About ThinkrBelle
A scalable, no-nonsense resource
Whether you are in the life sciences sector trying to deepen the adoption of your digital solutions, or at a tech company trying to get into the pharma space, we help you accelerate your commercialization journey.
Founded in 2023, our mission is to advance the use of life-changing technology in healthcare by bridging the gap between innovative startups and pharma companies.
Our experts have lived experience as senior executives in biopharma (in marketing, sales, medical affairs, regulatory, payor stakeholders and patient engagement) as well as in pharma/health tech. We’ve been around the block and know how to bring practical solutions to your tough challenges.
We're a scalable, no-nonsense resource that you can call on for discrete projects, or for guidance on the fly. We can also act as “fresh eyes”, and be your personal sounding board as you establish your path forward, turning your ideas into reality. We don’t like to stay forever --- we come and go as you need us. Expect a versatile, results-oriented approach with access to experts you don’t normally have in your current team.
Orchid Jahanshahi
ThinkrBelle founder, advisor & investor
As a seasoned commercial leader in pharma and biotech, Orchid brings a unique cross-expertise between the life sciences and tech/startup communities. With deep experience in marketing management, sales management and global brand strategy at six Fortune 500 pharma companies, she helped bring numerous specialty and primary care treatments to healthcare professionals and patients across various therapeutic areas including neuroscience, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular, wound care, oncology and hematology.
Sigrun Watson
ThinkrBelle senior advisor & investor
As senior advisor at ThinkrBelle, Sigrun brings over 27 years of diverse commercial healthcare strategy and leadership experience (both in Canada and global) at multiple Fortune 500 companies including Nestle, Lilly Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), Nycomed (Now Takeda Pharmaceuticals), and Eisai Pharmaceuticals. Sigrun's experience spans pharma, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals (consumer personal care), diagnostics, medical devices and health tech start-up (from early product/drug development to legacy product and portfolio management). After holding multiple progressive leadership roles in marketing, operations, and sales management, Sigrun's most recent (Global) roles were VP sales and marketing at genetics/SaaS tech start-up Inagene Diagnostics, and chief revenue officer at biotech Ceapro Inc.)
Orchid Jahanshahi cont...
Founding ThinkrBelle in 2023, Orchid is Advisor and Investor in early-stage companies that use AI and tech to advance healthcare solutions to reduce patients’ time to therapy.
With almost 30 years’ experience in Canada and US in global portfolio strategy, lifecycle management, launch planning, sales engagement and patient support programs, Orchid is a globally-minded leader who moves efficiently between strategic and operational business imperatives. Orchid also has a proven eye for organizational talent, having led large sales teams in pharma for stellar business results. As the cross-company Champion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, she led various educational and managerial training sessions at Novartis Canada, and remains deeply committed to DEI as core organizational values.
In 2020, Orchid pivoted her career to the artificial intelligence space at two separate startups to bring the ethical use of AI to healthcare applications (at NuEnergy.AI), and to unleash the power of AI-powered predictive analytics through human-centric pharma tech solutions for the life sciences sector (at ODAIA Intelligence). Most recently, Orchid built a team of sales, operations and customer success associates, exiting the company with a 6x YOY growth in only 2 years.
As a pharma mentor, Orchid provides advisory services for the Biomedical Engineering Cohort of CDL (Creative Destruction Lab), a global nonprofit organization that provides support for scalable, seed-stage, science- and tech-based startups.
Orchid has completed the McGill University Board Governance Program, and acts as Board Director for Kinark Child & Family Services, a leading mental health organization devoted to bettering the lives of children and youth in Ontario, Canada. She holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and is fluent in English, French and Persian.
"Orchid has been a phenomenal advisor, connector, and friend since I started working with her. She has provided my team and I with effective and pragmatic advice on fundraising, channel strategy and go-to-market strategy. Orchid’s vast experience and even greater network has been incredibly valuable to me and my firm. Most importantly, in the time we have been working together, I've discovered that she is just a great person, with a magnetic personality, and is someone everyone loves to work with. She is, in short, an indispensable advisor and mentor to any founder."
Keith Loo
Co-Founder & CEO
Skinopathy
"Orchid’s unique value proposition is that she has been able to marry her deep expertise in pharma marketing and sales, with her recently acquired expertise in tech (AI, Machine Learning and digital) solutions. She has the ability to visualize how pharma can leverage tech to deliver improved value for sales reps, marketers, clinicians, and most importantly, patients.
Orchid is very creative and an agile learner, who is looking to deliver innovation and value for her customer. I enjoyed working and learning how I can leverage tech better with Orchid as my partner."
Leandra Wells
VP & Business Unit Head,
GSK
"I have known Orchid for many years, both in professional and personal capacities, and our paths have crossed in several companies during our careers. Orchid is a skilled commercial leader in the biotech/pharma industry. She is a strong collaborator, is a strategic thinker and is passionate about building and leading teams. Orchid has deep experience in marketing and sales and she has worked at small startups to large pharmaceutical companies. More recently, Orchid has built knowledge in the technology world and the use of AI to improve business outcomes. She is a versatile and flexible leader, a trusted colleague and friend."
Stephanie Brown
President,
Santhera Pharma
"ThinkrHub pioneers a new frontier by democratizing the commercialization of HealthTech innovations and leveraging the expertise of Canadian pharma leaders.
This invaluable resource fills a critical gap in our ability to vet startups, currently reliant on less-than-reliable word-of-mouth for strategic investment and partnership decisions. ThinkrHub promises to streamline this process, empowering us to make confident, informed choices for our business' future."
Rahul Rani
Commercial Capabilties Leader,
GSK
"Orchid is a fantastic connector of people, business needs and innovative ideas. She is a passionate advocate for the world of data and AI and makes the complex simple when connecting her deep understanding of pharmaceutical sales and data science. Orchid's energy, enthusiasm and great communication skills make her a pleasure to work with and a joy to spend time with."
Julia Brown
VP Oncology
Janssen
"I found Orchid to be a very passionate, externally focused and innovative business leader during our time together at Novartis. It was a pleasure for me to learn from Orchid as she has a very unique skill of identifying, hiring and building highly diverse and talented teams - I have not experienced many leaders who identify and hire new talent as well as Orchid."
Pierre Bourdage
Chief Commercial Officer
Sandoz
Orchid is one of those rare executives who naturally serves as an inspiring mentor, building diverse high performing teams. With her knowledgeable Pharma & Life Sciences background and experiences, Orchid exhibits strong interpersonal skills and a unique capacity to align product innovation to meet customer business objectives. These qualities translate in her ability to achieve quantifiable milestones aligned with the company's go-to-market strategy.
Tony Cascio
Senior Advisor, Growth Services
MaRS Discovery District
Join us
We’re just starting out and growing. If you’ve had a senior role in pharma or tech, and are interested in joining ThinkrBelle as an advisor, we want to hear from you. Drop us a line.