By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series

As I stated in a previous installment, the story is the be-all-end-all in the life of an entrepreneur. Here is the challenge for the folks developing the story: It has to be good enough, and bulletproof enough, that the story on its own can make an impact. Of course, the person who delivers the story will never be truly separate from the story, as the teller is part of the storytelling dynamic…it just doesn’t work that way. However, I do believe that once you get the story crisp enough that anyone in the company can give a lucid and cogent version of THE STORY, the message will be heard.

The past articles in this series we can covered how an entrepreneur has to be up and running from the get-go. You must be ready to take on all comers in the journey of getting your company launched. Predictably, you’re in for the fight of your life, so you better be ready to defend yourself. This also means going on the offensive and attacking, too. Please notice the words we are using here are not fluffy, namby-pamby, kind of, sort of, maybe words. On the contrary, these words are solid, committed and meaningful. I’ll take my idea, my passion, my invention and dedicate my life to it and go for it. Just do it. I’ll fight for it. So this is the crux of the matter: What does “go for it” mean to you? Is your idea of going for it and my idea of going for it the same? Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. Read on and hopefully I can help you answer that question. Are you in? Will you fight for it? Or, are you out?

My idea of going for it means putting it all on the line. Commit. Do what you have to do, no matter what. Sell your house? Take out a loan? Get some extra credit cards. Beg for cash from friends and family. All the aforementioned is just the ante into the game; playing the game involves pain, suffering, anxiety, stress, self-doubt, but it is the most exhilarating and empowering time of your life: the ultimate adventure, the stuff your dreams are made of…do this entrepreneurial thing right and become unequivocally empowered. It’s how you feel about being on the edge of the important fundamental aspects of your life. Welcome to the Entrepreneur Elucidated, in all its glory – the good, the bad, and the in-between. I dare say after reading this, a fair number of entrepreneurs may just decide to hang it all up and go back to the safety and security of a stable and meaningful life…please do, as this ain’t gonna be all that much fun, but what true adventure is? It’s always the journey, right?

If you choose to strap in and go for it, the first monster you will encounter in your perilous journey of starting a company is time. Time is not your friend, and time keeps ticking by; it cannot be wasted and will never be recovered. Time owns you, your employees and your company from the get-go. Waste time and you are dead. Adjusting your being around the monster of time is a pivot every entrepreneur has to make internally; they need to start living by the time monster’s clock.

The importance of timing to entrepreneur can be compared to surfing and catching a wave (a market for your product and company). You cannot sit on the sand and catch a wave. You need to learn how to swim and paddle up to the wave and maneuver you and your board through the moving waters. You need to paddle to catch it and then you need to stand up and ride it. Then you need to learn all the tricks of riding the wave to become an adroit surfer. Pick your metaphor and pick your sport…but timing engulfs every nuance and subtlety.

There is the other monster that is always lurking about ready to pounce and that is the Money Monster. So welcome to your two new best friends. Two monsters who will live night and day with you…time and money. No one starts, launches, or grows a company without spending lots of time and capital. No one.

By Karen Deyo, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

This past Monday, June 3rd, 35 companies representing 9 countries competed in the RESI Innovation Challenge. These companies showcased their exciting technologies, from therapeutics to diagnostics, medical devices to digital health. Taking place at the Convene Cityview in Philadelphia, RESI attendees ‘invested’ their RESI Cash in their favorite companies. We congratulate all finalists selected to participate, and we are delighted to announce the winners – the three companies that received the most RESI Cash. Check them out below!

