From Lab Bench to Boardroom: Jeff Storelee, Managing Partner at North Star Scientific

In this episode, Pat talks to a veteran of the life science industry, tracing a career that spans over 20 years. Starting from an early interest in sciences and an ambition to become a doctor, Jeff shares how a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Minnesota set the stage for his career path. With insights into the challenges and decisions that shaped his journey—from landing a first job in a QC lab to transitioning into sales and eventually senior roles—the discussion underscores the importance of practical experience, resilience, and the willingness to seize unexpected opportunities. The episode wraps up with valuable advice for new graduates and those seeking a fulfilling career in life sciences.

00:00 Introduction and Purpose of the Podcast
00:42 Early Interest in Science and Education
02:01 First Steps in the Life Science Industry
03:50 Transition from Lab to Sales
06:09 Sales Strategies and Building Trust
14:34 Challenges and Changes in Sales Over Time
20:28 Starting a New Venture
23:21 Advice for Aspiring Life Science Professionals

Transcript

[00:00:00] Patrick: Super excited to talk to you, my brother in crime, the whole reason why I started this podcast is I wanted to show people that, you don't have to be in the life science industry to have an illustrious career in it. Now in your case though, you've been in the life science industry for. Many, many years over 20 years, and you even did a degree at the University of Minnesota in sciences, in biochemistry and molecular biology in particular. So you've been in it for a while. And we'll get into your career, but even though you have sort of a straightforward path, there's still some really interesting twists and turns and challenges. Like life goes right?

[00:00:42] Jeff Storelee: Right.

[00:00:42] Patrick: Your story's really interesting, my initial question to you is what got you into being interested in sciences in university to begin with?

[00:00:52] Jeff Storelee: Thanks for having me, by the way. As far as illustrious career, I don't know about that, but we'll get into that. I wanted to be a doctor from when I was a little kid. So that was kind of my path and kind of person I am is, this is what I want to do and this is what I want to do.

[00:01:05] Jeff Storelee: I either wanted to be a doctor or a hockey player, and my dad said, study harder because you're not probably gonna be a pro hockey player. I was always interested in science all the sciences really. And it really started with. The stars, you know, astronomy, those sort of things when I was a kid, just looking up in space and just sort of being odd at that and wondering, where do we come from?

[00:01:28] Jeff Storelee: That sort of thing. But yeah, I just always really wanted to be a doctor, so that was my path. Did really well in high school. Went to University of Minnesota, Duluth, and the path to becoming. A doctor was, you know, a good one was biochemistry, molecular biology and psychology.

[00:01:42] Jeff Storelee: So that, that was my path. I certainly learned throughout college, you know, you get burned out. If anyone's had that degree path it's a lot and it's a lot early. You really have to be focused and really, right around my junior year I was like, I can't go to school for another four to eight years, at least not right now.

[00:01:59] Jeff Storelee: And, and so. What do you do with your degree? I definitely wanted to finish my degree. There was a lot of doors that that could open and you know, that's kinda where I went is into the industry.

[00:02:11] Patrick: Gotcha. And did you, like a lot of people have to find yourself and backpack across Europe first before a job in the industry, or you just went right in?

[00:02:21] Jeff Storelee: I went right in. I was pretty young in terms of meeting someone, getting married had a kid on the way, that sort of stuff. So I, I didn't really have time to, Hey, I'm gonna just do this on my own. I was a early family man right after college. So I jumped right from the University of Minnesota Duluth

[00:02:38] Jeff Storelee: our former company biotechni, which at that time was known as RD Systems. And I just remember asking my dad like, you know, what am I gonna do? You know, like, I know I can get a lab job and those sorts of things. And he is like, well, you just have to jump right into it. And you know, I had gone on a few interviews.

[00:02:55] Jeff Storelee: I interviewed even for a pharmaceutical sales job right outta college, which. I just didn't like the vibe really, of at least the person that was interviewing me. And I probably could have made more money, but I, you know, I really didn't have any offers and, and Bionic came calling and made me my first offer.

[00:03:10] Jeff Storelee: And I remember, throughout college I was promised, biochemistry degree, you're gonna make $60,000 coming outta college. Anybody that's young listening to this now, that's not a lot of money, but it was in, in 1999 when I graduated, that was a solid job. 60, 70,000. And my first offer from biotech was 27,000.

