We all know that team is a huge part of an investment thesis. Thus, I’m always surprised when biopharma co’s undersell their ppl in their pitch. A few suggestions: first, include a team slide close to the beginning of the deck & put more info rather than less about each exec. 1/9
...Head shots are a must & ideally you’re including past roles (w/ titles). Just showing logos of past co's at which ppl have worked may make the slide look cooler, but it doesn’t really communicate very much in terms of level of responsibility, where in the organization...2/9
...someone worked, length of the role, etc. Another helpful element to include is any approved drugs (or even those in the clinic currently) that your team members helped develop. (Logos work great for drugs!) Also, if a team member is going to be participating in the pitch...3/9
...with investors, please include them on the slide – this is respectful to that person & also helps avoids confusion (“who was that person? A banker?”). I’d also suggest including a slide on investors / board composition, as well as one on scientific / clinical advisors...4/9
...if relevant. You don’t have to pause for long on these slides – in fact, you may actually save time because otherwise the VC may ask, “who’s on your board?” Remember that two goals of a pitch are to increase the interest level, while decreasing the activation energy...5/9
...needed to take a next meeting. Highlighting mgt / board / etc. should do both – tell the VC why you’re qualified while saving them the trouble of checking LinkedIn or your website (you don't want them doing that at the same time as you’re trying to cover your science!). 6/9
...Also remember that any time info isn’t explicitly covered, VCs may interpret it as “this wasn’t included because it’s a weakness.” E.g., if you just have pictures / names, ppl may assume that the team’s prior roles were outside of the biopharma space and that's why they...7/9
...weren't included. Even if your team is not as experienced as some, pls include their backgrounds – we are very used to first-time CEOs, we want to know your accomplishments, & of course no one will invest without knowing the team bios first – so it will come out sooner...8/9
...or later! Lead with confidence and pride, and make up for lack of experience with passion, innovative science, and a clearly articulated investment thesis. 9/9
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Everyone has a set of superpowers. An easy way to boost not just your self-confidence but also your happiness & efficacy is to determine what these are & practice them regularly! Look for the things that come naturally to you, but seem to amaze & delight others: in the work...1/4
...setting, could be your way of drilling down on the components of a problem or solution, your ability to zoom out to a strategic view on a situation, your Tweets or blog posts, or how you inspire a team. In the personal setting, could be the cheer you bring in a quick...2/4
...call to a friend who is down or your creativity in your kids' play. Also help others recognize theirs w/ appreciation & explicit acknowledgement of where they shine. Not only will this mean you'll get more of their [mentorship, strategic thinking, awesome banana bread],...3/4
For biopharma co's pitching VCs, always think about how you can contextualize your data. Positive controls (“benchmarking data”) utilized in the same study as your active agent are the best way to do this in the preclinical setting. (Think carefully about how these...1/8
...comparators are dosed – aiming to achieve the equivalent concentration or exposure as used clinically is reasonable.) But even if that’s not possible (relevant agents can’t be obtained / made), think about what other preclinical or clinical data can provide meaning to...2/8
...your study results. Perhaps a competing molecule in development was studied in the same model and you can reference that data. Or perhaps there’s relevant preclinical AND clinical data on an abandoned compound with the same MoA (e.g., had some clinical efficacy but also...3/8
A key challenge of a good pitch is to present the info in a thoughtful order. W/ regard to corporate elements, most inv's like to hear about the team close to the beginning & cover financing hx / current financing round early on too. These topics provide helpful context...1/4
...before jumping into the science. After that, consider presenting the platform (if relevant), then going program by program. For each program, inv's will want to understand disease state/unmet need, current SOC, competition, science behind your MoA & then program-specific...2/4
...data (incl. IP). Can be useful to provide a sense for how large the markets are you're pursuing, clinical plan, etc. If you're in the clinic but pre-PoC, make sure to include your PC efficacy results. Include use of proceeds at the end too. Sometimes co's want to make a... 3/4
One effective way to move investors along in diligence, particularly once they're under CDA & clearly interested, is to offer up some next steps. "We're happy to put in you in touch with some of our scientific advisors." "We could do a call on our SAR if that would help." 1/5
...When mgt offers up explicit next steps, they save investors time in terms of coming up with their own list and then reaching out to ask. Throwing in something like (if true), "this has been helpful for other groups" or "they've agreed to speak with other investors" clues...2/5
...ppl into what competing VCs think are relevant lines of inquiry, & also signals that others are excited - that's a good thing! Of course, having a more fulsome deck that can be reviewed under CDA is a first step, but these tactics can help shorten the time to doing...3/5
Most co's will disclose the post on their last round in the initial, non-con presentation. A few don't. Arguments for disclosing it: 1) you save time; if it's really high and you expect a step-up, you can exclude those inv's who don't feel strongly enough about the co to...1/6
..."get there" - and note that if you feel it was priced too high (e.g., strategic-led, mkt has had a dramatic shift) you can subtly indicate that; 2) if your post is particularly attractive, it might actually pull in someone who is on the fence on whether to prioritize...2/6
...your co near the top - this *doesn't mean* that anyone expects you to price at the last post! You can certainly explicate on all the progress since the last round if you'd like, but rest assured that no one thinks last post = current pre. I'd also note that some inv's...3/6
If you suffer from imposter syndrome, a good way to actively combat it is to simply help someone professionally. Better yet, work time into your schedule to do this each week. In my field (biopharma VC), this might mean calling a portfolio company CEO to check in / offer...1/5
...help on some initiative; mentoring or sharing deal flow with a talented younger investing professional; taking extra time to give feedback to a company I liked but where I passed (for now), if that’s useful to them; or even just serving on a panel or penning a Tweet. 2/5
...There are multiple ways in which this approach assuages imposter syndrome: 1) you are immediately reminded of your expertise and contributions, and probably of why you chose the field you’re in to start with; 2) experiencing someone’s gratitude tends to make us more...3/5