Investor Panels and Entrepreneur Workshops
Seed Funds Panel
Investing in Emerging Science to Pursue High Rewards
Seed Funds Panel
Seed Funds Panel
Investing in Emerging Science to Pursue High Rewards
Investing in the earliest stages comes with a high risk and a potentially high reward. Whether investing in a therapeutics or digital health company, seed investors have to make difficult decisions with a lot less data than other investors. The panelists will discuss topics such as:
- How much proof-of-concept validation is needed for seed funding
- What increased benefit is needed to mitigate the increased risk
- What is unique in the structure of seed-stage deals (convertible notes vs straight equity)
- Does the early stage of the company lead investors to take a more active role
Many investors prefer to wait for later stages due to the decreased risk of failure. Those investors who are willing to take the risk of seed-stage investment will share their approach and selection criteria when assessing early-stage companies.
Yaniv Sneor, Founding Member, Mid Atlantic Bio Angels (Moderator)
Yaniv Sneor is one of the founders of MABA – Mid Atlantic Bio Angels a life science angel investor group, where he also administers MABA’s internal investment pools, and MABA’s co-investment Sidecar Fund for non MABA member investors.
Mr. Sneor is also Chief Executive Officer of Native State Therapeutics, an early stage biotechnology company in the neurodegeneration field, and President of Blue Cactus Consulting a business strategy consulting group.
Yaniv Sneor is originally a physicist, who made the transition into the business world about 30 years ago, at which point he took the helm of his first company. Mr. Sneor has senior merger, acquisition, capitalization, turnaround leadership experience with companies ranging from start-up to growth. He has held positions of CEO, COO, President, and General Manager at a number of companies, including a bio-informatics company, a surgical laser company, a manufacturing and distribution company, a software and network integration company, and several others.
Mr. Sneor has mentored numerous life science and technology start-ups through BiomedX (formerly, the Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership), the Bench-to-Bedside Initiative jointly sponsored by Weill-Cornell Medical Center, and the E-Lab for Life Science Entrepreneurs sponsored in part by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Until recently, Mr. Sneor was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship, is currently a member of the NJ EDA’s Technology Advisory Board, and a past Chairman of the NJ chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES).
Brock Reeve, CEO and Co-Founder, Eos BioInnovation
Brock Reeve is CEO and Co-founder of Eos BioInnovation, an investment company focused on incubating and launching companies in the regenerative medicine field. From 2006-2022, Brock was the Executive Director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, a research center that grew to over 350 faculty spanning the schools of Harvard University and its affiliated hospitals and research institutions. Brock’s prior experience was in the commercial sector in both management consulting and operations for technology-based companies, with a focus on life sciences.
Brock was the former CEO of IVIVA Medical where he is now on the Board of Directors. He is a co-founder of Elevian, on the Board of Directors of Thrive Bioscience, an advisor to other companies, and on the Board of Trustees for the Pioneer Charter School of Science in Everett, MA.
Brock received a BA and MPhil from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Krish Ramadurai, Partner, Harmonix Fund
Mr. Krish Ramadurai serves as a Partner at Harmonix. At Harmonix, he leads the firm’s due diligence, sourcing, and portfolio operational support. He serves as a Board Observer at Sorcero and xCures. He is a multi-published author and former researcher that has held previous appointments at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned three advanced degrees in nanotechnology and nanomedicine (in progress), biology, and business administration from Oxford University, Harvard University, and Washington University in St. Louis, respectively, and a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology and economics with a chemistry minor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Joseph Mocanu, Managing Partner, Verge Health Tech Fund
Joseph started his career as a scientist, developing new cancer therapies during his PhD at the University of Toronto. He co-founded a medical device startup during his studies which brought him into the world of business and his first interactions with VCs.
He first learned about active investing during his time at DM Capital in Shenzhen, helping launch their first fund, Harmony. He then joined Oliver Wyman’s health and life sciences practice to understand and develop strategies towards addressing key business and market needs for his global healthcare clients, and did so for over 75 projects, and across 20+ markets. During this time he also assisted several funds and conglomerates with their healthcare investment strategies.
Seeing the need for more early stage investment for healthcare founders, and the opportunity for technology to make a real difference, Joseph began angel investing in health tech companies in 2014, eventually reaching a personal portfolio of 9 companies by 2018. It was at that point that Joseph realised that he needed to do this full time and that there weren’t any funds out there that were focused on seed stage, health tech, and massive solving global problems, which is when he decided to launch Verge HealthTech later that year.
Impact Investors Panel
Seeking Beyond Financial Returns
Impact Investors Panel
Impact Investors Panel
Seeking Beyond Financial Returns
This panel make equity investments into early-stage companies and organizations with the intent to generate a positive social or environmental impact alongside a financial return. Some of these firms focus on impacting a specific patient population, whereas others have broader goals in creating an impact for their local region, or the world. Topics may include:
- What is impact investing?
- How is the investment mandate affected by the impact goal?
- How do investors measure and increase the impact of their capital?
- How should startups approach impact investors for fundraising, and what criteria do they use to evaluate opportunities?
- What separates an impact investor from a traditional VC?
Panelists will discuss how impact investors provide capital to address challenges in life sciences and healthcare sectors worldwide. While impact investing market is a relatively new trend, panelists will also discuss how companies can successfully fundraise from impact investors and the best way to develop a relationship with relevant investors.
Steve Curtis, Director, New Ventures, BrightEdge (Moderator)
Prior to joining ACS/BrightEdge, Steve managed MPM Capital’s Oncology Innovations Fund, a hybrid venture/philanthropy investment collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At MPM, he led the investments in seed and Series A stage biotech companies and held various interim operating roles in many of these start-ups. Steve also supported MPM’s partnership with a number of strategic investors.
Prior to joining MPM, Steve was Senior Director of Business Development for Eli Lilly and Company. In that role, he focused on Lilly’s limited partnerships in top-tier venture funds, direct equity investments and other “shared-risk” relationships with biotech companies. Prior to Lilly, Steve co-led the Bioscience Ventures group within 2M Companies, the Dallas-based family office of Morton H. Meyerson, focusing on early-stage private healthcare investments. Before 2M, he worked at Reata Pharmaceuticals, running the Technology Evaluation and In-Licensing program, where he led the in-licensing of an asset that is now in clinical development.
