Getting personal with Elena Viboch

Elena Viboch has a sense of humor, but not when it comes to astrology. Asked for her sign and whether it fits her personality, she replies: “I invest in science.”

Viboch joined General Catalyst as a partner in January after three years as an investment director at the SoftBank Vision Fund, where she helped build its healthcare portfolio. Her investments include Vividion Therapeutics, which was acquired by Bayer for $1.5 billion in August 2021; and Devoted Health, which had a pre-money valuation of $11.5 billion in its Series D round in September 2021, according to PitchBook.

Viboch learned the inner workings of biotech start-ups with stints in business development and operations at Carmot Therapeutics, FLX Bio and NanoString Technologies. “I always wanted to be a scientist, and I became curious about the path that connects basic research to biotechnology products,” she says in her GC bio.

What’s the most important thing on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?

Be in a Broadway show. (Anybody? Anybody?)

What is the best gift you ever received?

A watch! It had symbolic meaning.

Last book you read, and would you recommend?

Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent, and Cure to Advance Health and Well-Being by Lloyd Minor. Absolutely – it’s a great book.

If you had a warning label, what would it say?

Prickly!

If you could pass one law, what would it be?

No queue-jumping in organ transplants.

Best memory of childhood?

Learning how to bodysurf.

What’s the most unusual thing in your home?

A duck-shaped ice cube maker.

Best pizza topping?

Burrata with chili oil.

Your favorite band or musical artist?

Maisie Peters [a British indie-pop star].

What’s your astrological sign and does it reflect your personality?

I invest in science.