kicked by several while curled on the ground. This is not easily forgotten and it’s best to forgive, not forget”.

Entrepreneur by trade

Bill explained how it was his experience of adversity in his youth that prepared him for the world of enterprise of which he would spend his career.

” I come from a family where industriousness was a given in a country where anything is possible, and I had to make my own way when I dropped out of high school. Getting into the workforce early then founding my first company was formative and useful”.

We moved onto more recent times, with Bill discussing his last 12 months in business and how he managed the COVID-19 pandemic in the most productive way he could have.

“It’s been a mixed 12 months. In 2014 I started the world’s first life science accelerator programme in Cork and we just moved and expanded the team to become a hub of global excellence as IndieBio New York with increased funding, both public and private, and a huge role in the frontline of startups finding solutions for the CV19 pandemic. That is a major win, and it has freed me to create a new SOSV program which is a global partnership with universities  – SOSV Momentum – creating the opportunity for scientists with great technology to choose entrepreneurship as a path to success”.

In terms of changes he would have made, Bill was thoughtful in his response, stating he would rather consider what he can do today, rather than constantly mull over the past.

Entrepreneur insights with Bill Liao

“I can always think of ways of having done ‘different’ or ‘better’ at turning points in my life and there is more power in accepting the past, and wisely choosing your future informed by what you have learned. Not to be dominated by it”.

We then spoke of his most latest project, and how he is persevering despite the imposed lockdown.

“I’m a General Partner of SOSV and we are expanding rapidly despite being in lockdown across Europe and America. Our Asia operations are fully open. The Momentum programme is building, working with universities that are currently firefighting to maintain output and student numbers. It’s a challenge but as we’re working with the best, we are confident the numbers will be healthy and we are able to recalibrate to meet changing timelines and delivery systems.

On a personal level, I and my eldest are now Irish citizens and my wife and two remains kids are waiting, and we live on a smallholding outside Cork – it’s idyllic and I am constantly aware of the good fortune I have to be spending lockdown discussing synthetic biology and deep tech while looking out onto passing cows and a clear horizon”.

Bill mentioned how his accelerators have thankfully been a success, demonstrating that hard work despite being hindered by COVID-19, does pay off.

“Incredibly well – several have run successful remote cohorts and many are open and running. There is no shortage of talent. The only concern is the contraction of both the economy and of VC funding in first and second rounds”.

Entrepreneurs dealing with COVID-19

On the subject of the pandemic, Bill provided advice for would-be entrepreneurs looking to get a business off the ground in an unsettling period.

“My advice to them as businesses is to watch the cash, renegotiate everything, and go work hard to find solutions, from antibody testing to homeschooling.   I am also constantly reminding them to keep nails short, wash their hands, wear masks, keep the distance at all times, and to keep themselves safe in order to keep their teams and those that they love, safe!”

Climate change remains an issue of key importance. Bill spoke of managing COVID  concerns whilst also trying to implement environmentally-friendly measures into the business.

“When I started WeForest, the dream was to plant 100M trees, because trees make clouds. The rest follows. We’re now at 27M trees and a huge number of complementary organisations have grown into the space to help combat global warming. We are on the brink of signing deals to make the 100m come true”.

Before we finished, there was time for Bill to discuss his inspirations with me, and what inspires him to carry out his work.

“I always credit an amazing Indian woman, Lalita who I met in my twenties when she was the country director of The Hunger Project in India, who asked me to imagine who I would have to become to be able to make a difference. This pointed me towards a transformative process that had me ultimately design my purpose in life. “A world that works for all living things. My favourite quote is by the science fiction author William Gibson “The future has already happened it’s just not evenly distributed”.

To learn more about Bills work:

SOSV.com/momentum.

Link to his SOSV: http://sosv.com/

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