As a volunteer, Steve sits on the Allocation Advisory Board for the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation, the Advisory Committee for the IBD Ventures program for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and is an Expert Advisor for The Research Acceleration and Innovation Network (TRAIN) of the Milken Institute’s FasterCures division.
Caleb Bell, Venture Partner, Corundum Systems Biology
Caleb is an innovator, entrepreneur and investor with decades of experience building and investing in deep tech startups internationally. Caleb is a Venture Investor for Corundum Systems Biology (CSB), a Tokyo based innovation hub that is involved in early stage venture investing, sponsored research and directly undertaking fundamental research with the singular purpose to improve human wellbeing. Prior to his investing role with CSB, Caleb has worked for Arcline Investment Management, G4S Capital, Beyond Next Ventures, Prime Movers Lab and CTIC Capital successfully deploying around $500 million in life sciences transactions. Prior to his career as an investor, Caleb spent two decades managing businesses he founded across diverse industries including hospitality, biotech and financial services.
Yury Kukushkin, Managing Director, JDRF T1D Fund
Yury Kukushkin became a Managing Director for the T1D Fund in 2022 after joining as an Investment Director in 2019 from 4BIO Capital, a London-based fund investing in public and private life sciences companies. While there, he focused on gene and cell therapies, PROTACs, RNA medicines, and targeted therapies and delivered top quartile returns for the fund. Prior to this role, Yury was Chief Analyst and Associate at RBV Capital, an early-stage life sciences venture fund. Earlier in his career, Yury worked in various roles in a boutique consulting company Abercade supporting over 20 various investment deals with US-based venture-backed companies.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Yury received his M.S. in Biochemistry with specialization in Virology from Moscow State University and a Ph.D. in Cellular Biochemistry from Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.
Jesse Mastrangelo, Project Manager, Investments & Venture Services, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI)
Jesse is an investor on the investments & venture services team at the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), an early stage fund that invests in early-stage technologies that improve the lives of older adults. Currently, CABHI has an active portfolio of over 30 companies spanning consumer health tech, medical devices, and SaaS.
Ellen Itskovitz, Member, Investment Team, The Catalytic Impact Foundation
Ellen has followed the healthcare industry as an analyst and institutional investor, as well as working as a consultant within the industry. She initially worked as an analyst and investor with Lord Abbett where she was a partner (also investing in retail and consumer-based companies), and UBS Asset Management. Most recently she served as an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Prior to that Ellen had worked in banking, at ING Barings, Chase and the French Merchant Bank, Worms et Cie. At Worms, she developed an understanding of the unique considerations of smaller organizations and companies, investing in, structuring and negotiating bespoke private transactions.
Ellen received her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with a specialization in finance. At the Booth School, she was a recipient of the Rockwell International Fellowship. Her BA is in economics and public policy from Duke University. She is a CFA charterholder.
She currently serves on the advisory board of the Hot Bread Kitchen incubator, a New York city not-for-profit. She also is advising Carehaus, a unique senior co-housing venture led by two MIT faculty members, on healthcare and financial issues.
Early Stage Therapeutics Panel
Bringing the Newest Therapies to the Clinic
Early Stage Therapeutics Panel
Early Stage Therapeutics Panel
Bringing the Newest Therapies to the Clinic
This panel aims to bring a diverse group of experts & senior decision making staff from VCs, corporate pharma, and other investor types who focus on biotech/therapeutics investments together to discuss topics such as:
- The decision-making process
- Current areas of interest and areas of high need
- How companies can better differentiate themselves, especially those in overcrowded indications
- Common mistakes /red flags
- Recently successful deals and how they were successful
The moderator will guide the discussion through topics including how the investors source & vet novel therapeutic assets, what kinds of technology are of interest to them right now, and how they as investors work with a startup to move a new drug toward commercialization.
Andy Merken, Partner, Corporate and Securities Co-Chair, Life Sciences, Burns & Levinson (Moderator)
Andy is a Partner in the Corporate Group and the Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Group. He is also the Co-Chair of both the Life Sciences Group and the Securities Group. Andy focuses on business and transactional matters for a wide range of clients, with a particular concentration on Seed round and Venture Capital financings, recapitalizations, mergers & acquisitions, private equity transactions, and corporate governance.
In addition to his corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions work, Andy represents entrepreneurs, start-up and growth-stage companies, and investment banks, as well as venture capital investors, private foundations, family offices, and angel investors, in formation and structuring matters, equity and compensation, business contracts and general business advice and planning. Andy also represents C-level and R&D executives in employment matters, including equity compensation.
Andy works with clients in a variety of industries, including life sciences (biotech/biopharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare, digital health, and healthcare services), business services, software, financial services, venture capital, investment banking, consulting, legal services, consumer products, staffing, food services, real estate, and entertainment.
Martin Pfister, Principal, High-Tech Gründerfonds
Martin Pfister is the current principal and authorized signatory for Life Sciences & Chemistry at High-Tech Gründerfonds. Martin has also served on the advisory board for Cardior Pharmaceuticals, GeneQuine Biotherapeutics, lino Biotech AG, and JeNaCell GmbH. From 2016 to 2020, they were a member of the advisory board for Biametrics GmbH. Before their current position, Pfister was the managing director for biosaxony from 2007 to 2010. Martin also founded dii – an Economist Intelligence Unit – Healthcare business in 2004 and served as a partner until 2018 when they had an exit to The Economist.
Martin Pfister is a medical doctor who has also earned a PhD in immunology. Martin has also studied biopharmacology at Universität Greifswald. In addition to their medical training, they are also certified as a yoga teacher.
Martin Pfister reports to Alex von Frankenberg, Managing Director. Some of their coworkers include Romy Schnelle – Partner, Digital Tech, Frank Kerim Reinecke – Principal & Authorized Signatory, Berlin, and Tobias Schulz – Senior Investment Manager, Digital Tech.
Megan Krench, Director of Investments, Sanofi Ventures
Meg joined Sanofi Ventures in 2021 with a background in biotech investing and business development. She previously worked as Director of Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she was part of the External Innovation team. Prior to Vertex, Meg worked at RA Capital, a crossover investment fund, where her areas of focus included rare diseases, genetic therapies, and neuroscience.
Meg currently serves on the Board of Directors for Veralox.
Meg holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. with Honors in Neuroscience from The Pennsylvania State University. She currently sits on the Steering Committee of the New England Venture Network.
