# Paul Orlady

> Paul Orlady is the Denver-area co-founder, president and CEO of Khona Scientific, a small synthetic-biology company developing a patented way to organize long enzyme pathways inside microbes. An economics graduate and former risk-management entrepreneur, he now leads the commercial side of a four-person biotechnology venture trying to turn sugar, yeast and carefully arranged biology into reliable supplies of complex natural compounds.

- **Role:** President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Khona Scientific, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Khona Scientific, Inc., Khona Scientific Holdings, Inc., Enterprise Risk Strategies, LLC, Gonzaga University
- **Education:** B.A., Economics, Gonzaga University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Khona Scientific as president and CEO., Helped advance a business around Khona's patented BiDS synthetic-biology platform., Oversaw an announced equipment expansion intended to support production scale-up to 300 liters.

## Career timeline

- **1981-1985** — Studied economics at Gonzaga University and competed in men's cross country.
- **2013** — Was listed as a principal of Enterprise Risk Strategies, LLC, a Colorado business started that year.
- **2017** — Published an Enterprise Risk Strategies case study on LinkedIn.
- **2019** — Co-founded Khona Scientific, according to company-profile records.
- **2021** — Appeared as an executive and director in Khona Scientific Holdings' fundraising filings.
- **2024** — Khona moved into Hatch Labs in Boulder and qualified for Colorado's Advanced Industry Investment Tax Credit program.
- **2025** — Signed a Khona Scientific Holdings filing reporting a $340,000 convertible-note offering.
- **2026** — Led Khona as it joined the BioMaP Consortium, expanded its board and announced new manufacturing evaluation relationships.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Khona Scientific as president and CEO.
- Helped advance a business around Khona's patented BiDS synthetic-biology platform.
- Oversaw an announced equipment expansion intended to support production scale-up to 300 liters.
- Led the company during its acceptance into the BioMaP Consortium.
- Signed Khona Scientific Holdings' 2025 financing filing for a $340,000 convertible-note offering.
- Built evaluation relationships with regulated manufacturing partners around biosynthetic production routes.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Khona announced an exploratory relationship with EVEXIAS around a purpose-built biosynthetic production pipeline.
- **2026-07** — Khona publicly expanded its focus toward small-molecule key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
- **2026-05** — Khona appointed sustainable-manufacturing specialist Michael A. Gonzalez to its board.
- **2026-04** — Khona announced acceptance into the BioMaP Consortium.
- **2026-01** — Khona and Benuvia Operations signed a letter of intent to evaluate biosynthetic routes under regulated manufacturing requirements.

## Links

- Website: https://khonascientific.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-orlady-348b33ab
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/khonascientific
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khonascientific/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paul-orlady
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-25