September 29, 2025
I once worked on a QC app that let scientists explore fresh sequencing data with statistical tools. Great for analysis. Terrible for integration 🫣
Then we added one API endpoint.
Now when scientists completed their QC review, those results automatically flowed back into our data warehouse. Other teams could access QC insights without asking for exports. The manual human judgment that only scientists could provide became part of our institutional knowledge.
One API call eliminated a major data silo 🚀
Most biotech companies build applications. Few build APIs.
Each beautiful application becomes a dead end instead of a building block. I’ve watched organizations rebuild the same data transformations five times because no one designed for reusability.
→ Design APIs before applications
→ Make data transformations reusable components
→ Build for the analyst you don’t have yet
→ Document how to extend, not just how to use
Are you building applications or building platforms?