Rick Jones, Partner, BioAdvance
Frederick “Rick” Jones, M.D., M.B.A. is a Partner. Dr. Jones has over 30 years in the life science industries, serving in roles as physician, executive, consultant, director and investor. At BioAdvance he is responsible for investments in therapeutics and medical devices and serves on the Board of Envara and RightAir.
Previously Dr. Jones was a Director at Broadview Ventures, a Boston-based philanthropic venture fund focused on breakthrough technologies in cardiovascular disease. At Broadview Ventures, Dr. Jones has served as Director on the board of Aeromics and Nido Surgical, and as Observer on the boards of Aria CV, Ischemia Care and Remedy Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Broadview Dr. Jones served as CEO of Anchor Therapeutics, a venture-backed company, which was developing a platform based on peptide modulators of GPCRs. Prior to Anchor, Dr. Jones held executive positions with Devgen NV (Ghent, Belgium) and BioRexis (acquired by Pfizer). Dr. Jones began his industry career at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, initially in Global Medical Affairs and subsequently in Global Business Development.
Dr. Jones is a board-certified internal medicine physician who practiced in the US Navy, the Lahey Clinic (Burlington, MA) and at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his BA, MD and MBA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
Marina Balobanova, Senior Fellow, Health Innovation Capital
Marina possesses a significant track record of success within two critical areas of healthcare innovation: commercial planning and launch of both branded medicines as well as therapeutic innovations within select Orphan and Rare Disease indications, and initial company creation, product adoption and achieving significant investor returns within the digital health space.
Prior to joining Health Innovation Capital (HIC) as a Venture Fellow, Marina graduated Columbia Business School where she focused on alternative investments and entrepreneurship. She is a co-founder of Baseline Health, a digital health platform that offers healthcare services designed to improve personal health & wellness of union workers at a lower cost and higher quality than traditional alternatives. Marina’s track record as an operating executive within the field of health commercial innovation includes leadership roles in pre-launch product creation; the development, implementation, and oversight of comprehensive value proposition strategies, behavioral and predicative analytical frameworks, and unit sales financial model reporting platforms for both pre and post launch. Within the first eighteen months of product launch, Marina’s leadership resulted in achieving traction metrics of: 10.4% m-o-m growth, an LTV/ CAC ratio of 10x, as well as a $1.2MM ARR. Marina had a successful exit at a 4x multiple.
As one of Horizon Therapeutics’ first 200 employees, Marina spent over nine years at the global biopharmaceutical company leading multiple strategic initiatives in the areas of scripted product commercial planning, initial market roll-out, medical practitioner engagement, and market share expansion efforts. These efforts resulted in a statistically significant increase in both unit and dollar sales, enhanced market access capabilities, the creation of a pilot project management framework, expanded portfolio and resource management capabilities, as well as facilitated the development of advanced data analytic platforms for the company’s c-suite leadership. Marina’s multinational experience includes working successfully with US and global business leaders as well as cross-functional teams.
Marina’s significant contribution as a leader in the field of commercializing healthcare innovation transcends traditional product launch and financial modeling achievements. Her early adoption and commitment to gleaning product information from both medical practitioner engagement and patient experience insight has helped to create new data verticals and “pressure tested” assumption models within the field of healthcare commercial strategy. Marina lives in New York City and enjoys hosting family and friends visiting from overseas. When she gets some free time, Marina packs her skis and heads to explore new mountain ranges.
Chris Garabedian, CEO, Xontogeny
Chris Garabedian founded Xontogeny in June of 2016 to support multiple promising technologies from early development through clinical proof of concept. In 2017, Chris joined Perceptive Advisors to develop their Venture Fund strategy and is Portfolio Manager of the Perceptive Xontogeny Ventures Fund which supports early stage companies with Series A investments across biotech, medtech and healthtech.
Chris has a broad base of experience and a track record of success over his decades long experience in the biopharma industry. Chris served as the President and CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics from 2011 to 2015, overseeing the turnaround of a company that is now a commercial stage leader in the genetic technology space after leading the development of the company’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy program. Prior to Sarepta, Chris led Corporate Strategy for Celgene from 2007 to 2010. Prior to Celgene, Chris served in a number of global commercial and corporate development leadership roles at Gilead from 1997 to 2005.
Chris serves on a number of Boards of life sciences companies and speaks at industry conferences on a wide range of important issues. Chris is also on the Board of Directors of MassBio, served as a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group and is a member of the Corporate Relations Board for the Keck Graduate Institute.
Tales From the Road
Biotech and MedTech Innovators on their Fundraising Journey
Tales From the Road
Tales From the Road
Biotech and MedTech Innovators on their Fundraising Journey
The industry has quickly adapted to a “new normal” – entrepreneurs and investors meet virtually over digital platforms to discuss potential investment opportunities, and it is not uncommon to see entrepreneurs raise capital from investors they have never met before in person. That said, there is no doubt that the fundraising journey continues to be challenging for many. In this panel, you will be able to hear fellow entrepreneurs share their experiences, from successes to challenges. This panel will discuss the following topics and more:
- What are some of the greatest challenges entrepreneurs have faced, especially during the pandemic, and how were they overcome?
- How did entrepreneurs identify investors that fit their technology?
- What are some misconceptions entrepreneurs had about the early-stage investment landscape?
Furthermore, entrepreneurs will share unique tips and insights they have gained from their fundraising experiences, and how others can work their way towards a more successful campaign.
Greg Mannix, VP of International Business Development, Life Science Nation (Moderator)
Greg Mannix is Vice President of International Business Development at Life Science Nation. After graduating from the University of California, he moved to Europe where he began a career in the life sciences and obtained a Master’s degree from IE Business School in Madrid. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing management in large medical device corporations and small start-ups alike, giving Greg a well-rounded international experience in the healthcare field. He has worked extensively in Europe, North America and Latin America and he speaks English, Spanish and French.
Greg relocated to Boston 6 years ago to set up the US affiliate for an early-stage Med-tech company from Spain and he immediately took to the vibrant startup community there. Working for LSN is a great way to stay involved in that exciting space.
Diana Caldwell, CEO, Amplified Sciences
Diana Caldwell is the President, CEO and co-founder of Amplified Sciences, a startup life science diagnostics company focused on accurately detecting and pre-empting the risks of debilitating diseases, including lethal cancers with R&D operations in Purdue Research Park. She is a recognized life science entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in both large corporate and small entrepreneurial environments. Throughout her career, she has successfully driven organizational growth, developed and implemented strategic business plans, and directed successful teams.
