By Karen Deyo, Director of Investor Research, Israel BD, LSN

Life Science Nation (LSN) knows why startups fail at partnering events, and it is mostly a lack of experience and knowledge, which puts the startup out of context. For example, it starts with very simple things, such as not understanding the importance of the tagline. If you are an investor receiving hundreds of meeting requests, you do not have the time to do a deep dive into every message. The company that nets out who they are with a compelling tagline that can be quickly skimmed and then get an affirmative meeting request clicked is how it is done right. You should be able to get a meeting just by the potential partner reading your tagline. The same rules apply to your company’s elevator pitch. A tagline is 5-7 words that net out who you are and what you do. A potential partner should be able to read your tagline and have enough information to either take a meeting or go on and read more…your elevator pitch is 5-7 sentences that net out who you are and what you do in more detail.  Again, from reading the elevator pitch should be able to decide whether take a meeting or read more.

There are a lot of pitfalls and common red flags that companies can avoid when trying to make a good first impression. These include assuming the investor is completely ignorant of the market, claiming their technology will address a whole market (such as ‘cancer’), claiming to have no competition, and claiming a KOL is involved in their company when they are not. Do not underestimate the investors you meet and expect them to take everything you say at face value – they are well informed, and, if they run into something they aren’t sure about, they will check.

LSN has developed a 4-step process on how to request meetings at a partnering conference.  LSN knows that just asking for a meeting will get you minimal results. We use the subject line of the email as a key starting point because if you use the subject as a tool to get attention and generate meetings if used properly.

4-Step, Subject Line Process that we have pioneered and works with astounding results. We have tested this process hundreds of times. The results are usually going from 3-7 meetings to 12-20+ meetings just by having your story and narrative crisp and using our LSN meeting request process. The 4-Step, Subject Line process that starts with putting the following in the subject line.

• First Attempt for RESI Meeting: Introduction meeting request of XYZ company at Up-and-coming RESI event
• Second Attempt for RESI Meeting: XYZ Companies Founders, Management Team, KOLs, and How XYZ Make a Difference
• Third Attempt for RESI Meeting: XYZ Company Innovative Technology Asset and Market Position
• Fourth and Final Attempt for RESI Meeting: XYZ Company Strategic Partners and Current Projects

Remember that when launching and positioning your company you are going on a journey from regional to global. Sign up for the LSN classes that are available to help with your branding and messaging. LSN curriculum specifically revolves around Global Roadshow Preparation, getting a company’s story straight, developing a compelling narrative, canvassing a global target list of capital investors and licensing partners, and follow-up. RESI partnering events bring the LSN ecosystem to life and afford startups the opportunity to meet strategic partners five times a year which is a crucial aspect as the transaction does not get done by attending 1-2 events a year.

LSN’s Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference series is a terrific opportunity to network and make connections with key players that can help move your company to the next phase. The RESI conference series, because of its unique focus and format, is by far the best opportunity for early-stage companies to meet and partner with investors and strategics. Partnering opens February 21 for Digital RESI, March 14-16 and your degree of success is directly proportionate to the effort you put into it.

By Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, Creator of the RESI Conference Series

An entrepreneur’s attitude and ability to execute the plan have an enormous impact on their overall success or failure. Life Science Nation (LSN) has created an ecosystem where entrepreneurs who are seeking capital or licensing deals can identify and match themselves up with partners that are precisely right for their stage of development and product.

Where LSN sees things break down is when entrepreneurs decide to pause their partnering efforts or skip the next partnering event because they are not getting the results they want. They fail to stick with the plan that fundraising is a pure numbers game, and it takes 9-18 months and hundreds of partnering meetings to find the few compelling partners that are a great fit and can lead to transactions. You need to buy off on a process for finding and meeting potential partners and work that process knowing it is always going to be a tough road.

What entrepreneurs forget is that it only takes one good connection, one good meeting, to turn the momentum around and change the dynamic of the partnering campaign and start to pick up momentum.

Entrepreneurs with a positive attitude and a relentless willingness to stick with the process will be more motivated to take risks and push themselves to go the extra mile. They must remain focused on their goals and be open to feedback and criticism and always move forward as a global partnering campaign ebbs and flows. None of this is news but at the end of the day persistence is what will make the difference and that is why LSN has 5 RESI events a year, with options for in-person, hybrid, and virtual, to provide an ecosystem that will allow the buyers and sellers to meet and get matched up, create a dialogue that can lead to a relationship and eventual transaction.

The Digital RESI, March 14-16 event is a fully virtual conference, and will offer 300+ investors and licensing partners, Innovation Pitch Challenge, Entrepreneurial Education, funding and partnering panels and workshops.  I submit that if you are a startup looking for global partners you must keep up the effort through digital and face2face events and not let chances slip by.

By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

Life Science Nation’s next conference, Digital RESI March, is coming up in just over a month. We are excited to continue facilitating meaningful connections between early-stage life science companies and investors/strategic partners through this 3-day virtual conference, which will include a robust agenda of investor panels, workshops (including a new educational track), and the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC), through which we will have life science companies present live pitches in front of a judging panel.

We expect 300+ investors to join the upcoming event. With a 24-hour meeting capacity, attendees will be able to join the conference at the comfort of their home and schedule meetings based on their availability, regardless of what time zone they are in.

Below is a selected list of participating investors that you can expect to meet at Digital RESI March. If you are actively fundraising and looking to get in front of more investors, make sure to register by tomorrow to save $200 on your registration!

Partial List of Digital RESI March Confirmed Investors

As Feb. 8, 2023