Next Phase Newsletter

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Prep for the June mega-events in San Diego, BIO Convention and the neighboring RESI, starts now. We’re 7 weeks out and it’s getting warm. In another week, the Heat is On by Glen Frey. Three weeks or so after that, scheduling starts and it’s Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter. Finally, when partnering starts on June 22, it’s the Heat of the Moment by Asia. 80s music references aside, here are the top things you need to do NOW to ensure your company succeeds:

1. Register. Want to meet investors funding seed through series B and pharma external innovation? There will be over 300 at RESI. Click here to take advantage of RESI early bird rates.
2. Consider registering to pitch, with many opportunities throughout Convention week. Pitching at RESI puts you in front of a panel of well-aligned investors who are obligated to be interactive and give you feedback.
3. Log into the partnering system and find your ideal partners. Repeat this every week to account for new registrants. At RESI this is straightforward as the LSN staff populates investors profiles very granularly based on the LSN Investor Database. Investors are carefully vetted. Searching for investors interested in a given modality, disease, geography, stage, etc. is fast. Searching for well-aligned partners in the larger Convention ecosystem can require more oversight (e.g. is an in-licensor looking for early stage, late stage or on-market assets?) Join my webinar to learn the best way to do this!
4. Open as much availability on your calendar/agenda as possible. Convention week is NOT the time to block the early morning time slots because you want to sleep in 😉
5. Send customized meeting requests. Meetings are more likely to be accepted if you spend some effort customizing each meeting request to the interests of the receiving company. Join my webinar to learn the best way to do this!
6. Minimize the number of people from your company who are required to attend the meeting. The fewer people in the meeting the more likely it is to get scheduled (if it’s accepted).
7. Follow-up on unanswered meeting requests. As someone who’s been behind the scenes running partnering at dozens of partnering events, I can tell you there is a complex series of variables that determines if your meeting request gets accepted. Sometimes it’s as simple as the person who would accept your meeting request did not register until later, even though his/her colleagues registered earlier. That’s why it’s important not let unanswered meeting requests languish indefinitely. Join my webinar to learn the best way to do this!
8. Cancel ‘dead’ unanswered meeting requests. When you determine you won’t get a response for a given meeting request, cancel it to increase your meeting request allotment. Join my webinar to learn the best way to do this!
9. When scheduling starts, immediately reach out to the other party for meetings that cannot be scheduled due to lack of mutual availability. You can also try reaching out to the partnering system administrators to see if they can help.
10. Practice your meeting presentation to ensure everything gets finished in the allotted time. For Convention, 25 minutes is a good guide, as meetings can be far apart from each other. For RESI, 30 minutes as meetings are physically close together. To get between RESI and Convention, plan at least 20 minutes.
11. Take advantage of virtual partnering. RESI provides virtual partnering during Convention week and the following week. Extend your ROI by continuing the momentum of Convention week into the next week.
12. Be prompt about your follow-up the week after Convention.

Whew! I’m So Tired (by the Beatles) just writing this, I can’t imagine how I feel after I go through the Convention Week + RESI gauntlet! For more details on how to succeed at Convention & RESI, join my webinar on May 20 for all the best tips and tricks!

Tags: AI, art, books, business, economics, economy, education, entrepreneurship, finance, history, investing, photography, politics, religion, Research, startups, technology, travel, venture capital, writing

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Convention week in San Diego has become much more than a single conference. One of the major events taking place during the week is RESI San Diego 2026, hosted by Life Science Nation on June 22, followed by four virtual partnering days on June 23–24 and June 29–30. This is the best place to secure meetings with early stage investors.

Around RESI and the Convention, investors, founders, pharmas, service providers, and regional delegations host receptions, networking events, investor forums, pitch sessions, private meetings, and educational programs across the city.

For attendees, the week often becomes a full schedule of opportunities that extends well beyond the official conference agenda. A company may attend RESI or Convention during the day and continue conversations at networking receptions and evening events across San Diego.

That is why having a compiled list of convention week events can be so valuable. Life Science Nation has curated a list of convention week events taking place throughout San Diego to help attendees better navigate the week. Covering Sunday, June 21 through Friday, June 26, the list serves as a useful resource for attendees looking to plan their schedules and make the most of their time in San Diego.