Early in her career, she worked for Eli Lilly for over 15 years in a variety of general management roles.
Diana founded Pensar Ideas which is a business consultancy practice focused on business planning and strategy, business operations support, and commercialization strategy and support for life science companies. She also served as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the Purdue Foundry startup community.
In 2010, Diana co-founded Pearl Pathways where she led the company as President and CEO and oversaw all business operations, business development, legal, and financial functions.
Diana serves on the Board of Directors for Genezen and also lends her talents to several community organizations and not-for-profits including IHIF, IU Kelley School’s Life Sciences Advisory Board, The ARC of Indiana Foundation, and Senator Lugar’s Fund for Hoosier Excellence.
Specialties: Leadership, Business Strategy, Commercialization Strategy, Life science product development, Diagnostics, IVD, medical devices, Pharmaceuticals, Biologics, Regulatory approval processes, Quality compliance systems, Clinical research, Clinical trials, IRB, Business Planning, Marketing, Sales, Business Development, Operations, Financial modelling, General Management
Talia Cohen Solal, PhD, CEO & Co-Founder, Genetika+
Talia Cohen Solal is the CEO and co-founder of Genetika+ where they are developing new tools to guide therapy for Major Depressive Disorder. Talia Cohen Solal is a Neuroscientist who received her BA/MA in Neuroscience from University of Oxford, a PhD from University College London working on the underlying mechanisms of schizophrenia of and then completed her fellowship at Columbia University developing translational tools for mental illness. She moved on to work in the Biotech Sector in operations, project management and scientific strategy in addition to advising other start-ups in their work. Dr Cohen Solal has through her academic career raised funds in 8 grants totaling $1.5 Million in funding, published 10 academic papers and filed 3 patents all in the field of Neuroscience.
Brian Della Valle, PhD, CEO and Founder, GLX Analytix
Brian DellaValle is a Canadian neuroscientist and founder and CEO of the award-winning, venture-backed, precision medicine startup GLX Analytix. Originally from Canada, Brian moved to Copenhagen for PhD together with Novo Nordisk. After a series of discoveries on the shedding patterns of the vascular forest on our blood vessel wall, the glycocalyx, patents were filed, a company formed and the first investment landed.
GLX has completed two rounds of financing from US and EU investors, and has received a number of grants and awards, including the Future of Healthcare Startup Award from Roche in 2019.
Brian will share his insights from his journey as a solo founder in a foreign country to where GLX is today.
About GLX Analytix
GLX Analytix combines proprietary, vascular biomarkers with machine learning. GLX aims to diagnose and monitor chronic diseases earlier, upstream of irreversible damage to the body.
Aging at Home Panel
New Products and Technologies for Home Healthcare Management
Aging at Home Panel
Aging at Home Panel
New Products and Technologies for Home Healthcare Management
There is a growing trend for the elderly to age in their own homes as long as possible. Technologies that make this an option are becoming more commonplace, improving the lives of those who may not have a full-time caregiver. Panelist may cover topics such as:
- What are the most important challenges to address for Aging at Home?
- What types of technologies (eg monitoring, companionship) are over-saturated? What areas need the most work?
- What data points are most useful when evaluating a new technology?
Aging in place can require a lot of effort to make it a safe environment, from mobility, to access of care, to monitoring. Studies have shown that, for many of the elderly, aging at home can increase quality of life by maintaining a familiar environment and there are many technologies being developed today that can make that happen.
Brian Meshkin, Managing Partner, Profound Ventures (Moderator)
Brian Meshkin is an award-winning executive and entrepreneur that currently leads social impact investment group Profound Ventures and strategic consulting firm, Stratyss Advisors. At Profound, Brian has led investments into a portfolio of device, diagnostic and digital health companies where they have helped raise over $150M into those ventures. With Stratyss, the team advises a group of clients on fundraising and data strategies, commercial plans, and clinical development who are bringing novel biologic, pharmaceutical, device, diagnostic and digital technologies to market to addressed unmet needs. Previously, Brian was the founder and CEO of Proove Biosciences, the leading precision pain medicine company. Proove was one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America – ranked in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (#69) and the Inc. 500 (#323). Brian led Proove for over 7 years, employed over 270, and achieved over $28M in annual revenue as it built the world’s largest clinical-genetic biobank in chronic pain and won awards from leading medical societies for its pioneering research in pain genetics. For these achievements, Brian was the 2016 Emerging Technology Company CEO of the Year Award Winner of the OCTANe High Tech Awards (HTA, a two-time finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Orange County, and a 2016 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Winner from the OC Business Journal.
Brian’s social entrepreneurship began as an award-winning youth activist growing up in Maryland. At 13 years of age following the tragic death of a friend in front of his home, he led the lobbying effort to pass the nation’s first bicycle helmet law for children. Following this tragedy, he worked with the National Safe Kids Campaign (now called Safe Kids Worldwide), along with many others to advocate for similar efforts across the nation. For Brian’s efforts to save lives, the Baltimore Sun chose him as one of five “Earthly Angels. Previous to founding Proove, Brian founded nutritional genetics firm, Salugen (acquired by Sherbrooke Equity), was a Team Leader at the e.Lilly venture fund – a division of Eli Lilly & Company, former manager of digital health at Johnson & Johnson for the company’s largest product and helped direct new products and marketing for Prometheus Laboratories (acquired by Nestle Health Sciences).
In 2010, Brian became the youngest ever-elected school board member for one of the nation’s leading school systems in Howard County, Maryland where he was elected by his colleagues to serve as Vice-Chairman, and pioneered efforts to create a digital education policy, sustainability policy, introduce lean six-sigma processes to reduce costs, and other innovations. Brian is an active volunteer in his community, church, and his kids’ schools. According to ResearchGate, Brian is among the top 15% in the world as a published researcher of peer-reviewed scientific papers and several book chapters. He routinely speaks on entrepreneurship, innovation, and precision medicine at various conferences across North America. Brian earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Joshua Barney, Member, Barrington Angels
Joshua Barney is a California and Illinois licensed attorney. He has served as general counsel and financial advisor for the U. S. operations of several foreign corporations including LSIS USA (formerly LG), Kawasaki Trading and Kia Corporation. His legal background includes corporate joint ventures, merger and acquisitions, corporate start-ups, and trade secret litigation. He has been a co-founder of several technology and biotech companies. He currently manages two angel funds, Barrington Angels and SISU Funds. He holds degrees from CSU Chico, University of California, Davis, and Columbia University, NY.