[00:03:30] Jeff Storelee: And that was in the QC lab, antibody qc, protein qc, amino assay, qc. And my dad just said, you gotta take it. You gotta start somewhere. And this is your way in. So that's what I did.

[00:03:42] Patrick: Lots of learning there. 'cause your career, I mean, you literally went from the lab to the boardroom. And everything in between. Being in sales, I think, so you start in the lab and obviously you move to sales, and we could talk about that, but experience in the lab, I'm sure helped you big time when you're in front of customers talking about applications and whatnot.

[00:04:03] Patrick: Right.

[00:04:04] Jeff Storelee: Yeah, definitely. I mean, your degree only goes so far. So everybody is about practical application to what they're doing, and if you can understand that, then you can meet their needs. So, getting in the industry, understanding even from a lab level, what makes things tick from a business standpoint, you know, why are we manufacturing this antibody?

[00:04:22] Jeff Storelee: I always ask questions like, why is this one important? Well, it's gonna sell a lot because of this, or, this is a big marker in terms of cancer research or HIV research. Even though I was. In QC primarily, and then also in assay development. Even though the job is somewhat mundane, day to day is pretty much the same you knew that the products that you were kicking out really had impact, not only on the company from that standpoint, but also the market itself and research.

[00:04:49] Jeff Storelee: So I did take pride on it. It just didn't pay quite enough.

[00:04:52] Jeff Storelee: What I tell my kids. I have a 23-year-old and a 17-year-old, both daughters and everybody has high expectations and dreams. And in order to hit those marks in your life, you have to start somewhere so if that door is cracked open just a little bit.

[00:05:07] Jeff Storelee: You just have to jump right in.

[00:05:09] Patrick: The fact that you did start in the lab made you an even more successful sales rep because of what we just talked about, and that's what I would advise. I think anyone has a more straightforward path and set the life science industry knows early on that this is where they want to be at. I'd highly recommend working in the lab, even if it's just a. Four month gig during the summer as a co-op thing or a

[00:05:34] Jeff Storelee: Yeah.

[00:05:34] Patrick: University. It's a real good school 'cause that's where you learn all the applications, you know, western blot, tissue culture, flow cytometry, all that to take further later on in your career.

[00:05:45] Patrick: You never know where it goes.

[00:05:46] Jeff Storelee: Yeah. And for that matter it teaches you most importantly, the applications, you can learn the applications in a book, right? But you learn the pain points. You actually see, why? Well, that people are busy. Why want, you know, from a sales standpoint, they're like, I'm busy.

[00:06:00] Jeff Storelee: I'm setting up this experiment. I can't meet at this time. Or, I'm sorry I don't fit right into your schedule from a business standpoint, but I have this, this, and this going on. And again, it teaches you the pain points and really sales is about healing those pain points. If you can do that for a customer, understand, the issues that they face on a daily basis because you've been there.

[00:06:21] Jeff Storelee: You can definitely be much more effective in business.

[00:06:24] Patrick: A lot of people make this transition, but you. Went from the lab to, did you do tech support beforehand, or No? You went straight

[00:06:30] Jeff Storelee: No, I went to sales. So I was in the lab for about three years just over three years. And I really, didn't want to do that for my entire career. I wanted to get onto the business side of things. And I was actually talking to my dad and he said you should go into sales, you'd be good at it.

[00:06:45] Jeff Storelee: And I was like, what? I mean, dad, come on. Like, when I was a kid my dad had introduced me to a friend of his, like when I was just a little kid and I was painfully shy. My brother was the performer and I know that, you know that because he's a musician and all that stuff.

[00:07:01] Patrick: Seen

[00:07:01] Jeff Storelee: My brother was the outgoing one, not me.

[00:07:04] Jeff Storelee: And I remember my dad said, listen, all you have to do is shake his hand, look him in the eye and say, good to meet you. And then he can go back and crawl under the table. Even though I wasn't that painfully shy at that stage in terms of speaking in front of a group of people that I didn't know, even more scary is speaking in front of your peers or presenting in front of your peers. It just wasn't my thing, I'm good in small groups. But I've never been the kind of guy to run a room or feel comfortable like that. Some of our bosses have been at biotech and some of my mentors have been like that.

