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3 - Starting up your company

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2022

Shreefal S. Mehta
Shreefal S. Mehta
Affiliation:
The Paper Battery Company
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Summary

Steps taken to start a new venture can make for rocky road ahead if consideration is not given to the points reviewed in this chapter. How to select and build a team and fairly distribute the founder’s equity, how to select an advisory board or a board of directors, and the importance of establishing a culture within the new company are all points discussed in detail and highlighted through personal stories and case examples. The main components of a business plan are covered in many texts and blogs, so this chapter focuses on the practical issues that few academic texts discuss, such as: how to perform due diligence on your investors and tips on creating slide decks , pitching and presenting business plans, and structuring financials and milestone to meet investors key concerns. The sources of financing and expectations of investors are reviewed with a view to guiding the entrepreneur or executive through the key elements for success, including successful closing on a term sheet or preparing for due diligence so that the process moves smoothly towards closure of the financing. The specific challenges facing an academic technopreneur moving into a decision-making executive (CSO or CEO) role are reviewed and guidance offered on utilizing the strength of the team around them.

Keywords

startupnew ventureterm sheetbusiness planbusiness modelstrategyequity distributionfounder’s equitycap tableventure capitalangel financingpitch deckfinancial planmilestone-driven planningdevelopment milestonecompany stagetechnopreneurteam buidlinghiringrecruitingboard of directorsadvisory boardinvestorslide deckexecutive summaryassumptionsgene therapycell therapyregenerative medicinedistributing equityscientist to CEOengineer to CEOvaluationvaluing a businessdue diligencenon-dilutive fundingoperational efficiencyoperationsmeetingsconflict resolutionmanaging team
Type
Chapter
Information
Commercializing Successful Biomedical Technologies , pp. 77 - 121
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

References and additional readings

Blank, S, and Dorf, B. (2012). The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. K&S Ranch Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-0984999309Google Scholar
Feld, B. (2019). Venture Deals: Be Smarter than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist. 4th ed. New York: Wiley. ISBN-1: 978-1119594826Google Scholar
Fled, B, and Cohen, DG. (2019). Do More Faster: Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley. ISBN-13: 978-1119583288Google Scholar
Harnish, V. (2012). Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It … and Why the Rest Don’t (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Gazelles Inc Publishing. ISBN: 978-0986019524Google Scholar
Mehta, S. (2004). Paths to entrepreneurship in the life sciences. Nature Biotechnology 22(12), 1609–1612.Google Scholar
Mehta, S. (2019). Chapter 2: From scientist to CEO, in Bio and MedTech Entrepreneurship: from Startup to Exit, edited by Flaadt, H and Dogwiler, J. 2nd ed., Stampfli Verlag. (Note: accompanying text for the BioBusiness course taught by the author, with details at http://www.biobusiness.usi.ch/).Google Scholar
Shimasaki, C. (2009). The Business of Bioscience: What Goes into Making a Biotechnology Product. New York: Springer. ISBN-13: 978-1441900647Google Scholar
Shimasaki, C. (2014). Biotechnology Entrepreneurship: Starting, Managing, and Leading Biotech Companies. Elsevier Science. ISBN-13: 978-0124047471Google Scholar

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