Ravi Mistry, Investor, Individual Angel, 3iPartners
Ravi Mistry is a leader, entrepreneur, angel investor, educator, and mentor. His professional career has spanned several industries, including life sciences, technology, non-profits, and academics, in various capacities as Founder, Board Chairman/Director, President, Vice President, Sr. Director, Manager, and Adjunct Professor.
Currently, Ravi serves as Funds Management and Operations Officer of Impact India Investment Partners, LLC (3iPartners), a Silicon Valley based fund investing in early-stage impact-oriented startups in India with focus on AgriTech, HealthTech, EduTech, and Livelihoods. Ravi served as Vice President of Business Development & Operations at MedTree LLC, a Silicon Valley based life sciences start-up. Prior to MedTree, Ravi served as Executive Director of Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT GN) Foundation, a Silicon Valley based foundation raising endowments in US. Ravi was member of founding team of Virident Systems, a Silicon Valley based technology startup that was acquired by HGST/Western Digital in 2013. Prior to Virident, he held management positions in the life sciences industry at DiscoveRx (acquired by Eurofin) and BioImagene (acquired by Roche).
Ravi is an active angel investor and member of the TiE Angel Group Silicon Valley and TiE Global Angels. He is Former President and Board Member of EPPIC Global Network, an all-volunteer life science professional organization in Silicon Valley/Bay Area. He has been active with other Bay Area biopharma organizations such as California Life Sciences Association (CLSA – previously known as BayBio), a life sciences organization representing California bio industry, Chinese Bioscience Association (CBA), and Chinese-American Bio/Pharmaceutical Society (CABS). Ravi also advises and mentors IIT GN alumni both in India and in the US.
He is Gold Medalist from Gujarat University, India from where he holds BE degree in Civil Engineering. He holds Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA in Finance from CSUEB.
James Hueston, Investor, Primetime Partners
James joined the Primetime team in 2022 where he focuses on investing in healthcare, fintech, and proptech companies that better the lives of older adults. James was previously an investor at NTTVC, the single LP fund formed in partnership with NTT. At NTTVC, James spent two years focused on early-stage digital health and B2B enterprise investments. He was also previously on the CEO’s advisory board at Cinemark Movie Theaters where he focused on implementing programs to further engage audiences of all ages. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics with minors in Mathematics and Physics from Vassar College while also playing DIII varsity lacrosse.
Health System Partners Panel
Novel Partnering Approaches to Improve Quality of Care
Health System Partners Panel
Health System Partners Panel
Novel Partnering Approaches to Improve Quality of Care
Healthcare organizations are embracing innovations and becoming a key training ground to test the medical benefits, technical feasibility, and business viability of new technology breakthroughs.
From innovation centers to investment vehicles, healthcare organizations have become critical partners for entrepreneurs. This panel will reveal the changing role healthcare organizations are playing in fostering innovation.
Topics may include:
- What are hospitals and health networks doing to engage with new technology companies?
- How can a startup get the most out of conducting pilot studies with a healthcare system partner?
- How do early stage companies work with healthcare systems to generate user experience for their new technologies?
- How can healthcare organizations share their technical expertise with startups?
This RESI panel will help entrepreneurs navigate complex healthcare systems and bring their companies to the next milestone.
Mayank Taneja, Director of Venture Investments, OSF Healthcare Ventures (Moderator)
Mayank is the Vice President of Venture Investments for OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare, a non-profit, faith-based health care system with 14 hospitals in Illinois and Michigan.
In this role, Mayank manages the venture program and leads the effort to invest in devices, diagnostics, emerging digital solutions and technology-enabled service companies that can improve patient outcomes and/or reduce costs to the Ministry.
Mayank joined OSF Ventures in 2016 as one of the early members of the venture team. He brings experience in the health care industry across multiple disciplines including the practice of medicine, working with early stage companies, supporting venture investments and innovation strategies.
He currently serves as a Board Observer on InsightRx, CareSignal, Exo Imaging, SilverCloud, PhotoniCare and VIDA. Mayank also served as a Board Observer on Paradigm Diagnostics prior to its acquisition.
Before joining the OSF Ventures team, Mayank worked with the usability services team at OSF and helped medical device startups with piloting their technologies and performing human factor studies for FDA submission. He also assisted the OSF medical simulation for-profit spinoff, SIMNEXT LLC, with early business support and go-to-market strategy.
Prior to joining OSF HealthCare, Mayank worked at Zimmer Inc. in its post market risk surveillance division as part of the Zimmer Leadership Program. He received his medical school degree from Maulana Azad Medical College in India and his MBA from The Ohio State University (Fisher College). Mayank practiced internal medicine for four years in New Delhi, India.
Gaye Bok, Partner, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Fund (AIDIF)
Adam Hunke, Principal, Banner Venture Group
John Perez, Managing Director, Ballad Ventures
Jack Rack Gomer, Principal, MultiCare Capital Partners
Gomer initially joined MultiCare in 2018 as a program manager for hospital medicine at MultiCare Tacoma General and Allenmore hospitals. He is relatively new to Washington, having previously worked in international health care for NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders, as well as a hospital in China. Gomer’s area of focus is on building relationships with the entrepreneurial community in Washington. He obtained his MBA from the University of Denver.
Chronic Disease Management Panel
Innovative Solutions for Long-Term, Self-Empowered Health
Chronic Disease Management Panel
Chronic Disease Management Panel
Innovative Solutions for Long-Term, Self-Empowered Health
Managing chronic conditions has evolved beyond therapeutic intervention – research has shown that multiple components can play a role in successfully managing a chronic disease, including digital platforms, disease monitoring and interactive tools. Panelists may discuss the following topics:
- What components are crucial to keeping patients engaged in chronic disease management?
- How do you evaluate these tools?
- Outside the technology, what is important for the company to consider?
These technologies can include components such as gamification, managing accompanying mental health challenges and even interactions with caregivers/family members to help the patient manage all aspects of chronic disease. Investors, doctors and insurance companies know that properly managing chronic conditions long-term can play a large role in improving patient quality of life, minimizing healthcare costs and, hopefully, preventing these conditions from spinning out of control.
