Building Biotech Businesses - Lesson 8: Networking, Marketing and Sales

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Please make sure you download the workbook for this masterclass before beginning the lessons.
Immerse yourself in the wisdom of accomplished entrepreneurs who have conquered global markets out of Switzerland. The first masterclass, Building Biotech Businesses, is useful for anyone in biotech or life sciences, for students and entrepreneurs already active in these fields, and anyone with an interest in building a successful biotech company. The host of this masterclass is Ulf Grawunder, a highly successful biotech entrepreneur.
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Lesson 8: Networking, Marketing and Sales
“Biotech startups normally don’t have a product yet that they could market. But of course, a startup company does market as well: its technology, innovation, its patents, its know-how, and its founders.”
Even though your startup may not sell its own drugs, you have to go out to industry conferences to make yourself known in the industry. In the biotech space, Ulf recommends several conferences. For instance, there are the global BIO conferences (Biotechnology Industry Organization). They take place usually in big cities in the United States in summer. BIO Europe conferences take place in spring and fall each year in different European countries. Then there is the famous J.P. Morgan conference in January of each year in San Francisco. When you’re in fundraising, not in seed financing, but certainly in series A financing and further, you should attend that event as well. The interesting thing about the J.P. Morgan conference is that it is happening only in a small conference hotel with invited guests. Ulf has never been invited directly but has attended the wider event several times.
If you don’t attend conferences, you are missing a lot of networking opportunities, and people just won’t notice you even if your company has a website. If you’re looking for funds, if you try to network with pharma companies with whom you could collaborate or who could be potential business partners, you have to attend conferences. And you have to have a decent website.
At these conferences, there are special meeting systems set up the conference producers. You set up your meetings and conference registrations about two to three months in advance. You go to these conferences usually with twenty to forty meetings pre-scheduled. These are 30-minute speed-dating meetings, all facilitated by a software system around the conference. Usually one or two of these meetings per day lead to a reasonable follow-up.
Ulf reiterates the importance of being outspoken about your company, of course only after protecting your innovation with a patent. Many startups are unnecessarily secretive for fear of being copied by a competitor. The competition may copy you anyway. However, if you talk about your innovation you might actually shun others away from going exactly into your area if you can show that you are ahead of them in your development.
“In my first company we were secretive about what we are doing. And then we became very outspoken in the second company. Provide enough detail that people understand that you are already fully on track and that things are working.”
Ulf notices a big difference between European and American startup founders in terms of communications. Europeans often have a high aspiration to present factual information and validated data. In contrast, American management teams seem to be a little bit more on the selling side before they actually have something to sell. Ulf encourages European founders to lose their inferiority complex, they are as good as American companies and should not hold back so much.
Highlights of this lesson:
- Biotech startups often don’t have products to market and sell yet, but they must make sure investors and pharma companies know them.
- Attend important conferences and their outside events. Research who among the attendants is most beneficial to meet. Schedule meetings in advance.
- Data is the currency you present at conferences because you most likely don’t have other assets as a startup.
- LinkedIn is the social media platform most biotech companies use.
- If you are a Swiss company, take advantage of the “Swissness” factor.
- Talk openly about your product, but only after patenting it.
- European founders are often more humble than American founders, unnecessarily so.
Ask yourself:
- Are you taking advantage of conferences taking place in your industry?
- Is your LinkedIn profile up to date?
- Are you talking openly enough about your innovation?
This masterclass is made possible with the support of the Gebert-Rüf Stiftung.
Concept and production: 8GR8 Films | Manuel Stagars 2024.