The Big Interview

‘I wanted to do something in health but I didn’t want to be a doctor’: Ochre Bio founder Jack O’Meara

The start-up’s chief executive has gone from improv comedy to pitching Silicon Valley’s elite in bid to find liver disease therapy

Jack O’Meara, co-founder and chief executive, Ochre Bio: ‘What we’re doing is exciting and if it comes off, which I’m confident it will do, will have a massive impact on liver disease.’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

Did you hear the one about the Irish start-up founder who took to improv comedy to help him gain confidence when pitching to investors? Turns out the last laugh was certainly not on Jack O’Meara, whose company has raised over $40 million (€37 million) to date, with some of Silicon Valley’s leading players lining up to back it.

With the man from Athlone now preparing to talk to venture capital firms about raising a Series ...