Brenda Irwin, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Relentless Venture Fund (Moderator)
Brenda is a former life science venture capitalist for Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). While at BDC she had personal responsibility for the management of a $100M+ healthcare portfolio including private to publicly listed organizations. Prior to launching the Relentless Venture Fund in 2018, Brenda co-founded the angel investment group Relentless Pursuit Partners with Olympian, Simon Whitfield in 2015. Brenda specializes in both assessing and top grading the investment potential of early-stage companies. She has been a Board Director for 15 private and public for-profit life sciences and biotechnology corporations. Market sectors represented within her portfolio ranged from therapeutics, biotech, medtech, health technology & wellness organizations. Brenda is committed to inspiring young women to pursue careers in science and technology. Brenda is proud to have spent nearly a decade on the non-profit Board of Directors for Take A Hike – Youth at Risk Foundation, an organization enabling at-risk youth to positively change their lives. She was also a Director on the Providence Health Care Board of Directors for six years where she also chaired their Innovation Committee.
Nadav Shimoni, Head of Digital Health, Arkin Holdings Ltd
Dr. Nadav Shimoni joined Arkin Holdings in 2020 as head of Digital Health sector. He comes from a diverse background combining experience in medicine together with venture capital, business development, and deep technological project/product management.
Dr. Shimoni is a physician by training, previously the Director of Hospital Business Development at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest integrated payer-provider system, governing one of the world’s largest and richest longitudinal healthcare database. In parallel, he conducted research in public health focusing on implementation of data/AI-driven solutions in the clinical workflow.
Dr. Shimoni is the founder of 81 HealthTech Network, a 250-members community for IDF intelligence core technological unit alumni active in the HealthTech sector. In his prior positions he served as Head of Business Development at Rambam Medical Center while practicing internal medicine and as an Associate at Accelmed, VC & PE medical device investment firm.
He holds M.D. from Ben Gurion University, Magna Cum Laude.
Sonal Panda, Principal, Tau Ventures
I am a Principal at Tau Ventures, investing in early stage AI startups in healthcare, enterprise, and automation. I began my career in buy-side M&A, evaluating multi-billion dollar deals at a Fortune 500 MNC in India, led business development at the top-rated heart hospital in India, and served as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Signos – a metabolic health startup. I hold a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and an MBA in Healthcare Management and Finance from Wharton. Outside San Francisco, I feel most at home in remote corners of the world photographing wildlife.
Renae Cormier, Head of Corporate Communications, Semler Scientific
Renae Cormier joined Semler in 2022 as head of corporate communications and business strategy. In this capacity, she leads Semler’s investor relations efforts, and is instrumental in helping to shape the overall strategic direction of the company. Ms. Cormier has extensive investing, finance and accounting experience with over 20 years of public equity investing experience, including at Aravt Global and Ziff Brother’s Investments. Prior to this, she was part of the audit and M&A transaction advisory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Negotiating Term Sheets
Negotiating Term Sheets
Negotiating Term Sheets
What’s Best for the Company and What’s Best for You?
This interactive workshop, organized and led by McDermott Will & Emery, will provide wisdom to early-stage CEOs and management on the latest trends in term sheets, with a focus on founder and management equity opportunities. The workshop will cover common issues of concern to entrepreneurs (valuation/dilution, liquidation preference, board makeup, protective provisions, anti-dilution). Experts from the legal, investment and entrepreneurial community will discuss the interplay of financing milestones in the term sheet discussion.
Brian M. Gordon, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
Brian M. Gordon represents venture-backed technology companies in acquisitions, financing transactions, the negotiation of credit facilities, corporate governance, employment and equity compensation matters and the resolution of day-to-day legal issues.
Brian also has significant experience representing private equity funds in the acquisitions and disposition of portfolio companies, in both control and non-control transactions. He counsels strategic buyers and sellers in M&A transactions. He also represents restaurants and retail groups in private equity and acquisition transactions.
Aroma Sharma, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
Aroma Sharma focuses her practice on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, acting predominantly for private and emerging companies. Aroma has advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, corporate and equity restructuring and recapitalizations and joint ventures in various industries, including technology and health and life sciences. She also advises clients regularly on general corporate and corporate governance matters. Aroma also has experience working on cross-border transactions, including business’ international expansion into new territories.
Aroma regularly serves as primary outside counsel for clients. She understands the importance of knowing a client’s business, and completed a secondment with a large, multi-national accounting and advisory firm, assisting with drafting and negotiating commercial transactional agreements.
Aroma was also a fellow in Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation at NYU School of Law and has a special interest in working with social enterprises and sustainable businesses.
Matthias Breugelmans, CEO, Elastrin Therapeutics Inc.
Matthias is an experienced life science entrepreneur in diagnostic and biotech scene with a passion for bringing innovation to patients in need. He gained experience working in the pharmaceutical industry in Germany where he focused on productivity improvement and organizational development. Matthias is currently CEO of Elastrin Therapeutics, that is developing a groundbreaking new technology capable of reversing tissue and organ calcification. He enjoys spending time with loved ones, travelling and bike racing, and is a motivated chef and sommelier.
Wasim Malik, Managing Partner, Iaso Ventures
As the Managing Partner, Wasim oversees the overall strategy, investments and partnerships at Iaso Ventures.
He previously served as the first Chief Digital Strategist at Roivant Sciences, a global biopharma company ($7.3B IPO). There he led digital health investments, strategy and partnerships to help accelerate drug development and commercialization across 15+ therapeutic areas, and contributed to incubation and early growth of various portfolio companies.
As part of his work in the healthcare provider industry, Wasim has served on the faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, the flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, for over a decade. Affiliated with the MGH Department of Psychiatry and the Clinical Trials Network and Institute, he built a research program on tech-enabled clinical research in neurology, psychiatry and anesthesiology, with a focus on neurodegenerative and movement disorder biomarkers, and brain-computer interfaces.
He has also taught entrepreneurship, neuroscience and machine learning at MIT, most recently as faculty on the NIH-supported IMPACT Program, and is affiliated with the MIT Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences.
He currently sits on the board of directors at The Epilepsy Foundation, Scaffold Therapeutics, Altimate Health, ClexBio and BioTrak Health, with previous board roles at Saphetor and monARC Bionetworks. He serves as a Senior Advisor for Life Sciences at Health Catalyst . He is a startup mentor at NYU Stern’s Endless Frontier Labs, the neuro stream at the Creative Destruction Lab, and the health-tech stream at Dreamit Ventures. He is an angel investor at Sky Ventures, MIT Alumni Angels, and HBS Angels of Boston.
