Art

Meet a 26-year-old tech entrepreneur who says starting a company is ‘an art and creative process’

Published

2 years ago

November 20, 2022

Cathy Tie would consider herself an artist. Not the oil paints on canvas type, though.

The 26-year-old, Toronto, Canada, native co-founded her first company, Ranomics, at 18. It provides health risk predictions based on people’s genetic data and has now raised more than $1 million, according to Crunchbase. She founded her second company, Locke Bio, a “Shopify” for pharmaceutical and other companies selling FDA approved drugs, at 23.

For Tie, art and creativity is not exactly as on-the-nose as writing in iambic pentameter or dancing at Lincoln Center. It’s about seeing the big picture in the various industries she’s part of and “being able to be interdisciplinary and marry concepts from different industries,” she says.

“I always loved bringing ideas together and seeing connections that other people don’t see,” she says, like figuring out how science can be advanced within the world of startups and building business models accordingly. “That’s, I think, more of an art and creative process than something that is technical.”

Here’s how the entrepreneur, now based in Los Angeles, has leaned into her creative, big-picture thinking to find success in fields like tech and science.

Tie was cold-emailing professors at 14

Tie started learning about her industries at the very onset of her high school years.

“I’ve always loved science, especially biology and chemistry, loved hands-on building, since I was a very young child,” she says. But she noticed that the science curriculums they were being taught in school did not include a lot of hands-on learning. Instead, it was a lot of memorizing from textbooks.

Always a big-picture thinker, it was in her freshman year of high school that Tie decided to begin cold-emailing professors at the University of Toronto to see if they’d allow her to spend time in their labs, do some research, and help them with a project here and there.

Her work at the university led her to publish her first paper in a peer reviewed journal on the field of immunology, which deals with the human immune system, by the age of 16.

It also led her to a realization: “In research, especially academia, you’re bound by a system of academic grants,” she says. That is, if she wanted to continue doing research in that world, she’d be limited. But getting funding as an entrepreneur would give her freedom to do whatever kind of research she wanted.

She got accepted into young entrepreneur programs

As Tie began connecting the dots that the way she wanted to make an impact was through the startup world, she also began applying to programs that could help her make this concept a reality.

Tie had the basic idea for Ranomics, a way of solving some of the problems companies like 23andMe were coming across when it came to the accuracy of their genetic testing, by the time she was a freshman at the University of Toronto. She met co-founder Leo Wan, a Ph.D. student at the university, through a startup competition, and the two ended up getting accepted into IndieBio, a startup program providing funding and guidance to entrepreneurs in the sciences.

Tie wound up dropping out of college and moving to San Francisco to pursue the opportunity and became CEO of Ranomics for its first three years. She was also invited to apply for and subsequently got into The Thiel Fellowship, which gives young entrepreneurs who skip or step out of college a $100,000 grant directly (not to their businesses) over the course of two years.

“Throughout the journey of building Ranomics, I learned so much about startups, selling to pharma, how to build a profitable company,” she says. All of which would come into play in her next ventures.

Starting the Shopify for pharma

At 21, Tie was offered a position as a partner at a Cervin Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on enterprise service as a software, or SaaS, technology like Salesforce and Slack.

After a year there, she felt the itch to build again, and decided to explore opportunities within the digital health space, combining the SaaS and science worlds she’d gotten to know. And Tie realized there was no simple way to build an online shop for those wanting to sell FDA approved drugs in a compliant way, a Shopify for pharmaceutical companies, as it were.

“Shopify really took a problem where everybody had to build their websites, their [customer relationship management software], their payment processing from scratch, and made a platform where you don’t have to be technical,” she says, adding that, “We’re doing the same thing for the telehealth and online pharmacy industry.”

Locke Bio is now backed by three venture capital funds in the U.S. and Canada, according to PitchBook, but does not currently share fundraising details publicly.

‘When you don’t have time to reflect, you don’t really see the bigger picture’

Tie is excited about the future of Locke Bio and the various product expansions she and her team are planning. But the success of the company and all of the success that preceded it did not come without obstacles.

“I think really early in my career I definitely stepped on the gas really hard and worked those tough hours, like 100 hours a week,” she says. But, “I realized that was unsustainable because when you don’t have time to reflect, you don’t really see the bigger picture.”

That’s where that artist mentality has come into play.

“Similar to how artists would make music, inspiration comes at a random hour of the day. It could be 2 a.m. at night, it could be when you’re taking a shower,” she says. But she has to make time for those off-hours where ideas can flow freely.

These days, she’ll put in those long days on weeks when it’s called for, but, otherwise, Tie makes sure to work at least some 40-hour weeks to get in that off-time.

“It’s about taking those sprints, working really hard when I have to, and then being able to reflect on all the things I learned,” she says.

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Art

Calvin Lucyshyn: Vancouver Island Art Dealer Faces Fraud Charges After Police Seize Millions in Artwork

Published

7 days ago

September 13, 2024

Harry Miller

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.

Alleged Fraud Scheme

Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.

Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.

Massive Seizure of Artworks

In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.

Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.

Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed

In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.

Court Proceedings Ongoing

The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.

Impact on the Local Art Community

The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.

For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.

As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.

While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.

Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.

As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.

Art

Ukrainian sells art in Essex while stuck in a warzone – BBC.com

Published

2 weeks ago

September 2, 2024

Harry Miller

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Ukrainian sells art in Essex while stuck in a warzone BBC.com

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Art

Somerset House Fire: Courtauld Gallery Reopens, Rest of Landmark Closed

Published

1 month ago

August 18, 2024

Harry Miller

The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House has reopened its doors to the public after a fire swept through the historic building in central London. While the gallery has resumed operations, the rest of the iconic site remains closed “until further notice.”

On Saturday, approximately 125 firefighters were called to the scene to battle the blaze, which sent smoke billowing across the city. Fortunately, the fire occurred in a part of the building not housing valuable artworks, and no injuries were reported. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Despite the disruption, art lovers queued outside the gallery before it reopened at 10:00 BST on Sunday. One visitor expressed his relief, saying, “I was sad to see the fire, but I’m relieved the art is safe.”

The Clark family, visiting London from Washington state, USA, had a unique perspective on the incident. While sightseeing on the London Eye, they watched as firefighters tackled the flames. Paul Clark, accompanied by his wife Jiorgia and their four children, shared their concern for the safety of the artwork inside Somerset House. “It was sad to see,” Mr. Clark told the BBC. As a fan of Vincent Van Gogh, he was particularly relieved to learn that the painter’s famous Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear had not been affected by the fire.

Blaze in the West Wing

The fire broke out around midday on Saturday in the west wing of Somerset House, a section of the building primarily used for offices and storage. Jonathan Reekie, director of Somerset House Trust, assured the public that “no valuable artefacts or artworks” were located in that part of the building. By Sunday, fire engines were still stationed outside as investigations into the fire’s origin continued.

About Somerset House

Located on the Strand in central London, Somerset House is a prominent arts venue with a rich history dating back to the Georgian era. Built on the site of a former Tudor palace, the complex is known for its iconic courtyard and is home to the Courtauld Gallery. The gallery houses a prestigious collection from the Samuel Courtauld Trust, showcasing masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Among the notable works are pieces by impressionist legends such as Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent Van Gogh.

Somerset House regularly hosts cultural exhibitions and public events, including its popular winter ice skating sessions in the courtyard. However, for now, the venue remains partially closed as authorities ensure the safety of the site following the fire.

Art lovers and the Somerset House community can take solace in knowing that the invaluable collection remains unharmed, and the Courtauld Gallery continues to welcome visitors, offering a reprieve amid the disruption.

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