The list includes events for a range of audiences and interests, from investor networking and startup showcases to regional receptions, educational panels, business development gatherings, and informal social events. Some events are designed specifically for early-stage companies looking to connect with investors, while others are focused on strategic partnerships, market trends, or geographic regions.

Convention week can also be an important opportunity for companies to make the most of their time in San Diego. Rather than relying on one conference alone, attendees often use the week to build a broader schedule of meetings and introductions.

Whether attendees are focused on fundraising, partnering, business development, or networking, convention week offers a wide range of ways to connect.

Tags: AI, art, books, business, economics, economy, education, entrepreneurship, finance, history, investing, photography, politics, religion, Research, startups, technology, travel, venture capital, writing

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Early-stage companies often focus heavily on product development, market traction, and investor outreach—but one of the most critical foundations of long-term success lies in how equity is structured from the very beginning. A well-managed cap table is not just an administrative tool; it is a strategic asset that can influence fundraising outcomes, talent acquisition, and overall company growth.

To help founders navigate this essential aspect of building a company, J.P. Morgan and Polsinelli are hosting an upcoming webinar, “Best Practices for Cap Table Management.” This practical, founder-focused session is designed to equip early-stage leaders with the knowledge needed to make informed equity decisions and avoid costly mistakes down the road.

The session will cover key fundamentals every startup team should understand, beginning with how to approach founder equity splits. Establishing fair and strategic ownership early on can prevent misalignment and friction as the company scales. From there, the discussion will move into dilution—an inevitable part of fundraising—and how founders can plan for and manage it effectively.

Another critical topic is the use of SAFE notes, which have become increasingly common in early-stage financing. While they offer flexibility, they can also introduce complexity if not fully understood. This webinar will break down how SAFE notes work and how they impact future equity distribution.

Importantly, the session will also explore how cap table structure directly affects fundraising outcomes. Investors often scrutinize ownership distribution, and a poorly structured cap table can create hesitation or even derail a deal. In addition, speakers will highlight the importance of building a thoughtful stock option pool, an essential tool for attracting and retaining top talent in competitive markets.

This webinar is particularly relevant for founders, CEOs, and CFOs who are looking to strengthen their financial strategy, prepare for upcoming funding rounds, and build companies that scale responsibly.

The session will take place on April 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET and will feature insights from industry experts Vanessa Blanco (J.P. Morgan), Alan Gould (J.P. Morgan), Sara Dauber (J.P. Morgan), Jeremy Arak (Polsinelli), and Sougato Das (Life Science Nation).

Attendees should note that this webinar will not be recorded and will be available exclusively to live participants, making attendance especially valuable for those looking to gain actionable insights in real time.

Tags: AI, art, books, business, economics, economy, education, entrepreneurship, finance, history, investing, photography, politics, religion, Research, startups, technology, travel, venture capital, writing

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

RESI Europe is one of the major pieces in the puzzle of how to stimulate biotech and life science investing in Europe. In addition to the largest investor partnering conference coming to Lisbon on March 23, the European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC), a new alliance of major venture capital firms advocating for increased funding and policy support for Europe’s biotech sector, has launched. The coalition includes leading investors such as Novo Holdings, Sofinnova Partners, Forbion, and Omega Funds, representing a combined €24 billion in life sciences assets and involvement in more than 1,400 companies. It launched in association with Invest Europe, whose 650+ members manage 60% of European private equity and venture capital, totaling €1.25 trillion in assets. Alongside major initiatives like the European Innovation Council, whose funded companies enjoy 50% reimbursement for attending RESI Europe, the ELSC hopes to bring new energy to the entrepreneurial sector of life sciences. 

Despite Europe’s strong pharmaceutical presence—five of the world’s top 10 pharma companies by revenue are European—and the industry supporting 29 million EU jobs, the region struggles to scale and retain biotech and life science innovation. The coalition highlights several challenges: 

• Fragmented capital markets 

• Declining numbers of specialized VC firms 

• Regulatory hurdles 

• Limited access to growth capital 

Europe accounts for only 7% of global venture capital, compared to 63% for the U.S. and 14% for China. Fortunately, events like RESI Europe create a forum where nearly all of the firms representing the 7% are available for partnering, acting as a facilitator to stimulate European life science investment. The dire need for this is underscored by the fact that nearly all EU-based biotechs that went public last year chose to list outside the EU, highlighting concerns about capital flight. 

