SCIENCE · STRATEGY · STORYTELLING ·
Dhwani  Patel

bridging deep-tech & strategy, to impact

A scientist by training who found her way into venture, most effective when solving problems across functions and disciplines. Currently exploring roles in strategy and operations, program management, and business development where she can bring that cross-functional range to ambitious teams.

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Dhwani Patel
About me

Science, made operational

Creating meaningful impact is my north star. This surfaced during my PhD when I noticed a gap between the work I was doing in the lab and the potential impact it could have in the field. Every career turn since than has been in service of that goal.

Having lived and worked across India, Australia, Canada, and the United States, I bring a global perspective to high-stakes problem-solving. My career path spans the bench, scaling testing response during the pandemic, and venture execution - managing due diligence, business development, and portfolio strategy to help deep-tech startups scale efficiently.

I specialize in stepping into novel domains, synthesizing cross-functional complexities, and aligning cross-disciplinary teams toward a unified goal. I care deeply about operational clarity, resilient systems, and strategic work that empowers everyone around me to move faster and build smarter.

Where I've built

A decade across labs, universities & venture programs

Creative Destruction Lab
SEATTLE, USA
Associate Director
Creative Destruction Lab
VANCOUVER, CANADA
Senior Venture Manager
Complete
Genomics
VANCOUVER, CANADA
Field Application Scientist
University of Western Australia
PERTH, AUSTRALIA
Research Associate
University of Queensland
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
PhD · Microbial Genomics
The toolkit

What I bring

Technical

AI-assisted productivity & workflow design
AI-embedded tools - Excel Copilot, Airtable AI
CRM & productivity tools - Salesforce, Airtable, Slack, MS Office, G Suite
Quantitative data analysis - genomic datasets, R, Excel

Transferable

Outbound prospecting and market development
Program design and operations
Partner relationship management
Strategic reporting and executive communications
Startup sourcing and founder support
Recruiting and talent acquisition
Pipeline prioritization and opportunity assessment

Soft

Translating technical work into business requirements
Managing relationships across different stakeholders
High agency; operating with minimal structure
Structured problem-solving & root cause diagnosis
Cross-functional synthesis
Reading organizational context and unspoken priorities
Coaching and giving feedback to founders
Public speaking, presenting & writing
Past work

Work worth exploring

Zero-to-one · CDL-Seattle

Aging & Longevity innovation vertical

Built the strategic case from zero for a new vertical. This included market and competitive analysis, identifying 11+  unique ventures for an initial cohort, ensuring minimal portfolio overlap to other CDL streams, synthesizing feedback from 10+ key opinion leaders, and drafting an operational plan which was green-lit at the site level.

Convening · 10+ partner orgs

83-person industry convening

Originated and led an industry-wide gathering across ten-plus partner organizations as part of Seattle Tech Week, from concept to the day itself. The event showcased conference-style booths manned by partner reps (prominent VC firms, other accelerators, university partners) to facilitate interactions between founders and ecosystem resources available to supercharge their GTM efforts.

Talent · STEM outreach

71-participant talent program

Designed and ran a talent-development program for female-identifying high-school students. This 3-hour virtual event saw Mentors and students engage over a bubble-io exercise inspired by the lean canvas to introduce students to early company building concepts and what it means to consider entrepreneurship as a career path. 

Other highlights · CDL

The work behind the work

Across four years, a handful of outcomes worth noting: led the strategy that saw CDL-Seattle hit its highest-ever application volume across both streams in the 2025-26 program year. Improved day-to-day coordination through Slack and Airtable automations. Mentored PhD-level summer interns through CDL's full recruiting methodology - how to assess seed-stage deep-tech companies and what strong looks like at the earliest stages. Supported team members through rotational project ownership, with structured guidance on framing and scope aligned to site and university objectives.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Currently working on

NanoBot

For novice vibe-coders, an AI-based overwatch pixellated dog-bot that prompts before the user might run a potentially deleterious command.

see it on GitHub → read the write-up on Substack →
north star constellation
Get in touch

Let's build something

Open to conversations about strategy, business development, product, operations, and everything in between.

dhwanip9 gmail com Résumé
Get in touch