[00:07:33] Jeff Storelee: Never been comfortable in that. So I was sort of astounded when my dad said, you should try sales, you'd be good at it. And I was like, well, why do you think that? And he said. Because you tell it like it is you're no BS kind of person. And it would be a breath of fresh air because whether you're trying to buy a car, whether you're trying to buy a house, everybody is always in it for their end.

[00:07:53] Jeff Storelee: And while you would obviously be in it for you I can see that, you know, you'd be looking to serving the customer and mainly. Telling 'em exactly like it is, this is the product, this is what it can do for you. And he thought I'd be good at it. So I took a shot and there was an opening it was actually as kind of a, you know, at biotech and we had sales support people that helped the territory reps manage their territories on the inside.

[00:08:21] Jeff Storelee: That's kind of like what I was, hired into that role, even though, we had six sales reps in Minneapolis, all based out of there, traveling into their territories. When one of them would be visiting their territory, traveling or whatever, I would take over their territory on the inside. So that's where I got my start in sales kind of in a support role.

[00:08:40] Jeff Storelee: And I kind of got my break when. Two of the reps were traveling at the same time, and I was able to handle their entire workload. And so that kind of opened the eyes to management. And when there was an opening for the northeast the Northeast Territory Boston in particular, and so I had seven states and three Canadian provinces.

[00:09:00] Jeff Storelee: I was the guy, but one thing I really learned during that process, so I, I applied, I asked for the job initially for that support role. Well, when that job opened up for the Boston Territory, I assumed my sales manager would just say, Hey, I want, want to put you in this role.

[00:09:17] Jeff Storelee: I was waiting for him to come to me, and after two days, he didn't. And the best lesson I ever learned in sales. Was from him because I knocked on his door and I basically was like, what the hell? Like you have the open territory I wanted. And he was like, I was waiting for you to come, ask for me for it, 

[00:09:33] Patrick: yeah.

[00:09:34] Jeff Storelee: he even said like, you don't get anything without asking. So that was my real first lesson in sales is you gotta ask for the business. And I'll always thank you.

[00:09:44] Patrick: Yeah.

[00:09:45] Jeff Storelee: you Dave Carlson.

[00:09:46] Patrick: There you go. Thanks Dave. I know Dave very well too, Dave. Great advice. Your dad obviously a very wise man, and it seemed like you had a great relationship with your dad where you actually took his advice and stuff, and I can only hope to have that with my kids.

[00:09:59] Patrick: I think what your dad also meant, when he said, you tell it like it is, is because. You would be the type of person that would tell the customer, well, no, my solution's not for you. And be honest about it. Which is a huge thing, and it goes a long way and develops loyalty you know returning business and almost being like a consultant where they would come to you for even stuff that you don't even sell.

[00:10:23] Patrick: And that's how you build trust, is that person like, no, this is actually. Not the best solution for you. Go look elsewhere. 'cause and realizing it's not about you, it's about them, 

[00:10:34] Jeff Storelee: definitely, and I have a great example of that. I don't wanna jump too far forward, but when I was at BioRad I was selling, clinical controls and point of care devices initially for them before I sold instrumentation automation. And I was at one of the male facilities in southern Minnesota.

[00:10:53] Jeff Storelee: And they needed a new point of care, A1C device, and we had one. But it was a piece of crap. I was not gonna sell that to them, and we had a new one coming out, but they would've had to wait, six to nine months for that release of that new point of care device. And they're like, no, we really, really need one.

[00:11:10] Jeff Storelee: You know, we'll, we'll take this in the short term. And I was just like, I'm doing you a favor by not, so if you have to go in a different direction. And I don't ever get your business for this. I'll feel better than if you buy this particular instrument. And they really appreciated it. And they did wait and they bought it and the whole system ended up making that purchase.

[00:11:31] Jeff Storelee: So me sacrificing, I don't know, you know, a thousand dollars in commission ended up making me a lot more money down the line. And also it was just the right thing to do.

[00:11:41] Patrick: And not only that, but more importantly, you gain a customer's respect, 

[00:11:45] Jeff Storelee: yeah, absolutely. They'll always trust you. And that's the key, like you said, building trust, knowing that you're not gonna sell them up the river. The biggest part of it too, and I told them and humor that I don't wanna be coming back here every week because you're having problems with this thing.