Earlier in his career, he led a team to deploy AI-based telecom fraud detection systems across major European telcos at Nortel Networks, co-developed the first ever graphical browser for a smartphone in partnership with RIM and Motorola, and rolled out South Asia’s first telemedicine network.
He has published 100+ research papers, holds 7 patents, and has received numerous international awards for his research. He serves on the Steering Committee of the NIH EPPIC-Net and IEEE Brain Initiative, the grant review panels for NSF and NASA TRISH, and the national scientific research councils of 6 countries. His work has been featured in multiple media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC World, and others.
Wasim received his DPhil in electrical engineering from Oxford, postdoctoral training in neuroscience from MIT, and finance education in venture capital and private equity from Harvard Business School.
IP Considerations for Start-Ups
IP Considerations for Start-Ups
Intellectual Property is an absolutely key issue for life science startups to understand in order to make the right decisions along the journey toward commercialization. This session, led by Burns & Levinson Partner Shawn Foley, will address the main aspects of a good IP strategy that will help guide life science entrepreneurs be better prepared as they move their technologies forward.
Speaker:
Shawn P. Foley, Partner, Burns & Levinson
Since joining Burns & Levinson in 2016, Shawn Foley has been immersed in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, with two areas of focus. First, he and his team conduct due diligence and freedom to operate studies for pharma companies, guiding them through a fast-growing maze of patents. Relevant technologies include small molecules and a variety of biologics such as therapeutic nucleic acids (mRNAs, RNA replicons, circular RNAs, and siRNAs); lipid-based delivery systems (LNPs and liposomes); CAR-T cells; macrophages; and bacterial and viral vaccines, including vaccines for COVID-19. Second, he and his team devise and implement global strategies for preparing and prosecuting patent applications in diverse technology areas, notably small molecule inhibitors; bifunctional degraders (PROTACs); viral vaccines; CAR-T and related adoptive cell transfer-based therapies; therapeutic antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates; cardiovascular drugs; personal care compositions; and fuel-based compositions, as well as diagnostic assays (e.g., detection of COVID-19, cell-free nucleic acid, and T cell activation).In addition to established pharma companies, Shawn currently represents entrepreneurs, startups, and not-for-profit research institutions and universities. He has successfully guided clients through patent appeals, post-grant matters such as reissue and interferences, and European oppositions.
Shawn began his career as an examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where he reviewed patent applications during the emergence of the biotechnology field and learned the inner workings of the patent-granting system. Following a two-year stint with a leading Southeastern IP firm, Shawn moved in-house with a worldwide pharma company. As co-IP counsel at one of the company’s research institutes, Shawn advised on-site scientists and management regarding genetically engineered plants and seeds, and worked with IP colleagues in other locations throughout the company regarding its pharma research and development. He then moved back to private practice, where he was instrumental in developing a life sciences practice at a prominent New Jersey–based IP firm.
Shawn offers refined legal and advocacy skills, technical versatility, consummate practicality, honesty, evolved patience, perseverance, and the ability to listen. He prides himself on having developed a communication style that is simple and direct. He is equally comfortable making formal presentations to boards of directors and dealing with in-house counsel, scientists, and business development professionals.
A dear old mentor once told Shawn that “the law is a jealous mistress.” As profound as that statement turned out to be, Shawn finds time to enjoy tennis, weightlifting, swimming, leaf peeping in New England, art, and music. He is also a contributor to the ASPCA. His love of fall colors and animals rubbed off on his daughter, who moved back to the Northeast, where she practices veterinary surgery.
It All Starts with The Story
It All Starts with The Story
It All Starts with The Story
The most successful entrepreneurs are always the best storytellers. Finding a way to naturally formulate your company’s unique story and portraying this through multiple modalities whether it be a 1-minute elevator pitch or a 12-slide pitch deck is one of the most effective ways to get potential investors and partners on board with your value proposition. This bootcamp will cover the importance of entrepreneurial agency, finding your voice and developing a compelling narrative for the different players that will emerge along a deal chain, and language tools to refine your hook.
Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN); Creator, Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) Conference Series
Dennis Ford is an entrepreneur and author with distinct expertise in sales, marketing, and business development. He has spent most of his career finding, vetting and launching a myriad of technology-based companies. Over the last decade, he has worked extensively with global alternative investors and is deeply interested in getting funding for high-growth early-stage technologies. He is a big proponent of using profiling and matching technology to find that all-important business fit in the marketing and selling process. In today’s context Dennis can connect early stage life science companies with 10 categories of global partners thus making the finding of capital and distribution channels very efficient.
Dennis created the Redefining Early Stage Investments conference series to facilitate an interactive ongoing dialog between buyers and sellers in the life science arena. Before LSN, Dennis was the President and CEO of a company that improved the way hedge fund and private equity fund managers raised capital and marketed their funds to investors. Ford is the author of The Peddler’s Prerogative and The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto, two well-received sales and marketing books.
First-Time CEOs: Avoiding Pitfalls
First-Time CEOs: Avoiding Pitfalls
First-Time CEOs: Avoiding Pitfalls
This session will cover some of the most common pitfalls that catch first-time and serial entrepreneurs off guard. From false premise and being tentative to surrounding yourself with executives that do not have augmentative and complimentary skillsets, there are many things that can slow the growth of your early-stage life science entity. By learning how to avoid these issues and not run yourself over, your chances of making it to the market will increase greatly.
Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN); Creator, Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) Conference Series
Dennis Ford is an entrepreneur and author with distinct expertise in sales, marketing, and business development. He has spent most of his career finding, vetting and launching a myriad of technology-based companies. Over the last decade, he has worked extensively with global alternative investors and is deeply interested in getting funding for high-growth early-stage technologies. He is a big proponent of using profiling and matching technology to find that all-important business fit in the marketing and selling process. In today’s context Dennis can connect early stage life science companies with 10 categories of global partners thus making the finding of capital and distribution channels very efficient.
Dennis created the Redefining Early Stage Investments conference series to facilitate an interactive ongoing dialog between buyers and sellers in the life science arena. Before LSN, Dennis was the President and CEO of a company that improved the way hedge fund and private equity fund managers raised capital and marketed their funds to investors. Ford is the author of The Peddler’s Prerogative and The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto, two well-received sales and marketing books.
