When I asked LiVeritas CEO Lieza Danan which books she recommends, she enthusiastically mentioned "Positive Intelligence" by Shirzad Chamine and "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" by Deepak Chopra.

She found the skills recommended in "Positive Intelligence" so helpful that she makes sure everyone on her team participates in the "PQ Mental Fitness Program" designed by Chamine. LiVeritas works with business coach Richard Marks to implement the program.  

As for "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success," I read the book in the early 2000s and found it too woo-woo. When I read it again last month after talking to Lieza, I found that the messages in the book were timely.  

The chapter that resonated with me the most was "The Law of Least Effort." The essence of the chapter is similar to the “controller saboteur” discussed in “Positive Intelligence.” For several years, I oversaw marketing technology for 300 websites for a large corporation. I planned global projects months in advance; my team and I scripted and successfully executed the launch of digital capabilities to the minute. Ironically, in my personal life, I learned that no matter how much I prepared, unfortunate events unfold. In "The Law of the Least Effort," Deepak Chopra talks about acceptance and responsibility." He writes, "Having accepted this circumstance, responsibility then means the ability to have a creative response to the situation as it is now."  

As for Lieza, her favorite chapter in Chopra's book is “The Law of "Dharma" or Purpose in Life.” Chopra writes, "The Law of Dharma says that we have taken manifestation in physical form to fulfill a purpose." There are three components to dharma: 1) Each of us is here to discover our true selves, 2) We are here to express our unique talents, and 3) Be of service to humanity.  

In 2019, when Lieza left the startup she co-founded, she used the break to reconnect with her old life in the Philippines and spend time with her family, whom she had left in the early 2000s for graduate school. Those five weeks in Manila helped her reflect on her old life in the Philippines and her present life in the United States. She had to honor and celebrate her old life to reconnect with her true self. Having attended the top science high school and college programs in the Philippines helped her remember where she came from: she’s cream of the crop! Being a double minority (female and Filipino) scientist in the US academic and industry sectors made her forget about this fact. She knew she’s smart, but her exposure to scientists in the US made her realize how much her peers and clients valued her insights. "Filipinos’ colonial mentality is limiting our self-belief," she shared. "Being colonized by so many countries for centuries is making us feel we are an inferior race. That we are not as smart as other races. The lack of self-belief becomes more pronounced when a Filipino migrates to a different country."  

The LiVeritas Biosciences team’s combined experience of 100 years in the pharma industry and mass spectrometry is now codified in the company’s proprietary platform.  

She also spent time with her parents and reacquainted herself with the qualities she inherited from them—their aptitude for math and analytical thinking, being fast learners, perseverance, strategic thinking, and valuing people and relationships. She was also reminded of her parents' focus on service. Lieza recalled that her parents demonstrated integrity in their professional lives; her mom was Executive Secretary to A.L. Gotianun, who owns Filinvest Development Corporation, a publicly listed real estate group in the Philippines, while her dad held several leadership positions at Philippine Banking Corporation and Philippine Veterans Bank. Every Sunday, however, they volunteered in church and helped the underprivileged in their communities including setting up a microlending program and scholarship foundation for the poor.  

Strengthened by these memories and guided by the lessons on Chopra’s book, she resolved to build a company that not only builds on her years of experience in drug development and as a subject matter expert in mass spectrometry, but also values the people in her company, her clients, and serves humanity.  

In February 2020, Lieza and her co-founders launched LiVeritas Biosciences which accelerates drug development through an AI-powered digital laboratory that enables scientists to work as super humans. In spite of the pandemic, the newly formed company acquired loyal customers.  

In January 2022, however, Lieza was diagnosed with classic Hodgkin lymphoma. For 6 months she continued working at LiVeritas while receiving treatment. Her parents flew in to support her, along with close friends, and even her colleagues.  

This year, 2025, Lieza is cancer free and is now focusing her time on enhancing LiVeritas' digital lab, working on client projects, and business development. The drugs that her clients develop are similar to the cancer medicine that saved her life.

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In the last year and a half since I left my corporate job, I have met with many startup founders. Like Nicole and Anton of Fintech is Femme and Lieza Danan of LiVeritas, it is not only their enthusiasm that is inspiring but also their ardent focus on helping make the world a better place. Business coaches advise that entrepreneurs have a BHAG–Big Hairy Audacious Goal (introduced in the book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, published in 1994. )  

Fintech is Femme’s BHAG is to create an equitable and diverse industry. Lieza views the company as her dharma. The LiVeritas team’s mission is to advance the development of safer and more efficacious drugs to extend and improve the lives of our sick loved ones, through developing novel digital technologies.  

These statements may sound too idealistic for some but we have lived in a for profit only society for so long. It is hopeful to see that Fintech is Femme and LiVeritas Biosciences’s founders are vehement in their mission of service.

(Part 2 of 2, more of Tutong Newsletter’s interview with Lieza Danan here)

Lieza’s favorite books-

Positive Intelligence, Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours by Shirzad Chamine

“This book really accelerated my growth as a leader.”

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra

“I keep going back to this, cover to cover.”

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