Beyond Traditional Fundraising

Resources to Stretch Your Start-Up Dollars

The Funding Dilemma: More than a Double Edged Sword

•  Resources Strapped – People/Skills – Place/Tools – Money

•  Low Signal to Noise Ratio – Conflicting Advice – Meaningful Feedback

•  Endless Sense of Urgency

The LEAN Start-Up Invasion

•  The MVP •  Early Customer Validation •  More with MUCH less

– Do you have a paying customer for your one prototype?

•  Use of Incubators/Accelerators – Like-minded community driven networks

•  Fail small and fast

Help is on the Way! •  People/Network

–  Mentors/Advisors –  Contract Services –  Interns and Co-Ops

•  Place/Tools –  Incubators/Accelerators –  Research Institutions –  Design and Manufacturing

•  Money –  Competitions –  Grants and Grant Match –  Strategic Partners

M2D2 Resources

•  Start-up friendly space –  Short term, scalable leases –  Like-minded community

•  Access to the larger community –  Large Corporations –  Industry support experts –  Events

•  Bolts to Clinical Trials •  Competition

–  Marketing –  Validation

UMass Partnership

•  Materials Characterization, Analysis, Selection •  Design and Prototyping •  Testing and Verification

•  Surgeons with Ideas •  Partnership with Pre-Clinical Investigators •  Large animal testing/clinical trial facilities

Lowell: Engineering Expertise

Worcester: Clinical Expertise

Lowell: Business Expertise •  Opportunity Assessment, Business Planning •  Market Identification, Analysis •  Integration into Graduate Courses

New Venture Support

•  Other University Resource Access – Core Research Facilities – Corporate Collaborators – Testing and Research Partners for Grants

•  Market Validation and Research •  Mentor and Advisor Identification/

Introduction •  Pre-Seed Funding

Accelerators and Competition– Choose Wisely

•  M2D2 New Venture Competition •  MassChallenge •  Merrimack Valley Sandbox •  Venture-Style and Corporate

Sponsored

•  Is the award worth the time/diversion •  Are there stings attached •  Are they experts in your space or can they get you to

people who are

Are Grants the Answer?

•  Moment Fund @ UMass Medical •  MSLC •  SBIR/STTR and State Matching

•  Do they distract or validate your effort •  Do you have what it takes to win •  Does it fit within your timeline

Strategic Partnerships

•  Can accelerate innovation, reduce costs and

provide a future sales/marketing channel and a

path to exit

•  More than 70% fail over time; only 10% deliver on

original expectations (Ogilvy&Mather)

•  Corporate BD, Open Innovation, Corporate VC

Do Your Homework

•  Target – Pipeline and focus fit – The ‘soft’ stuff – Would I marry this guy?

Make the case: Can this be a mutual beneficial relationship?

Deep Dive

Before the outreach: •  Know your potential partner completely and how

you are/should be connected •  Know what you want from the relationship and

what’s in it for the partner –  Be specific, but flexible –  Plan with key milestones

•  Have an internal lead, but coordinate with the entire team

Engage

•  Use your network •  Hear and understand what your partner

likes and needs – does it fit with your goals •  No today doesn’t mean no forever •  Don’t kiss a 1,000 frogs – word gets around

Manage the Partnership

•  Formalize your relationship •  What does the end look like •  Build/add where necessary •  Set up a joint work stream for major

milestones – how will the relationship work, who does what and when