neurolaunch is the world's first accelerator for neuroscience startups
TRANSCRIPT
NeuroLaunch is the world’s first accelerator for neuroscience startups.
Atlanta Business Chronicle, August 25, 2014
NeuroLaunch Team
Jim Schwoebel Kyle Grossman
Alex Greven
Chris Klaus Jordan Amadio
Abi Riddle Garrett Wallace
Neurotech companies face many problems
45%
23%
23%
9%
Capital
Experience
Adop7on
Access
Source: NeuroLaunch Investor Demo Day (February 3rd, Poster Company Data)
Problems NeuroTech Entrepreneurs Face
Trac7on
Problem #1 -‐ Capital • The most common problem that entrepreneurs face in the neurotech industry is access to seed capital and investors at the seed stage.
Access to investors
• Since there is inherent risk in neurotech investments (and many failed phase 3 clinical trials in drug development), most investors have shiIed more towards series A investment over seed.
Risky pitch
• Moreover, there is a significant issue in that many neurotech companies take a long 7me to exit, which makes them less inves7ble.
Time-‐to-‐exit = SLOW
Problem #2 -‐ Experience
• Many of the entrepreneurs star7ng neurotech companies are from a research background and do not have significant commercializa7on experience.
Lack of experience
• This makes them want to seek the right people to help them grow their company.
Seeking mentors and advisors
Problem #3 – Technology AdopHon • What channel would they need to go to in order for consumers, hospitals, or physicians to adopt their technology? How do they gain that access early so their product fits with what the buyer wants?
Customer Adop7on
• Most entrepreneurs in neurotech do not know how they can scale their technology from 10 sales/month to 1,000 sales/month to 1,000,000 sales/month (distribu7on).
Distribu7on / Scale-‐up
• Reimbursement considera7ons are huge, and most do not know how exactly to make their products reach customers, although many of their products are wanted by customers .
Reimbursement issues
Problem #4 – DemonstraHng TracHon • Some of the startups in neurotech just need a larger client or early partner adopter base, which is oIen restricted within the neurosurgery community.
Early Adopters
• Clinical trials are oIen costly and it is hard to validate the technology without significant investment.
Clinical Trial Valida7on (Phase 1/2/3)
• Many companies in our accelerator face a dilemma: should I go-‐to-‐market in the consumer space first before going into regulated territory to show trac7on, or pursue a direct medical device/drug pathway?
Revenue in consumer market vs. regulated
space
SoluHon
2
100+
90 day
Problem #1: Capital Problem #2: Experience
Problem #3: Technology Adoption Problem 4: Demonstrating Traction
Devices
Pharmaceu8cals
So:ware & Machine Intelligence
Wearables
Why now?
Neuroscience research acHvity is increasing
Source: Brain Initiative. http://www.braininitiative.nih.gov/index.htm
+$350 Million
+$1.5 Billion
Neuroscience startup acHvity is increasing
Since 2005, the startup “accelerator” model has demonstrated a proven track record
Sources: The Economist (figure); http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/10/these-are-the-15-best-accelerators-in-the-u-s
“Entrepreneurs are almost universally happy with
the accelerator experience.”
- TechCrunch.com
NeuroLaunch, 2014
NeuroLaunch captures trend toward “niche” accelerators
Health-Related Accelerators
Neuroscience-Focused Accelerators
All seed accelerators = 228 Worldwide totaling $7.2B in funds.
seed-db.com
What have we done so far?
NeuroLaunch’s TracHon from Batch 1 Idea to fully executed accelerator in 8 months. >60 applicants hailing from 10 states & 7 countries, <10% admit rate. >30 guest speakers and 10 tours throughout Atlanta. Community of 120+ mentors and rapidly growing. To date, 6 NeuroLaunch Companies have raised >$3M and continue to grow. 22 NeuroLaunch Poster Showcase startups at Demo Day. Largest single gathering of neuroscience startups ever recorded.
Batch 2 Overview [June 1st – August 25th] • Surgical device technology to provide more efficient care to children and adults with hydrocephalus MonitorMed
• Crea7ng accessible technologies that engage and empower children with disabili7es to enhance their quality of life Zyrobo8cs
• Developing intracerebral drug delivery instruments that enable the treatment of devasta7ng neurological diseases Atanse
• Technology plaaorm for improving pa7ent outcomes through data driven concussion management Cogni8ve Health
• Loca7on-‐based mobile soIware providing support to people with epilepsy and other neurological disorders Neurish
How can we work together?