ELSC members joined the coalition to help reverse these trends, emphasizing the need for sustained funding from both public and private sources across all stages of life sciences development. Industry leaders argue that Europe must increase investment in innovative medicines and treatments, and create supportive policy frameworks and forums, like RESI Europe, or risk losing access to cutting-edge therapies. The ELSC aims to work with policymakers and leverage Invest Europe’s network to strengthen Europe’s ability to fund and scale biotech innovation domestically.

Tags: AI, art, books, business, economics, economy, education, entrepreneurship, finance, history, investing, photography, politics, religion, Research, startups, technology, travel, venture capital, writing

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

After moderating innumerable virtual and in-person investor panels like those that will light up the stage at RESI Europe, one question comes from the audience repeatedly: What do investors like to see in a cap table? How can you ensure that the ownership of your company is structured so

1. There is enough to own for follow-on investors
2. It attractive to investors
3. You don’t get diluted too much
4. Shares, rights and vesting schedules that your shareholders have make sense for who they are
5. Underwriting and doing an IPO is easy when it’s time?

The answers to these questions are the bread and butter of investment bankers and investors.

LSN assembled panelists from J.P. Morgan and Mid Atlantic Bio Angels for a practical, founder-focused virtual session on Best Practices for Cap Table Management. This webinar will walk through the fundamentals every early-stage company needs to understand to make informed equity decisions and avoid costly mistakes down the road. Attendees will learn how to approach founder equity splits, navigate dilution, and confidently interpret SAFE notes. We’ll also explore how cap table structure directly impacts fundraising outcomes and why a well-designed stock option pool is critical for attracting and retaining top talent. This session is especially relevant for founders, CEOs, and CFOs who want to strengthen their financial strategy, prepare future rounds, and build a company that scales responsibly.

We’ve all heard the horror stories of founders who were diluted so much that they hardly made money after exiting. We’ve heard about non-investable companies that have great technology but are simply not financially attractive. We’ve heard about the difficult board member who had too many voting rights and slowed the company strategy. This webinar on cap table management will cover various use cases and explain why they do or do not work. There will be written Q&A during the webinar, so you can get all your questions answered.

Tags: AI, art, books, business, economics, economy, education, entrepreneurship, finance, history, investing, photography, politics, religion, Research, startups, technology, travel, venture capital, writing

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

RESI JPM 2026 expands the opportunity to connect by adding Sunday partnering and event space, giving attendees an early start to JPM Week. With RESI JPM running Monday–Tuesday, Sunday provides a strategic window to schedule investor meetings, host receptions, or bring teams together while momentum is already building across San Francisco.

RESI JPM is the only JPM conference where 700+ investors actively providing seed to Series B funding attend, alongside in-licensors seeking preclinical through Phase 2 assets. For preclinical and clinical-stage biotech, medtech, diagnostic, digital health, and AI companies, RESI JPM remains the most efficient way to connect with aligned investors and strategic partners during JPM Week. Many companies schedule 10–20 meetings in a single day, making partnering the core of the RESI experience.

New Sunday Partnering Opportunities Added

Life Science Nation is announcing additional partnering slots on Sunday, January 11, hosted at the Marriott Marquis. These meetings take place ahead of the main conference and allow attendees to secure valuable investor conversations before calendars fill up.

The Sunday Partnering Slot sign-up form is available to RESI attendees, allowing registered participants to request meetings and plan their schedules in advance.

Start JPM Week with Purpose

This added day gives companies a head start to:

• Schedule investor or in-licensor meetings

• Connect with fellow RESI attendees

• Host private meetings or team gatherings

Located in the center of the JPM ecosystem, the Marriott Marquis offers a convenient and efficient setting to begin JPM Week with focused, high-value interactions.

With Sunday now in play, RESI JPM 2026 delivers more time, more access, and more opportunities to make meaningful connections before the week reaches full pace.

Tags: AI, art, books, business, economics, economy, education, entrepreneurship, finance, history, investing, photography, politics, religion, Research, startups, technology, travel, venture capital, writing