[00:12:00] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:12:01] Jeff Storelee: And that's the thing is like putting, the problem solving when your customers aren't happy, where you're with your product, that's where you really earn that trust beyond just not selling them something that, they wouldn't want.

[00:12:11] Patrick: You mentioned you being a shy kid and being an introvert, to some people shock as well. I'm an introvert as well. Having been through many sales meetings and many sales trainings and having led sales teams, I can now say, they come in all different size and colors and shapes and forms. It's not about, if you're introvert or extrovert. It's about, if you understand what we just talked about, to build relationships, how to gain trust, being truthful, telling it like it is, and understanding it's not about you. It's about them. uncovering their needs. And if you have that sort of care and attention and focus, it doesn't matter what you are. 

[00:12:54] Jeff Storelee: Definitely. 

[00:12:55] Patrick: You learned that.

[00:12:56] Jeff Storelee: Having great interest in the subject matter is key and a grasp of it. If I had felt like I had a good grasp of something, my initial presentations were probably awful compared to what I could give. Today, of course, you refine your skills and everything, but that's definitely the truth.

[00:13:11] Patrick: Do you have a story related to that where you kind of had to get over the hump?

[00:13:15] Jeff Storelee: Yeah. My first sales trip was to Boston and if anyone's worked out there, they're hard asses and in a good way, like I always felt like not only some of the best business I conducted, but also I appreciated the fact that the customers weren't full of crap either. You know, they were telling me exactly what they needed and if they move forward with you, you better be able to deliver.

[00:13:38] Jeff Storelee: It wasn't a wake up call 'cause I was green. But it kind of set the tone for my career. I also, learned to be a good negotiator early because of, working with those folks. I recognized early like, Hey, it's just their job to try to get as much outta you as they possibly can. But it's also your job to give a little, but also have those hard lines, you know, areas that you're not gonna cross like, no, I value my product more than that.

[00:14:03] Jeff Storelee: So I did learn how to take it, so to speak, as a salesperson. But I also learned how to stand on my two feet and be strong. And that really kind of shaped my career going forward as working in the northeast.

[00:14:17] Patrick: Yeah, you definitely do develop a thicker skin for sure, and learn not to take everything. 

[00:14:23] Jeff Storelee: Yeah.

[00:14:23] Patrick: in the beginning of our careers, that's what we do, right? We take everything to heart.

[00:14:27] Jeff Storelee: Yep.

[00:14:29] Patrick: But once you get over that hump, you're able to focus and see clearly in the bigger picture, all that. In your opinion, Jeff, the role of a salesperson then versus the role of a salesperson in 2025, what is the main difference?

[00:14:47] Jeff Storelee: Pressure. I think there's a lot more pressure to deliver the numbers. There's always been pressure to deliver. I mean, you always wanted to hit your territory number. The economy's different. It's a lot more cutthroat than it used to be.

[00:15:01] Jeff Storelee: And the economy now, in terms of our business is much more packed tight. When I was younger whether it was at Bio-Rad or biotech early in my career. The big players out there. And there were a, a couple smaller companies and startups and small biotechs that competed with us.

[00:15:19] Jeff Storelee: But, we were so well known and there were less options. Now, there are many, many more options. There are a ton of different companies. We see them every day. We're the ones contacting these companies, looking for partnerships with them. So I think overall. The competition is tougher.

[00:15:37] Jeff Storelee: And the pressure from your company if you're working in corporate America is tougher than it was back in the day. And again, it's not to say that there wasn't pressure. I mean, everybody wanted hit their numbers and succeed. But I see it all the time, there's so much pressure to deliver.

[00:15:54] Jeff Storelee: Even. Without tools, you know, all the tools you need and, and those sorts of things. So I think that that's the biggest difference. As far as the role with the customer, I think it's exactly the same. A good sales person always is a consultant. You're working with the customer, listening to what their needs are and trying to create a solution for them to make their lives easier.

[00:16:17] Jeff Storelee: And that was the same back then as it is now. The best sales reps have that attitude and that approach.

