Meet Denisa Kim

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Denisa Kim. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Denisa below.

Hi Denisa, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

I was born in South Korea and raised in Romania—two places where identity, language, and expectations rarely aligned. I grew up navigating the in-between, learning early on how to adapt, observe, and carve space where none was given. I became the first engineer in my family and later found myself studying and working in industries that were overwhelmingly male and often privileged—rooms where I rarely saw anyone who looked like me or shared my story.

Instead of letting that isolate me, I used it as fuel. I learned to hold my ground, ask better questions, and become fluent in both technical detail and human nuance. Building a biotech startup from scratch, while working full-time and bootstrapping in Boston—one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.—wasn’t just difficult, it was personal. I didn’t have a safety net. I had grit, lived experience, and a deep conviction that the healthcare system was failing people like me.

Being the only one in the room means I often have to prove I belong before I even speak—but over time, I’ve turned that into a strategy. I lead with clarity, I build through collaboration, and I make sure no one else with an unconventional path feels like they need to ask permission to innovate.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m the founder and CEO of Anteros Bio, a biotech startup reshaping how we think about intimacy and health. We’re building the first at-home partner health testing kit—designed to help couples understand how their urogenital microbiomes interact, and how imbalances between partners can lead to recurring infections like UTIs, BV, yeast infections, infertility, and more.

My motivation is deeply personal. In a previous relationship that lasted nearly three years, I had over a dozen urinary tract infections. It was exhausting—physically, emotionally, and financially. Meanwhile, my partner stood on the sidelines feeling confused, guilty, and helpless. No one could give us answers beyond vague hygiene tips or antibiotics. It became clear: we weren’t treating the dynamic between partners, just the individual symptoms. That disconnect is what inspired me to start Anteros Bio.

I was born in South Korea, raised in Romania, and became the first engineer in my family. I’ve spent the last several years studying and working in male-dominated, high-pressure environments—from corporate conglomerates to academic labs—where I was often the only woman, the only immigrant, and the only one who didn’t come from a traditional path. But that perspective is what gives me an edge. I see what others overlook, especially in healthcare.

What makes Anteros special isn’t just the science—it’s the shift in accountability. We’re not just empowering individuals, we’re inviting couples to understand and own their health together. Our team recently finalized our core product, completed a successful MVP pilot, secured a utility patent, and we’re now continuing innovating upon our technology.
At its core, Anteros Bio is about transforming confusion into clarity, guilt into empathy, and silence into science-backed conversation.

We’re not just creating a product—we’re building a movement around partner health.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Resourcefulness
I didn’t have a trust fund, a cofounder from Stanford, or a background in microbiology. But I did have relentless curiosity and the ability to figure things out quickly. Whether it was decoding clinical literature, navigating regulatory hurdles, or bootstrapping a biotech company in Boston while working full-time—I learned to stretch every dollar, connection, and opportunity.
*Advice:* Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Start messy, ask questions, and find creative ways to make progress with what you have. Resourcefulness is a muscle—build it early.

2. Storytelling
In rooms where I didn’t look or sound like anyone else, storytelling became my bridge. It helped investors, advisors, and even skeptical scientists understand the urgency and humanity behind what we’re building at Anteros Bio. A dozen UTIs in a three-year relationship isn’t just data—it’s a wake-up call.
*Advice:* Learn to tell your story in a way that connects. People invest in people before they invest in ideas. The more personal, clear, and compelling your “why,” the more people will want to help you build.

3. Conviction
There were countless moments I could’ve pivoted to something safer or more conventional. But conviction—grounded in personal experience and the gap I saw in the market—kept me going. It’s what helped me file a utility patent before raising a dollar, build a team, and keep pushing when it got hard (which it often did).
*Advice:* Build your conviction by staying close to the problem you’re solving. When your mission is personal, it becomes much harder to walk away—and much easier to lead with clarity.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

At Anteros Bio, we’re entering a phase of growth where the right collaborators can make a massive difference—not just in the success of the company, but in the future of how we approach partner health.

We’re actively looking for:

Private partners who are passionate about investing in bold, science-backed innovation that addresses overlooked issues in intimacy and healthcare
A Head of Science with strong microbiome or sexual health expertise who can guide our research roadmap and deepen our clinical impact
A Head of Engineering to help scale and optimize our testing infrastructure for both lab and digital delivery
A Head of AI to support predictive health insights and partner-matching analytics as we build personalized, data-driven solutions for couples
If you’re passionate about building the future of health, believe in the power of lived experience + science, and want to be part of something category-defining, I’d love to connect. You can reach out directly via LinkedIn or email me at [email protected].

Let’s build something that changes lives—together.

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