First Place: Soundable Health Inc

Soundable Health is a digital health company with leading sound AI technology. Our mission is to help people to understand and manage their health and diseases easily to live with dignity. Our first product, PRIVY™, is a mobile app that records the sound of the urine stream on the smartphone at the bathroom and turns it into clinical-grade urine flow exam results for prostate and bladder patients and their physicians. Through alpha and beta test we launched the open-beta app in the US and Korea and have collected over 4000 actual measurement data and results from users and physicians. Especially, over 100 physicians we met in Korea and in the US notice the possibility of the platform for greatly improving clinical workflow and care process. Including Massachusetts General Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital and Seoul National University Hospital, 6 clinics/hospitals have been participating in clinical researches since 2017. Also, health insurance companies and pharma companies are very much interested in the world’s first & largest real-world data in urology. We’re planning to start unpaid pilots in private practices and institutional settings from June and aim to expand partners for paid pilots with initial revenue by early 2020.

Catherine J Song, Founder & CEO, Soundable Health

 

Second Place: Drusolv Therapeutics

Drusolv Therapeutics is a clinical-stage drug company based in Philadelphia. We are developing a novel, high-dose statin for early intervention in a blinding eye disease called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries, affecting more people than glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy combined. Unfortunately, there are currently no drugs for intervention before the onset of late-stage vision loss. This is a $4B per year, completely unmet need. Our product, Ocustatin™, was developed at Harvard University. A very successful proof-of-concept clinical trial has shown that early intervention with Ocustatin substantially reduces progression to late-stage blindness. The founder and CEO of Drusolv is a successful serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in AMD.

John Edwards, CEO, Drusolv Therapeutics

 

Third Place: AIBIOS Co Ltd

AIBIOS, CO., Ltd. is a private pharmaceutical company and specializes in the development of novel small molecule drugs for inflammation related diseases. AIBIOS’s mission is to develop novel drugs modulating immune responses to satisfy highly unmet medical needs. AIBIOS is developing an oral drug for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The drug candidate, AIB301, has a novel mechanism of action exerting biological effects in modulating immune responses in intestinal mucus, not only the adaptive immune system but also the innate immune system, which distinguish itself from other drugs and drug candidates for IBD treatment. AIB301 is in IND enabling stage with GMP grade drug substance will be delivered in June 2019 and soon will be evaluated with GLP toxicity preclinical studies.

Chao Pin Lee, Chief Operating Officer, AiBIOS
Akio Sato, CEO, AIBIOS

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series

The next Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference is right around the corner, and we are excited to release the digital program guide in anticipation of the event! The RESI conference was created to bring early-stage companies together with early stage investors and strategic channel partners. The theme is to maximize the capability of ­finding partners who are a ­fit for the stage of development and product of a fi­rm. With attendance close to venue capacity and meetings slots filling up, there are many opportunities to make successful connections, for investors, channel partners and startups.

Seeking funding for life science companies comes with multiple challenges. First, there is an abundance of early-stage companies seeking capital in the US and globally, as a result of immense governmental R&D support at life science technology hubs around the world. These companies, whether university spin-outs or independently founded, ­find themselves competing for a limited amount of regional capital, and many of them require strategic advice to help launch and stage a successful global fundraising campaign.

Second, it can be extremely dif­ficult to ­find and get in front of the active investors in the space, be they angels, family of­fices, VCs, PE, or Pharma. This is often due to the sheer volume of deal opportunities in their inbox, making it hard for the startup to differentiate itself. Compounding the early stage funding dynamic is the lack of a public face for many family of­fices, most choosing to be in stealth mode under the radar screen, posing yet another challenge to getting in front of the right investor.

What’s unique about RESI is that the event is cross border and cross domain. RESI focuses squarely on connecting startups with 10 categories of global investors across the silos of Drugs, Devices, Diagnostics and Digital Health, the “4 Ds”. RESI caters to both the earliest stage startups, those seeking grants, seed and angel capital, and the early stage firms who seek series A and B funding. Because LSN organizes a RESI conference every few months, fundraising CEOs and investment partners can incorporate RESI into their monthly global business activities.

Take a look at the RESI Philadelphia program guide to see the content scheduled, including an amazing line up of panelists, as well as the exciting companies participating in the Innovation Challenge and Innovators’ Pitch Challenge. See you next week!