[00:16:25] Patrick: Absolutely. I think one of the big differences as well is. You know, because of technology, you would think it'd be easier to reach out to customers and to build that relationship, that bond. but it's almost like it's harder to get in-person meetings at this point because customers are just so used to seeing you on the screen.

[00:16:45] Jeff Storelee: Yep.

[00:16:46] Patrick: and nothing as, you know, beats in person. And so you're missing a lot of that body language and the little intricacies of. a conversation happens, that's one thing I notice as well.

[00:16:56] Jeff Storelee: Yeah, thank you, COVID. 'cause that's what really did, I mean, we did have video conferencing and all that kind of stuff, but the best business still is conducted in person. On both sides. You get the measure of the person for one thing. On both sides and, you know, to really generate trust.

[00:17:12] Jeff Storelee: I still feel that handshakes are important. Also from a sales standpoint, it is much harder to understand, you know, there, there aren't as many tells on a video conference. If a customer is tuned out. It's harder to see that on a call 

[00:17:28] Jeff Storelee: it's much harder to feel the vibe of the room, so to speak. 

[00:17:32] Patrick: Call and like half the customers have their cameras off, you know?

[00:17:36] Jeff Storelee: yeah, that's right. It's unfortunate now, it has made us more efficient. We're able to have more meetings maybe. When I was at BioRad for instance, we had some metrics while I was in the field. You know, we had to average. Three sales calls in person visits a day, however you arrange them, we were free to do all that.

[00:17:53] Jeff Storelee: So when you think about it nowadays, two or three calls Doesn't seem like a lot. A lot of people have a lot more. But the value of the calls that I had with my customers was much higher in person than it ever has been on a conference call unless you already know the person.

[00:18:09] Patrick: Typically you would stay there. Than like a video call or,

[00:18:13] Jeff Storelee: Yeah, and then you'd have the opportunity to meet other people while you're there. That's another thing. You're able to touch more bases while you're on, on campus, so to speak in an institution.

[00:18:23] Jeff Storelee: And then when you're sitting in a meeting, let's say you have a really good one with a couple people about whatever topic they're like. Hey, you know, Dr. So-and-so, or my colleague definitely would be interested in, in hearing what you have to say too. Let me introduce you to him and, and so you go introduce yourself to the guy or a gal and, set a meeting maybe, Hey, I'll, I'll be in touch.

[00:18:44] Jeff Storelee: I'll send you an email. And so I do think in person networking is so much easier in person.

[00:18:50] Patrick: , absolutely. I find the art of the small talk as well is lost, and I think that's where you really build relationship with customers, right? That those kind of conversations walk in from the door to their office or asking you if you want a coffee and you say yes. So you walk to the. Cafeteria and

[00:19:07] Jeff Storelee: Yeah,

[00:19:08] Patrick: you have in between the actual official meeting, that's where you get that bond. Right?

[00:19:14] Jeff Storelee: definitely.

[00:19:14] Patrick: hey, do they have kids? Oh, I have kids. Do they? They like

[00:19:17] Jeff Storelee: Yep.

[00:19:18] Patrick: I got a dog. You know, that kind of stuff.

[00:19:20] Jeff Storelee: Now the only way if you know, if you have a pet is if your cat walks in front of the screen, whatever. So I agree. And you do build friendships because the customers, particularly when I was really on the road a lot, they knew me. I knew them. You know them personally, you know, if they, had a loss in their family.

[00:19:37] Jeff Storelee: I remember when my dad passed away I had to reschedule some of my meetings and. It was therapeutic to go and meet with my customers, that next week, you know, I got hugs and, you know, it was real bond. They were professional friendships.

[00:19:50] Jeff Storelee: People care about you and yeah, the small talk is lost. You don't talk about, the NBA playoffs or the wild playing tonight, even when I presented a bio plex instrumentation at Marquette General in the upper peninsula of Michigan it was a late afternoon presentation and afterwards the guy was like, are you staying in town?

[00:20:10] Jeff Storelee: I was like, yeah, I'm just staying at the Hampton in. He was like, let's go grab some dinner and a beer. 

[00:20:14] Patrick: Those days.

[00:20:16] Jeff Storelee: I mean, that is so, it's powerful because then, you just really get to know people and so yeah, we've lost,

[00:20:23] Patrick: That supper drinks that's equivalent to like 10 official calls, you know?

