How Surbhi Sarna Built A $275M Biotech Company From Nothing

In high school, Sarna experienced severe pain and was diagnosed with complex ovarian cysts. Doctors could not tell whether the cysts were cancerous: ultrasound showed a mass, while the blood test was only about as accurate as a coin toss. After the cysts proved noncancerous, she decided she wanted to improve women’s health care.

After working as an engineer at Abbott Vascular and a device startup, Sarna started a company at 24 to pursue early detection of ovarian cancer. She spoke with gynecologists to validate the idea, starting with Dr. Cook, who later introduced her to physicians at UC Davis and Stanford. Sarna advises early founders to use their existing networks and ask for introductions.

Sarna says investors rejected her at least 50 times. Some questioned whether women’s health was a large enough market or dismissed it as “bikini medicine.” Two women investors agreed to invest if she found another investor, helping her raise a seed round. She urges founders to seek people who believe in their potential and not let bias undermine their confidence.

InVision Medical raised about $20 million after its seed round and advanced its device through prototypes and clinical studies to FDA clearance. Sarna says it became the first and only device cleared to collect cells from the fallopian tube for evaluation of malignant features. Boston Scientific offered $275 million for the company, and Sarna accepted, believing the product’s future would be secure.

After the sale, Sarna spoke at a YC event and saw that her struggles and mistakes could help other founders. As a YC group partner, she says she looks for founders addressing real needs and understanding their problem, rather than relying on whether they hold an MD or PhD. She finds helping founders bring technologies to market especially rewarding.