Cagri Savran, Founder - Biotech Angel Bootcamp I

Angel Invest Boston

Join Sal's Syndicate: https://www.angelinvestboston.com/our-syndicates

Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish & Richardson

Hesitant about investing in biotech startups? Founder Çağrı Savran and I discuss the unique opportunities and requirements of angel-scale life science startups. This is the first in a series of biotech angel bootcamps.

Highlights:

• Podcast Sponsored by Purdue University Entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney
• Sal Daher Introduces Founder, Çağrı Savran, PhD
• Purdue University Now Evaluates Professors of Engineering on Translation of their Technology to Industry as Well as on Publications and Citations
• Episode Created for Angel Investors Who Are Hesitant About Biotech
• Savran’s First Round of Funding Was Very Easy, the Subsequent Three Rounds Took Great Effort
• Several Walnut Members Had Invested in SQZ, Which Also Had a Fast Angel Round
• “...they saw parallels between SQZ and Savran.”
• ” If somebody is taking too much time to think, they're probably not interested and that's okay. You don't need the whole world...”
• “...it's similar to marriage... Sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn't click.”
• There Are Many People Looking for Attractive Investment Alternatives – It’s About Finding Those People
• Sal Asks About an Alternative Way to Fund Biotech Startups that Could Be More Efficient in the Long Run
• Angels Should Consider Staging their Investment in Biotech Startups Over Four Years with Annual Drawdown Based on Milestones
• Staged Funding Would Provide a Stable Financing Path So Founders Can Focus on the Business
• Angel Investors Have Contributed Much More than Money to Savran Tech; Advice, Introductions and Encouragement
• Çağrı Savran Wants Angels to Appreciate All the Trial & Error Involved in Building Life Science Companies
• When Things Work Out, Life Science Companies Can Build a Lot of Value Due to Strong Barriers to New Competitors
• Software Startups Face Stiff Competition Due to Low Barriers to Entry for Competitors
• “...you need to worry about minimizing user-to-user variation, especially if you're making an instrument. It's not like a computer code where if you hit a couple of keystrokes, it doesn't matter who it is that's hitting the keystroke.”
• Biotech Startups Have Different Metrics for Progress from Software Startups
• Biotech Startups Tend to Collaborate with Big Players; Software Startups Usually Compete
• Strong Patents Are Needed to Make Biotech Startup Valuable to Strategic Players
• “If the startup is making progress, it will have built a prototype.”
• Maturation of the Technology Is an Important Measure of Progress, It’s What Will Get the Company Acquired
• Founder-Led Companies Are Special
• Startups Can’t Afford Experienced People in Management but They Can Get Them on the Board
• “...the lesson here for angels is, don't expect a professional CEO in a life science startup.”
• We Are Living in a Time of Miracles; Biotech Miracles
• There Are Promising Biotech Startups that Can Flourish with Just $5 Million in Funding – Angel-Scale Biotech Startups

Topics: biotech, management, angel investing strategies