The road to entrepreneurship- Building Your Validation Package for Partnership

Hi! My name is Pavandeep, I am a Research Scientist turned Strategy Consultant, looking to make a difference in the world of healthcare. Join me as I chart my journey into the world of Venture Building at ZINC, a mission driven venture builder that brings together 70 individuals from diverse backgrounds to innovate and build companies in areas of high global need. Cohort seven's mission: the effect of climate change on health.

Building Your Validation Package for Series A and Pharma Partnership

During the second week of the accelerator, we were invited to a session exploring the the process of building a validation package for engaging with partners, particularly VCs for series A and pharma customers. These two sectors have very mainly overlaps despite their different sectors. Key industry experts such as Chris Murray from Astex Pharmaceuticals , Paul Ashley from Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine UK , Leigh Brody from AlbionVC , and Rob Kniaz from Hoxton Ventures shared valuable insights at a great panel session. Here's what I took away from the session:

1. Securing Your First Meeting

The first step to building a relationship with VCs and pharma is making yourself stand out and validating the need. As Chris Murray pointed out, it’s essential to clearly differentiate your product and show how it aligns with the company or investor's specific needs and investment strategy. Demonstrating that you’ve done your research? on the organisation and showcasing how your tech can fit into their internal roadmap is crucial. You can do this by reading their investor reports, their strategy decks and trawling the web for podcast interviews with their c-suite. Certain acquisitions and partnerships can also suggest what the organisation might be planning in the future.

Paul from J&J also emphasised the importance of listening to the questions you’re asked in these first meetings. Their questions reveal their internal priorities and what they’re trying to solve. Answer these questions thoughtfully, but be cautious not to overpromise. Tailor your responses to show how your solution can fit into their needs, even if they initially ask hypothetical or broad questions. You can work with people who are adjacent to the industry to find out what these questions might be so you can have some responses prepped beforehand. If you don't have the answer, use that to as an opportunity for a follow up call where you can mine more information.

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2. Building a Longer Dialogue

Securing the first meeting is only the beginning. To keep the conversation going, ask good questions that show you’ve done your homework and demonstrate your understanding of the market. VCs and pharma partners are looking for passion, ambition, and realism. They want to see that your product has potential, but they also want to understand how experienced you are in the space and how solid your go-to-market strategy is. They also want to know what your appetite for the area might be. Are you worth the investment of their money and time?

To move from a first meeting to a lasting dialogue, it’s essential to highlight the degree of validation you’ve already achieved. Whether it’s real-world evidence, clinical trials, or expert endorsements, showcasing the credibility of your tech is key to building trust. VCs and pharma often reach out to their networks for third-party validation, so make sure your advisors and scientific partners vouch for your product's feasibility.

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3. Common Red Flags to Avoid

VCs and pharma often see recurring red flags that can derail conversations. Here are some that were highlighted during the sessions:

• Lack of market research: Always do your due diligence. Know the specific numbers in your space, like market size or target cohort, and avoid vague generalisations.
• Weak go-to-market strategy: Provide concrete use cases of how you plan to bring your product to market, and ensure they are tailored to the market you’re targeting.
• Over-reliance on local markets: If your focus is too narrow (e.g., only targeting the NHS), it signals a lack of global vision and frankly, isn't VC backable.
• IP concerns: It’s not just about having a patent; you need to show you can execute and defend it if necessary.
• Low-quality data: Investors and pharma are particularly cautious about data quality, so ensure your data sources are credible and robust. The more reliable the data, the more likely your solution will be viewed as legitimate.

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Conclusion

This week's sessions provided a wealth of insights into what it takes to engage with VCs and pharma. These lessons will be invaluable as we move forward in developing a solid strategy for long-term partnerships.

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#TechBio #PharmaEngagement #SeriesAFunding #StartupJourney #VCInsights #HealthTech

Thanks for reading this week! I will be back more regularly from now with updates to share!

As ever, the lovely members of my cohort have been hard at work and are documenting there own experiences. You can access their blogs and newsletters below:

• Donna Egan Zonder
• Veronika Bridgman
• Marjo Palanee
• Oliver Knight SmartShift Energy
• Louise Thomas and William Hicks who have founded Air Aware Labs with its own weekly newsletter

Thank you to:

• Dr Jack Halligan from Prova Health for speaking to us about our commercial strategy
• Natasha Rostovtseva for also speaking all things strategy and defining the problem clearly
• Gurpreet Balrey for catching up with family
• Maria Frolova and Danielle Gotkis from ESSNTL for helping us to define our advocacy strategy
• Dr. Vishaal Virani, MBBS from YouTube for giving us a health dose of what it takes to sell in the healthcare space
• the lovely ladies from the HBA EMEA London chapter who attended a small dinner I organised in London Emma Cleary Christine Buggle Spearing Eva Bialek Zoja Soloviev Reena Rajdev Rachel Bellamy Charlotte Morley