Introducing the Biotech Reference Stack
OK, it’s time for the big reveal that I hinted at in last week’s post: I’m launching a website called the Biotech Reference Stack that’s designed to help biotech data teams identify the tools they need and figure out how to put them together to make their organizations more data driven.
Now, I haven’t exactly kept this a tight secret. I’ve been mentioning it in the footer of these emails for at least the last month, though I recognize that’s akin to hiding it. And, of course, I’ve been talking to lots of software companies about it - both the ones who are on the site today and others who will be added soon. But this is the first time I’m formally announcing it.
In the rest of this post, I’m going to write about my motivation for doing this, what it looks like today, and how I hope it will evolve in the coming months. But if you just want to go check it out, you can click here.
Let’s start with what it is.
Last week, I wrote about how software categories are mostly defined by the high level goals that they help us accomplish, but they often get conflated with specific pieces of functionality that tend to correspond to those high level goals. The Reference Stack lays out those more granular pieces of functionality across the entire stack so you can see how they fit together. Then for each component of functionality, the Reference Stack links to software that implements or supports it.
The current version doesn’t have anything about the broader goal-oriented categories. Mostly that’s because these aren’t well established yet for a lot of the functionality on there, and I don’t love the few categories that do exist. I plan to add categories in some form or another in later iterations of the site, but I don’t know what that will look like. So for now it’s all about functionality.
The other thing about the current version is that it only has 15 applications listed, which is a far cry from the number on Deep Origin’s Software Landscape or Nitro Bio’s Landscape. That’s because rather than me trying to figure out what each piece of software does and putting my best guess on there, I’m asking the software developers to “tag” themselves. That way the information is as accurate and complete as possible.
I’m launching the site with this small list in the hope that FOMO will encourage others to tag themselves. (It’s free and relatively easy.) There’s a link on the landing page to request more information if you want to add your app. Or if you know a software developer who should be on there, send them the link and encourage them to do it themselves. I also have a long list of companies I’ll be reaching out to over the next few months.
So, that’s the what. Next the why.
I read somewhere that there are always two reasons we do anything: An altruistic reason that we tell ourselves we do it, and a selfish reason that we actually do it. And sure enough, I have both.
The altruistic reason is what I’ve been writing about for the last few months: I’m as frustrated as the rest of you that biotech data teams have such a hard time figuring out what they need, then finding and evaluating the software to do it. I’ve been writing about what I think is the right way to solve this problem, and I just really really want a resource like this to exist. That’s what got me started on the Reference Stack.
But to actually put in all the work to get it over the finish line, I needed a less altruistic reason. And luckily the altruistic motivation coincided with me slowly evolving my company, Merelogic, into more of a research and advisory firm.
Basically, I’ll be offering services to help biotech teams make decisions about what software to adopt and help software companies position themselves to be most appealing to those same biotech teams. To do that, I need detailed models of the software landscape and I need relationships with the folks on both sides of that marketplace. I’m hoping the Reference Stack will help me build both.
I’m going to write more about some of those services next week. But for now, let’s finish with where I hope the Reference Stack will evolve.
Obviously, the main thing is to get more apps on there. I’ve got a long list of companies I’ll be reaching out to. But if you know folks at software companies that should be on there, you can help me and send them some encouragement too.
In parallel, there’s still a lot of work I need to do to make the site more intuitive, and to increase the scope of what it covers. This is a complex subject, so there’s probably a limit to how intuitive I can make it. But trust me, this is a big improvement on where it started. Still, I have a long list of things that aren’t great but where I haven’t yet figured out a better way. I’m always open to suggestions.
Finally, I’m hoping to add more detailed content - reviews, deep dives, maybe verified listings or something along those lines. But all that is going to depend on you, dear reader: To be able to spend time on that kind of content, I’ll need sponsorship deals, which means software companies need to know that the customers they’re trying to help are finding them through the Reference Stack. So if you think this is a useful resource, please spread the word. The more people use the Reference Stack, the more I’ll be able to continue making it better.
Thanks for reading this week’s Scaling Biotech! I really appreciate your continued support, and I read every comment and reply.
As a reminder, I offer several services to help connect biotech teams with tools, practices and expertise to make their organizations more data driven.
The Biotech Reference Stack is a website designed to help biotech data teams identify the tools they need and figure out how to put them together.
For help navigating the Reference Stack, sign up for a free consultation call to clarify a problem you're facing and identify the best options to evaluate.
Or if you’re building software that makes biotech more data driven, find out how to add your app to the Reference Stack.