Ways to work together moving forward • Mentors for poraolio companies • Strategic partnerships / clinical partners • Abend VIP Recep7ons and Demo Day
• Atlanta Mentorship Recep7on (June 10th 6:30-‐8:30 PM) • Boston Mentorship-‐Investor Recep7on (June 30th, 6:00-‐9:00 PM) • San Francisco Mentorship-‐Investor Recep7on (August 4th, 6:00-‐9:00 PM) • Investor Demo Day (August 25th, 1:00-‐8:00 PM)
• Sponsorship Opportuni7es (Demo Day, Accelerator) • Investment Fundraising (Fall 2015)
Appendix • How much each of our companies has raised (follow-‐on funding) • Poster company raise/sought data (from list of problems) • Demo day date/7me • RSVPs for Mentorship-‐Investor Recep7ons and Demo Day • Why Atlanta? • Curriculum & Value Delivered by NeuroLaunch to compainies
Our B1 companies • $300k round right now (conver7ble note) Neurocruitment –
• $100k+ Atlanta pediatric device consor7um grant Safe heart –
• seeking $700k seed Brainchild technologies –
• $500k raised, $200k nondilu7ve grant receively received Cogni7on Medical –
• raised roughly $300k, s7ll seeking capital Mint Labs –
• raised $1.1M Intellimedix –
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Capital Raised $0 $0 $0 $0 1500 $26,000 $200,000 $0 $27,000 $50,000 $200,000 $400,000 $200,000 $1,005,000 $1,250,000 $550,000 $90,000 $2,200,000 $300,000 $50,000
Capital Sought $0 $5,000 $10,000 $20,000 $100,000 154,000 $230,000 $250,000 $300,000 $500,000 $500,000 $600,000 $800,000 $900,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,500,000 $5,000,000
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
Amou
nt of M
oney ($
) Poster Company: Cap8al Raised/Capital Sought
• Experience the future by meeting the top neuro-startups.
• Connect with like-minded investors and innovators. • Expert Panel discussions, such as: ü “Horizons in Neuroscience Investment and Innovation” ü “Future of Neuro-Wearable Devices” • Join the global NeuroLaunch community.
August 25, 2015
RegistraHon Links
Ø Atlanta VIP Recep8on (June 10th, 6:30-‐8:30 PM). h]p://neurolaunchviprecep8on.splashthat.com/
Ø Boston VIP Recep8on (June 30th, 6:00-‐9:00 PM). h]p://neurolaunchviprecep8onboston.splashthat.com/
Ø SF VIP Recep8on (August 4th, 6:00-‐9:00 PM). h]p://neurolaunchviprecep8onsanfran.splashthat.com/
Ø Demo Day Registra8on Link (August 25th, 1:00-‐8:00 PM). h]ps://neurolaunch2015demoday.splashthat.com/
Why Atlanta?
Atlanta is primed to support a robust community for life science and neuro startups.
Source: Dr. Paul Judge, July 2014. www.scribd.com/doc/232821080/The-Guide-to-Atlanta-s-Start-Up-Scene
World-class institutions foster an oasis of innovators
Strong ecosystem of successful healthcare startups in Metro Atlanta
Hartsfield Jackson Airport is the Busiest Airport in the World, Enabling Streamlined TransportaHon to/from Atlanta to other major Neuroscience hubs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport
Headquartered in the heart of Atlanta’s Tech Square
• Named Most Outstanding Research/Science Park in 2014 (AURP)
74 90 122 132
182
241 248
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
# of Neuroscience Faculty vs. University
Huge, Untapped Neuroscience Research Potential in Atlanta
Atlanta has cheap real estate relaHve to other major ciHes
$200
$500
$800 $800
$1,335
$2,500
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
Memphis Nashville Chicago Atlanta Boston San Francisco
Silicon Valley
New York London, England
Major Ci8es vs. Cost Per Square Foot in 2014
Atlanta Investment Community is on the Rise
Over the past five years (2009-‐2014), the city abracted over $700 million in private investment through InvestAtlanta, and Atlanta added nearly $100 million to its cash reserves
NeuroLaunch Batch #1: Nov. 3 – Feb. 3, 2015
• 3 months • 6 teams • 15 entrepreneurs • 50% from
outside Southeast U.S.
Tremendous global diversity.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
100
mentors demo day partners seed funding
Percent of value (%) pre-‐accelerator
post-‐accelerator
Value Delivered by NeuroLaunch Pre/Post Accelerator Delivery (Batch 1)
100+ Mentors bring deep exper2se in key focus areas
Clinical and Scientific
Product Design and Marketing
Entrepreneur and Industry
Legal / Reimbursement /
Regulatory
Investment (VCs/Angels)
Intangible forms of value
• connec7ons • confidence • mentor value • publicity • U.S. market
• small funding • community • network, visibility • funds, connec7ons • helped us actually become a company
Most useful parts of curriculum (Batch 1)
• Pitch nights were extremely useful to teams (3.25/4) Pitch nights
• Introduc7ons to mentors were extremely useful to teams (3.09/4) Intros to mentors
• Didac7c speakers were moderately useful to teams (2.78/4) Didac7c talks
• Peer-‐to-‐peer interac7ons were moderately useful (2.54/4) Peer interac7ons
• Demo day was moderately useful to teams (2.1/4) Demo Day