A VC firm based in Paris invests primarily in seed/series A with significant follow-on capability.
The firm is now investing with two funds; the first fund is dedicated to investing in companies based in the Paris region across various sectors (digital, deeptech, life science), while the second fund is dedicated to investing in Digital Health companies in Western Europe. The firm generally invests between 0.3-1.5M EUR in the initial investment, and can invest up to 2-5M EUR overall in a company, and will invest in up to 10 companies a year.
The firm invests differently from their two current funds :
– The first fund is sector agnostic, and will invest in Life Science (therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and digital health companies) in the Paris region.
– The second fund covering Western Europe is focused primarily on digital health, due to the strategic interest of the fund investors in this area (several healthcare companies)
The firm can lead or co-invest, and do frequently lead. They will take a board seat in any case – the firm is an active investor providing hands-on support to its portfolio company (Strategy, HR, Financing, …).
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
Matt leads the SEED Office to accelerate NIH-funded biomedical innovations from bench to bedside. SEED supports a comprehensive translational research ecosystem that includes a national network of academic proof-of-concept centers and a small business program that invests over $1 billion annually in a portfolio of more than 1500 life science companies. SEED also provides technical and entrepreneurial advisory services and builds relationships with business, finance, and healthcare stakeholders to ensure these innovations will impact patients’ lives. Matt has a diverse background in academia, biomedical small business, congressional policy, and NIH program development and management. His previous experience also includes service as the principal scientist for the bionic eye company Second Sight Medical Products and as a staff member on both the United States Senate and House of Representatives committees responsible for science, technology, and innovation policy.
Ms. Stephanie J. Fertig is the HHS Small Business Program Lead in SEED (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She currently oversees the Health and Human Services (HHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which includes the NIH SBIR and STTR programs. The HHS SBIR and STTR programs are congressionally mandated set-aside programs that provide over $1.2 billion dollars per year to small business concerns. Prior to joining SEED, she managed the SBIR and STTR Programs at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). During her over 15 years at NIH she has led the development and implementation of multiple programs focused on small businesses and translational research. Ms. Fertig has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a major in Physics from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Dr. Sasiela has over a decade of experience providing support and consultation to academic innovators and small businesses engaged in therapeutic, device, and diagnostic development programs. As the Innovator Support Team Lead in SEED (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) in the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health, Chris coordinates the activities of a team of seasoned professionals with experience in product and business strategy, business development, fundraising, partnerships, reimbursement, and regulatory affairs. Chris is passionate about enabling NIH’s innovator community to progress their discoveries as far as science and human biology permit. Starting her career as a researcher, Chris worked in basic research at the University of Southern California and the University of Maryland, and in drug discovery, development, and improvement groups at Baxter, the Department of the Army, and the National Cancer Institute. Chris transitioned from a research to a regulatory career path via an Interagency Oncology Taskforce Fellowship at the US Food and Drug Administration. Continuing her regulatory career path at Social & Scientific Systems, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Chris deepened her experience working with product development researchers understand, develop, and execute regulatory plans to get their innovative technologies from ideas to first-in-human and beyond. She regularly conducts project-focused consultations, delivers educational seminars, and develops regulatory resources for internal and external audiences. Dr. Sasiela earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Whittier College, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, and has maintained Regulatory Affairs Certification status from the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society since 2011.
John Sullivan has been a leader in healthcare technology innovation throughout his career, with extensive experience in operating, investing in, developing and acquiring market-leading businesses. Prior to the NIH, John worked with healthcare leaders such as Cardinal Health (VP, Strategy and Business Development) and Boston Scientific. He was a Partner with Foundation Medical Partners, a national healthcare venture capital firm with financial backing from the Cleveland Clinic. He also helped to start Molecular Staging Inc., a biotechnology tools company spun out of Yale University School of Medicine. Working with Yale University founders, he helped grow the company to over 100 employees, develop its product and service lines, and ultimately sell the company to Qiagen, a global life sciences company. He has served on the boards of directors of Semprus Biosciences (acquired, Teleflex), Coapt Systems (acquired, MicroAire), KEW Group, and Direct Flow Medical and held board observer roles at BridgePoint Medical (acquired, Boston Scientific) and Explorys (acquired, IBM). John earned a BS in Industrial Engineering degree with distinction from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Dennis Ford is an entrepreneur, author, and frontier technologist with deep expertise in sales, marketing, and business development. He has spent most of his career involved in launching new technology-based companies. He has wide-ranging experience in hardware and software computing, middleware, data storage, networking, SaaS, data mining, data profiling, expert systems, and scaling/funding companies. Most recently, Dennis has spent the last 7 years in the early-stage life science arena creating an ecosystem to streamline fundraising for next-generation drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digital health products. Over the last 15 years, he has worked extensively with creating an active network of global investors ranging from Family Offices, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Foundations, and Endowments to large Corporate and Pharmaceutical firms interested in high-growth early-stage technologies. His expertise encompasses using database subscription services to create business solutions and using the Internet to create an interactive dialog between buyers and sellers. He is a big proponent of using data profiling and matching technology to efficiently find that all-important business fit in the marketing and selling process. Currently, Life Science Nation has the most comprehensive life science investor database in the world. Dennis has also pioneered a unique global partnering event model that matches buyers and sellers based on their specifically stated needs and declared partnering mandate initiatives garnered from one-on-one interviews and curating buyer/seller databases in a selected industry. Ford is the author of The Peddler’s Prerogative and The Fund Manager’s Marketing Manifesto, two well-received sales and marketing books. His latest book is The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto which he turned into a two-week immersion class for scientist-entrepreneurs and fundraising CEOs which is now offered to international government agencies to move their funded startups into the global funding arena.