Tagline & Elevator Pitch
Tagline & Elevator Pitch
Tagline & Elevator Pitch
Distilling your company identity into a 5-7 word tagline and then expanding upon that in a 5-7 sentence elevator pitch is one of the most fundamental business development skills that early-stage entrepreneurs must master when launching global partnering campaigns. Join us to learn how to develop a compelling tagline and convincing elevator pitch to grip the attention of your target investors and licensing partners.
Candice He – VP of BD, Global Investment Strategist, Life Science Nation
Candice leads the business development team at Life Science Nation and manages the relationship with the LSN entrepreneur community on the east coast USA and China. Working closely with other team leads at LSN, Candice is in charge of analyzing user experience to improve existing products and designing new programs for life science startups, service providers, and tech hubs. As the Global Investment Strategist, she is the lead in expanding the business to the Chinese market, and was the project manager for RESI Shanghai 2019, the first
RESI Conference in Asia. Candice worked for Boston Angel Club after obtaining her Master of Science in Finance (MSF) from Brandeis University in Boston.
Joey Wong- Senior Investor Research Analyst, Hong Kong BD, Life Science Nation
Joey (Kwanyi) Wong is a Senior Investor Research Analyst at Life Science Nation (LSN). Joey is responsible for forming and maintaining relationships with investors, identifying their investment criteria, and updating their investment profiles for the LSN Investor Platform. She also recruits investor panelists and attendees for the RESI conferences. Besides working with investors, Joey evaluates companies that apply to the RESI Innovation Challenge and is in charge of LSN’s business development in Hong Kong, China.
Joey graduated from Brandeis University with a BS in Neuroscience and a BA in Psychology. Prior to joining LSN, she was also a research assistant at a Neuropsychology lab and a business intern at a MassChallenge company.
Executive Summary + Tear Sheet
Executive Summary + Tear Sheet
Executive Summary + Tear Sheet
This session will cover how to develop a compelling 2-page executive summary and 1-page tear sheet, two of the most important materials to have at the ready for interested investors and licensing partners. While the executive summary covers a deeper dive into your company’s history, product, and management team, the tear sheet can be used to synthesize all of the most important elements of your company in 5-10 minutes (ideal for partners looking to skim through a document).
Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN); Creator, Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) Conference Series
Dennis Ford is an entrepreneur and author with distinct expertise in sales, marketing, and business development. He has spent most of his career finding, vetting and launching a myriad of technology-based companies. Over the last decade, he has worked extensively with global alternative investors and is deeply interested in getting funding for high-growth early-stage technologies. He is a big proponent of using profiling and matching technology to find that all-important business fit in the marketing and selling process. In today’s context Dennis can connect early stage life science companies with 10 categories of global partners thus making the finding of capital and distribution channels very efficient.
Dennis created the Redefining Early Stage Investments conference series to facilitate an interactive ongoing dialog between buyers and sellers in the life science arena. Before LSN, Dennis was the President and CEO of a company that improved the way hedge fund and private equity fund managers raised capital and marketed their funds to investors. Ford is the author of The Peddler’s Prerogative and The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto, two well-received sales and marketing books.
Gregory Mannix – VP of International Business Development, Life Science Nation
Greg Mannix is Vice President of International Business Development at Life Science Nation. After graduating from the University of California, he moved to Europe where he began a career in the life sciences and obtained a Masters’s degree from IE Business School in Madrid. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing management in the medical devices field. He has worked extensively in Europe, North America, and Latin America and he speaks English, Spanish, and French. Greg’s role at LSN is to provide international early-stage companies with the tools and strategies to successfully fundraise and facilitate cross-border investments, licensing, and M&A transactions.
Pitch Deck & The 10 Myths of Fundraising
Pitch Deck & The 10 Myths of Fundraising
Pitch Deck & The 10 Myths of Fundraising
The pitch deck is the final piece of marketing collateral (having previously established your tagline, elevator pitch, executive summary, and tear sheet) that can help cogently tell your company’s unique story and highlight its key value points. As the pitch deck is one of the most commonly requested materials by investors and licensing partners, this session will also cover the 10 myths of fundraising to help elucidate some common misconceptions when launching global campaigns.
Claire Jeong – VP of Investor Research, Asia BD, Life Science Nation As VP of Investor Research and Asia BD at LSN,
Claire is responsible for curating the LSNInvestor Database and manages relationships with a wide network of investors and pharmaceuticals across the globe, including groups in South Korea and Japan, leveraging her global network. In addition, Claire is the team lead for the Innovation Challenge, a start-up competition organized during every RESI conference Claire graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science Degree as a Biochemistry Major and Mathematics Minor.
Karen Deyo – Director of Research, Israel Business Development, Life Science Nation
Karen Deyo is an Investor Research Analyst at Life Science Nation. In addition to her role curating the LSN Investor Database, she is actively involved in Israel BD, utilizing her professional and personal connections to connect LSN to the Israeli life sciences startup community. Karen has a Masters of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering as well as a Certificate in Graduate Business Study from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering with a concentration in Bioengineering from Olin College of Engineering.
Strategies for Successful Partnering
Strategies for Successful Partnering
Strategies for Successful Partnering
Take a deep dive into your outreach campaign. Learn more about our proven successful strategy and how to craft your messages from your initial outreach and each follow up message after that.
Gregory Mannix – VP of International Business Development, Life Science Nation
Greg Mannix is Vice President of International Business Development at Life Science Nation. After graduating from the University of California, he moved to Europe where he began a career in the life sciences and obtained a Masters’s degree from IE Business School in Madrid. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing management in the medical devices field. He has worked extensively in Europe, North America, and Latin America and he speaks English, Spanish, and French. Greg’s role at LSN is to provide international early-stage companies with the tools and strategies to successfully fundraise and facilitate cross-border investments, licensing, and M&A transactions.
Karen Deyo – Director of Research, Israel Business Development, Life Science Nation
Karen Deyo is an Investor Research Analyst at Life Science Nation. In addition to her role curating the LSN Investor Database, she is actively involved in Israel BD, utilizing her professional and personal connections to connect LSN to the Israeli life sciences startup community. Karen has a Masters of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering as well as a Certificate in Graduate Business Study from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering with a concentration in Bioengineering from Olin College of Engineering.