THE CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS of Cofactor Genomics is a bright little bungalow a few blocks from downtown Mountain View. Floral vines abuzz with insects and hummingbirds partially obscure the patio and its two Adirondack chairs. Jarret Glasscock opens the door with a bubble-cheeked smile and a plaid shirt and a self-admonition because his partner Dave (Messina) is not yet back with croissants.
He lets me into a house that is pastel-bright with throw pillows on the couch, a fur rug by the fireplace, and granite counters in the kitchen. We sit down at the distressed wood dining table and make chitter chatter. How are you fitting in here in Silicon Valley? How is the culture different from Missouri? How are startup people different from biotech people? Where do you go for drinks? Oh hi Dave, good to meet you. Thanks for the croissant and bottled water.
Now that you’re here, why don’t the two of you tell me how you plan to diagnose disease from little rings of RNA that most biologists considered junk three years ago? Let’s talk about your $1.5 million National Institutes of Health grant. While we’re at it, why did you decide to temporarily uproot your company—which is nearly a decade old and already pulling in millions of dollars—to join Y Combinator, thestartup boot camp known more for putting nestling consumer tech companies like Instacart, Airbnb, and Dropbox into high orbit?

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