Redefining Male Fertility: Inside Inherent Biosciences’ Growth
Inherent Biosciences began with a mix of personal motivation, professional experience, and a bit of serendipity. From there, co-founders Andy Olson and Dr. Kristin Brogaard applied their research and business expertise, along with a strategic funding approach and remarkable persistence, to build Inherent Biosciences into a leading deep-tech startup.
Andy Olson, Inherent CEO, became interested in fertility after close friends endured years of unsuccessful and expensive infertility treatments. Despite extensive testing, they were told their condition was “unexplained infertility.” Olson, a veteran of molecular diagnostics with years of experience commercializing clinical technologies, quickly identified a glaring gap: while female partners undergo intensive diagnostics, male evaluation still relies largely on decades-old microscopy, even though male factors contribute to roughly half of infertility cases.
As Olson explored better solutions, he discovered promising sperm epigenetics research that had been developed over decades at the University of Utah and other institutions. While assembling the intellectual property portfolio and laying the groundwork for a startup, he worked out of a co-working space when a chance Slack message from a fellow member led him to Dr. Kristin Brogaard, now Inherent CSO, but then a PhD epigeneticist with prior founder experience at a scientific wellness start-up, Arivale. Their initial meeting was supposed to last 30 minutes, but stretched into hours, and within weeks, they decided to move forward as co-founders.
Together, they built Inherent Biosciences around a powerful scientific insight: epigenetic patterns can reveal whether a cell is capable of performing its biological function. Applied to sperm, this insight enables molecular-level diagnosis of male infertility—far beyond traditional measures like count and motility. The company’s technology assesses sperm health at the DNA-regulatory level, giving physicians and patients a clearer understanding of infertility and helping them choose treatments with a higher chance of success. To bring these diagnostics to market, Inherent Biosciences operates under the commercial brand Path Fertility, providing accessible testing paired with telehealth consultations.
From the start, Inherent Biosciences took a strategic approach to funding. Like many deep-tech startups, the company first relied on friends-and-family support and early angel investment to get off the ground. That initial capital was critical for covering foundational expenses, particularly patent prosecution, intellectual property licensing, and early operating costs.
After covering these early costs, Inherent Biosciences turned to federal non-dilutive funding to support its research and development work. Olson first learned about the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program through a workshop hosted by the Utah Innovation Center (now Nucleus Grow). Like many first-time applicants, they found the application process was complex and the instructions overwhelming. As Brogaard later described, the initial attempt was “brutal,” and the first submissions were unsuccessful.
What made the difference was the guidance and candid feedback they received from the Utah Innovation Center team. Brogaard points to that early support as a turning point, noting that the team helped them see the process clearly.
“They were so kind,” she said, “because they basically told us this didn’t make any sense and it was horrible, but they said it in the nicest way possible.” Instead of discouraging them, that honesty reset their expectations and reinforced a critical lesson: SBIR is not one-and-done, but a long-term process.
With that mindset, Inherent Biosciences persisted. Over time, the team refined its scientific storytelling, improved its grant strategy, and committed to resubmission. Brogaard has written every grant the company has submitted—45 in total—leading to multiple Phase I, Phase II, and Fast-Track awards. To date, the company has secured more than $4 million in non-dilutive SBIR funding, with additional awards pending.
The value of SBIR went beyond the funding. The process pushed the team to organize its science and commercial path while building relationships with key opinion leaders. Even the applications that weren’t funded helped strengthen the company, which Brogaard noted was unexpected and a benefit that she did not appreciate initially.
In parallel with SBIR funding, Inherent Biosciences continued to leverage private capital. Early investment, including support from the Nucleus Fund, Utah’s state-backed venture capital fund and sister program of Nucleus Grow, remained an important complement to the SBIR grants. Together, these funding sources reinforced one another: SBIR wins signaled scientific rigor and technical validation to investors, while private investment strengthened the company’s competitiveness for federal awards. This blended financing strategy enabled Inherent Biosciences to extend its runway, advance multiple applications, and scale without excessive dilution.
While male infertility remains Inherent Biosciences’ beachhead, the company is expanding its epigenetic diagnostics platform for reproductive health by developing multiple new products. With the world’s largest dataset on sperm epigenetics and a product already on the market, the team is entering its next phase of growth. Their progress demonstrates what Utah-based deep tech startups can achieve with strong science, the right support, persistence, and a bit of luck.
Companies interested in pursuing dilutive funding through the Nucleus Fund or non-dilutive research and development funding through the federal SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs can contact the Nucleus Institute at Grow@Nucleusutah.org.