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2 8 C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 2 when he first conceived of them," says Eric Kauderer-Abrams, co-founder and chief technology officer of Detect. But "Jonathan is able to see potential and put pieces together in ways that no one ever thought of before. He communicates his vision in a simple and compelling way that inspires people to join him on the mission." Beyond the vision, Rothberg has so much experience in the field that Kauderer-Abrams calls him "a master strategist — he has all sorts of maxims and playbooks that he's developed for how to lead and grow a company through the various phases of the startup lifecycle." Detect was born out of Rothberg's intuition in the earliest days of the pandemic that COVID-19 was about to upend science. He says what's happened since 2020 has justified that view, calling it comparable to a world war in terms of spurring technological change. "We made 10 years of progress in 18 months," he says, getting people comfortable with key processes like telehealth and home testing. "It transformed the point of care. It transformed the home. It transformed people doing things themselves." It also prompted an influx of talent to his field. "It brought together the most passionate people who realized, 'do I really want to be designing computer chips or video games, or do I want to do something in health care?' " he says. "People don't want to work anymore. ey want to be on a mission." e fact that several companies in 4Catalyzer are led by young scientists demonstrates that Rothberg is paying forward the mentorship he received early in his career. "I don't actually do anything at any of these companies. I literally just have lunch with people," he says, in what we should likely regard as an enormous understatement. "I find smart people, have lunch with them, and let them go." 'Gene Machine' His old Ph.D. supervisor is enjoying watching it happen. Arta- vanis-Tsakonas says loyalty is one of Rothberg's hallmarks. "He cares about people. We remain very, very good friends," says his former mentor. "I seek his advice as well, at this point." roughout his stunning success, Rothberg has remained close to his roots in Connecticut, partly because it's a great place to raise a family, but also as a strategic decision for his businesses, he says. "Connecticut has a fantastic history of machining engineering, and engineering discipline," he says. "All the machinists of the world were in Connecticut at the turn of the last century." at heritage has proved useful. He hires engineers from the state's advanced manufacturing companies, "and I have them work on problems that at first they don't even know are biological, but they apply their engineering principles." Rothberg clearly doesn't have a lot of patience for leisure activities — he cites writing up patent outlines as his hobby. But he enjoys the lifestyle his success has brought him. He owns Chamard Vineyards in Clinton. He has also built a version of Stonehenge in the grounds of his Guilford home. In 2013 he invested in a 55-meter luxury yacht, christened Gene Machine. He says he now spends 16 weeks each year with his family in an ocean somewhere in the world. But he's hardly soaking up the sun. Gene Machine is a ful- ly-equipped research vessel. "It has a machine shop, electronic shop and molecular biology lab," he says. A step up from the basement lab in Rothberg's childhood home, but definitely a step on the same ladder. Continued from page 26 I