Genetesis CEO and co-founder
He’s only 22 years old, but Peeyush Shrivastava and his company already have invented a biomagnetic scanner that can diagnose heart disease in just 90 seconds.
Shrivastava is the CEO and co-founder of Genetesis, a clinical-stage, medical device company in Mason. Shrivastava graduated from Mason City’s William Mason High School (MHS) in 2013, the same year he and the company co-founders started Genetesis in their college dorm rooms. Today, the company has more than 20 employees and $8 million in aggregate financing.
The Genetesis team creates biomagnetic imaging technologies to detect, diagnose and enable treatment for the world’s most debilitating diseases. One of those is the CardioFlux Magnetocardiograph, a solution to rapidly detect coronary artery disease.
The company’s work has been featured on CNN, in Forbes magazine and many other places. In 2017, Shrivastava took a leave of absence from Ohio State University’s biomedical science program to build Genetesis full time as a Thiel Fellow.
And, as he builds a potentially healthier future for us all, Shrivastava said it’s easy to detect that his success stems from the connections and high-quality public education he received at Mason City.
“I remember skipping my senior prom to play ping-pong and talk with some of my closest friends about science, technology, religion and everything in between,” Shrivastava said. “To many, it seems like an odd choice, but in retrospect, it’s what helped me connect with incredible people, like Vineet Erasala and Manny Setegn (both MHS 2014 graduates), who soon after became my co-founders.”
Educational Inspiration
My computer science/programming teacher, Greg Kummer, is hands-down one of the most influential people in my life,” Shrivastava said. “He did not teach us ‘programming.’ He taught us how to identify and solve challenging problems and taught me to love to do that.
“Kummer let students set the pace in what they wanted to accomplish and incentivized doing smarter work, not just harder work. Notably, he did not just do this for computer science but with life in general. He is not just a teacher but truly a mentor, and sometimes jokingly (but truthfully), I would add, even a life coach.”
Giving Back
Shrivastava spends a lot of time working with MHS students in extracurricular activities. For example, he and his co-founders have mentored on science fair projects.
“I’ve tried to remain plugged into some of the business/science societies that have been established,” Shrivastava said. “But by far, my favorite thing to do is work with students one-on-one. Whether it be in the context of reviewing a new business plan or talking about building a strong technical background, on top of developing real-world experience, I think working with students and faculty in our schools yields a very realizable and gratifying return on investment. Especially when some of those people come back to work in Ohio at companies like Genetesis.”
Current as of 4/25/2024 5:20 am