Dr. Ruchi Dana is a qualified medical practitioner, who has transitioned successfully into a seasoned entrepreneur and Business Leader. Ruchi did her MD from AMU and her full-time MBA from Stanford University. Ruchi also received her PMP Certificate in Public Management and Social Innovation from Stanford University. Ruchi is a frequent speaker at various industry conferences and sits on multiple Corporate, startup, non-profits and University boards including Dana Group of Companies, Dubai, Duluth Medical Technologies Inc, USA, NGO Aaroogya Foundation, India and the California State University, Chico Cybersecurity Advisory Board. Ruchi has been recognized by Forbes Middle East as the “Next Generation Business Leader, Arab World” for 3 consecutive years 2017, 2018 and 2019. She has also been recognized by Campden Wealth as the “Women to Watch” in September’18 issue, and was conferred with the Yuva Ratna Award, 2018. Ruchi has also been recognized as “Top 75 Family Business Leaders” 2019 by Campden Research (UK). Recently, Dr Ruchi was featured on the Forbes ME Top Power Businesswomen 2020. Since joining Dana Group, Ruchi has been instrumental in starting the Value-added Steel manufacturing division in 2008, Lubricants and Grease manufacturing division and also Retail, Hospital and Real Estate divisions for Dana Group in 2014. Dr. Ruchi is actively involved in strategic planning for Dana Group and manages the family office investments. Ruchi has also worked with Golden Seeds, an investment firm in New York and New Silk Route Growth Capital, a PE firm in Dubai, she has mainly focused on healthcare related investments at both these firms.
Michael is Head of Search, Evaluation and In-licensing for all new technology and products at Pear Therapeutics. Michael also runs point on telemedicine and virtual care transactions, as well as competitive intelligence at Pear. In addition, he works closely with the Pear fundraising team to build and maintain relationships with prospective investors primarily on the international front. Michael is an investor, advisor and mentor to startups. Michael is the founding partner at a fund through his family called Old Silver VC, where he invests in Healthcare (Biotech and DigitalHealth) and Deep Tech with a focus on materials startups. He also invests directly into Seed and/or Healthcare/Biotech focused venture capital funds as a Limited Partner. He is a mentor and Judge at MassChallenge Healthtech and a mentor at MassConnectDH. Michael is an active philanthropist. He co-founded the Young Coder’s Society which teaches children how to code using Raspberry Pi. He is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, serves on The Discoverers Committee at the Museum of Science, the Visionaries Circle at The Possible Project and is the Senior Advisor of Special Projects at the Galenus Foundation. Prior to Pear and Old Silver VC, Michael spent time at several startups/venture capital funds including: Akili Interactive Labs, Udacity, Modern Meadow, Polaris Partners, The Harvard Experiment Fund and Boston Seed Capital. Michael has a BA from Lehigh University in Science, Technology and Society with a Double Minor in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development.
Wei Tao, PhD, is a Silicon Valley based investor passionate about venture investment. Dr Tao focuses on early stage life science and healthcare companies with explosive growth potential, commercializing disruptive technology to address critical unmet needs and improve societal well-being. Dr. Tao is a sought-after value-add investor and adviser. He built extensive connections with the entrepreneurial community in Silicon Valley and beyond. Dr. Tao is an adviser to a number of entrepreneurship initiatives at leading institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley and UCSF. As a result he enjoys unparalleled access to proprietary deal flow, screening hundreds of promising deals every year. He is an active member of Life Science Angels, the premier life science focused investment group. He served on the board of LSA and several venture-backed companies.
Anthony Bajoras is the Founder and Manager Director of the Cancer Impact Fund. He also serves as a BioAccel Board Member, manager of their for-profit BioAccelerator investment fund, and is a limited partner in the Arizona Founders Fund.
Duncan is a Experienced Business Development professional passionate about early innovation and technology, with keen interest new models of collaborative working and open innovation between academia, the charity sector and industry, and supporting and mentoring life science entrepreneurs.
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