Dan Widmaier with Stella McCartney & models at Fashion Week, Paris, October 2017
How did Dan Widmaier, CEO of synbio company Bolt Threads, end up backstage in Paris at Stella McCartney's Spring 2018 Ready-to-Wear runway show?
Bolt has had the most remarkable trajectory of any company in the QB3 network. Widmaier (CEO), David Breslauer, and Ethan Mirsky launched Bolt in 2010 at the QB3 Garage@UCSF to develop synthetic spider silk based on their graduate research. Initially they aimed at military applications, but soon pivoted to the fashion industry. Under Widmaier's leadership, Bolt has raised multiple rounds of funding, acquired NYC's Best Made, and partnered with Patagonia. Bolt is now front and center of the green fabric fashion movement.
Wednesday, December 13 at UCSF Mission Bay, Widmaier will tell the inside story of Bolt's founding and growth, and answer your questions. Join us for what is sure to be a terrific event.
Where and When
Noon to 1:00 PM, Wednesday, December 13
Byers Auditorium, Genentech Hall, UCSF Mission Bay (600 16th St., San Francisco)
About the Speaker
Dan is fascinated by finding the right conditions to grow things, whether he’s cultivating the broccoli in his vegetable garden, yeast in his microbrews or the people at Bolt Threads. He’s carefully tended our growth since 2009, using his passion and expertise to lead the company through technology development, expansion, and financing. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from UC San Francisco, where his graduate research involved designing genetic circuits to control microbial organelles. He’s also passionate about the growth of something over which he has less control: the progress of the Seattle Seahawks. [Bio courtesy Bolt Threads]