LabCentral Funding Innovation Studio

As we wrap up this year's Funding Innovaton Studio activities and plan for next year, I want to say thank you for being a supporter, friend, and champion of this work. And in exciting news, we already have TWO activations of our "preload the first question in the pitch Q&A" recommendation. Exciting progress! https://lnkd.in/gGvDvvjy

Just published - the results of our first experiment and recommendation for how to activate a tiny change to your pitch events to create a better experience for your founders. https://lnkd.in/gWfRcwvq We shared these results recently at our Sprint Showcase event and are thrilled to be able to open-source the recommendation to you and the broader venture & startup community. And even better, we are already hearing stories of organizations activating this recommendation in their pitch events. How exciting!

Yesterday, we hosted our first ever Sprint Showcase, hosting about 50 people at LabCentral for the afternoon. I’m so thankful to everyone who joined us - such a vibrant and thoughtful group, spanning investors, founders, pharma partners, and entrepreneurial support organizations. We also shared out the results from our first two experiments. One of those experiments focused on how we can create a greater sense of belonging at networking events for people who feel like outsiders when they arrive. The second experiment focused on applying research from Harvard Kennedy School around better designs for pitch events. I’m excited to share that six organizations have already volunteered to activate the recommendations we shared out from our results! https://lnkd.in/gdbktEAF

Success for the Funding Innovation Studio ultimately looks like real, visible adoption of more inclusive practices across the venture funding community. It looks like?nudges?that are so easy to integrate, basically everyone is doing it. It looks like founders actively seeking out investors that have adopted some of these best practices, just as savvy job seekers look for outward signs a potential employer shares their values. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQNcaJk7

"LabCentral continues to develop new programs to address the conditions that negatively affect representation in the life sciences industry," said?Johannes Fruehauf, MD, PhD, CEO and cofounder and president of LabCentral. "With the launch of the Funding Innovation Studio, we're convening innovators from across the investing and entrepreneurial communities to examine and evolve the processes underpinning the investments in life sciences companies." Check out the press release for our public launch (including a tiny rebrand from FIL to Funding Innovation Studio). And join us for the launch party and Sprint Showcase on October 30th! Press release: https://lnkd.in/gTjZ96zb Launch party invite: https://lnkd.in/gQzGh_jk

The LabCentral Funding Innovation Lab Sprint Showcase is just around the corner! Join us on October 30th to be the first to hear about the results from this year's experiments and help us craft plans for next year's experiments. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ggHVGRDQ

Congrats to our colleagues at MassVentures for being selected as a spoke in the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Investor Catalyst Hub network! Vinit Nijhawan (he/him), Managing Director of MassVentures, is one of our 2024 LabCentral Funding Innovation Lab sprint designers. We're thrilled to see their influence and impact expand with this designation!

Please meet our final three Sprint Designers for this batch of experiments! Natalie Levy, Crystal Brown, and Adam Jenkins - thank you for contributing your ideas and expertise to our work at the LabCentral Funding Innovation Lab this year! https://lnkd.in/gHKTtGGV

Today, we are featuring two more of our Sprint Leaders, who are helping us design the experiments we are running this year. Thank you to Tracy Warren and Vinit Nijhawan (he/him) for sharing your expertise, creativity, and enthusiasm for finding new solutions that create greater access and opportunity in venture funding. https://lnkd.in/gt2HD2-t

We are right in the middle of facilitating the LabCentral Funding Innovation Lab experiments for this fall - exciting! Today, I'd like to start introducing the experts we convened to help us design these experiments. Please meet Ashlee Halpin and Siri Chilazi! https://lnkd.in/gJZdcJum