BIO 2010: Talking to Investors
May 12 2010
Ok, you've got a potential investor's attention. Now what?
Multiple investors speaking at BIO 2010 talked about being interested in those companies offering the promise of increased efficiencies to the biotech industry, that is, getting results faster or more cheaply. Investors also listen to the "Voice of the Consumer" which creates the demand for the product or services that they will fund.
What else are investors looking at nowadays? Here is an un-ranked list, with one important caveat at the end.
* A capable, "passionate" team
* Develop an appealing, memorable "story"
* You must have good assets (i.e. technology)
* Low fixed costs: most spending should be variable
* Flexibility: focus on winning products, drop losers
* Find disease-specific foundations to work with
* Become a strategic outsources to a bigger company
* Understand who is your ultimate buyer 3-5 years out
* Accept performance-based milestone requirements
* Don't sign off your rights too early
With regard to the last item, biotech entrepreneurs have sometimes found to their sorrow that they sold off too much of their equity to an investor before the technology was far enough along to be developed readily. Their beloved "child" gets put on the shelf because the buying entity doesn't share their passion or vision.
Hope this helps. Questions? Post a comment or e-mail me at jogucwa@techmanage.com
Ok, you've got a potential investor's attention. Now what?
Multiple investors speaking at BIO 2010 talked about being interested in those companies offering the promise of increased efficiencies to the biotech industry, that is, getting results faster or more cheaply. Investors also listen to the "Voice of the Consumer" which creates the demand for the product or services that they will fund.
What else are investors looking at nowadays? Here is an un-ranked list, with one important caveat at the end.
* A capable, "passionate" team
* Develop an appealing, memorable "story"
* You must have good assets (i.e. technology)
* Low fixed costs: most spending should be variable
* Flexibility: focus on winning products, drop losers
* Find disease-specific foundations to work with
* Become a strategic outsources to a bigger company
* Understand who is your ultimate buyer 3-5 years out
* Accept performance-based milestone requirements
* Don't sign off your rights too early
With regard to the last item, biotech entrepreneurs have sometimes found to their sorrow that they sold off too much of their equity to an investor before the technology was far enough along to be developed readily. Their beloved "child" gets put on the shelf because the buying entity doesn't share their passion or vision.
Hope this helps. Questions? Post a comment or e-mail me at jogucwa@techmanage.com