[00:20:27] Jeff Storelee: that's right.

[00:20:28] Patrick: So after your stint with epi North and Biotechni, you and I. Up working together again at North Star and I gotta tell you I'm so grateful and so blessed to be working with you and to be doing what we do best.

[00:20:40] Patrick: What we love to do is finding solution for customers at the end of the day, and building that relationship and partnering. It's been really cool.

[00:20:47] Jeff Storelee: It's been eye-opening. I commend you, pat, for taking the risk to start your own company. And I'm thankful to have joined after being, laid off it's a tough market and I didn't want to go backwards in my career, but, there's only so many.

[00:21:01] Jeff Storelee: Senior director slash VP positions out there, and they're hard to get, you know, people work their entire career to get in that sort of role. And I didn't wanna fall back and, and no offense, but I didn't want to get back on the road, again, like I was before and hustle in that way.

[00:21:18] Jeff Storelee: So I appreciate that you took that risk, and I also appreciate the fact that I was put in a position to take that risk myself.

[00:21:24] Jeff Storelee: Because it has been eye-opening. You understand, what it takes to really build a company from the ground up. I've worked at mid-size or large companies and the one thing that I've learned at these companies is they're all inefficient in their own way.

[00:21:40] Jeff Storelee: You have red tape that. Takes forever to get through. Even making a product change or a product insert change takes six months sometimes at companies. One thing about having your own company and a small company is that you're able to be much more nimble and maneuver quickly, okay, this isn't working.

[00:21:57] Jeff Storelee: Let's pivot and change today. We don't have to have nine different managers sign off on things, even though that's the right answer and it will end up being implemented. But a lot of times companies, because of the way they're structured, how large they are it just takes too long to make changes and in some cases, you end up losing revenue because of it.

[00:22:16] Jeff Storelee: But yeah, I appreciate joining North Star. It's been a great ride thus far. I think we're building something pretty special.

[00:22:21] Patrick: Buckle up, buddy. We're just getting started. I know when I first started it, about a year and a half ago. always envisioned it wasn't gonna be just about me. I wanna build this thing with a team of like-minded folks that believe in the vision, that believe in the mission, but not only that, and have is to have fun, have fun with them and, get to know them and much another family,

[00:22:44] Jeff Storelee: Yeah, definitely. And I think our team is at the partner level is varied in strengths. We all have our specific talents that we can exploit to not only help, the customer, but ourselves as a, business. And things are going well. Thus far. I'm, excited to see the future.

[00:22:59] Jeff Storelee: I think we do offer a really unique service to companies compared to that of. , like a traditional distributor that throws their product in a catalog with a bunch of other companies with like products.

[00:23:11] Patrick: That's the exciting part, is that we're creating something new in the industry that. the need is there and it's just a matter of adding value and following through with our promises, 

[00:23:20] Jeff Storelee: definitely.

[00:23:21] Patrick: Alright, Jeff, to wrap things up, I just wanna ask you one question. What advice would you give someone that's considering being part of the life science industry after school?

[00:23:32] Jeff Storelee: Don't be narrow-minded in your career choices. Whether it was going into college, coming outta college, or even being in the lab when I first started, I never envisioned myself being a sales guy, being a director or manager of salespeople or really being in high level business development.

[00:23:47] Jeff Storelee: That just wasn't something that was in my thought process, based on my personality, based on what I wanted to do initially. I had a set goal of this is kind of what I want to do. And I ended up doing something completely different to the point where I'm helping you run a company. And so I just made my career choices as opportunities presented themselves.

[00:24:09] Jeff Storelee: And if you're not willing to kind of step outside yourself and take on challenges that you may not think really fit you exactly without going through that process, maybe it won't, but step outside yourself a little bit. And do something that maybe you thought you might not enjoy because you might end up loving it.

[00:24:28] Patrick: Man, that is awesome, awesome advice. And that not only fits someone just fresh outta school, but it fits someone been working at a, a job that they're kind of not satisfied with for years and need a push. So thank you Jeff. I think we'll leave it on that high note.

[00:24:46] Jeff Storelee: It sounds good, man. Appreciate it, pat.