XLR8 PBC is designed for emerging health and life science companies that are preparing to scale. Ideal applicants have a validated product or solution, early traction in the market, and are seeking strategic partnerships, mentorship, and investor connections to accelerate their growth.
The XLR8 Mentor Program was created to provide companies with personalized, hands-on support from experienced mentors. Each company is paired with a dedicated mentor for one-on-one guidance, while also having access to the full network of all five mentors to draw on their collective expertise and perspectives.
F25 Cohort Mentors:
New Mentors:
Kirk Barnes
Focused on commercialization, capital access, and enterprise deal-making, Kirk has over 20 years of experience across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology, and digital health sectors. He has coached B2B sales teams for GSK, UCB, and Takeda, co-chaired TogetherHealth—the largest U.S. digital health consortium—and advised startups through MATTER, MassChallenge, ATDC, and Tulsa Innovation Labs. His work has helped companies secure millions in funding, forge partnerships with pharma, and expand into the U.S. and LATAM markets.
Irina Kukuyeva
Dr. Irina Kukuyeva is a business operations-focused technology leader who helps companies understand and unlock customer behavior and feedback loops to build scalable, profitable companies with market fit, generating 25M+. In the process, she’s invented and implemented ML algorithms on a global scale, led global data and AI teams, and taught graduate students best practices for developing real-time AI algorithms. She mentors over 100 startups annually, guiding them on their pitches, growth strategies, and how to avoid common mistakes.
Andrew Steele
As both an operating executive and 3-time co-founder & CEO, Andrew has led start-ups from concept through scale-up, contributed to exits that generated over $500M in returns, and created category leadership in the MedTech, Healthcare IT, and B2B SaaS sectors. He currently leads Growthplane Advisors, a firm he established to bring that experience to the benefit of growth-stage companies in Arizona, and is also an active coach and mentor for the venture development programs at the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Returning Mentors:
Noreen Scheu, MBA
With 25 years in pharmaceuticals and combination products, this mentor has expertise in corporate strategy, competitive intelligence, and market analysis. Her experience includes roles at Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC, and supporting gene therapy startups. A dedicated advocate for Arizona’s startup ecosystem, she volunteers with Tech Launch Arizona and Venture Café Phoenix.
Tracey Dodenhoff
A proven entrepreneurial leader and venture builder with a track record of launching, scaling, and commercializing high-impact innovations. Her venture expertise and investment areas spans industries, including medtech, software, robotics, AI augmented tech platforms, and material science. She has also served as an Embedded Entrepreneur for MIT Lincoln Labs, where she continues to advise on strategies to translate innovations into sponsor solutions.