By Caroline Sai, Head of the EIT Investor Network and Angels Santé (Angels4health) & EBAN Board Member
It all starts with a great journey
As a start-up, raising money was already written in your DNA when the first idea popped into your head. Now that you are registered, your POC is done and your clinical data underway, you are set to start on your path to some serious fundraising. Loads of articles will tell you how to execute a great pitch that will bring you millions. The pitch is of course important but it is just the packaging, the teaser.
In reality, it all starts with a compelling story so let’s go back to the basics and reveal the 5 ingredients to a great entrepreneurship story line. We’ll forget to be shy and shoot straight for the stars! What you aim to have is:
- A powerful opening: you are planning to solve an unmet medical need that will serve millions with an incredible innovation never seen before.
- Diverse and complementary characters: that would mean building a well-rounded team with scientific, financial, business, regulatory skills. A charismatic founder with a vision that inspires trust and who has surrounded himself with a supporting advisory board, international, relevant KOls and outside consultants when needed.
- Memorable and unique content: Give depth to your story with data to validate your claims, show us how unique you are with your great science, your IP portfolio, medical publications and positioning versus competition while always balancing the show and tell ingredients.
- A seamless, logical flow: Your strategy moving forward flows, your roadmap is clear, your understanding of upcoming hurdles as well (regulatory, clinical pathway, market entry). Your financial plan and needs have been carefully elaborated with a comprehensive equity story. In essence, you know where you are going and how you are going to go about doing it.
- A satisfying conclusion: Being an entrepreneur is a journey and so is being an investor so make sure you foresee a valid exit for your company and your future investors.
A great story is certainly hard to find but continue working on it, shaping your drafts so others will want to discover it, believe in it and ultimately invest in you and your company.
Part II of this article is coming next month- stay tuned and subscribe to the Angel Observer to make sure you get it when it comes out!
About the Contributor
Caroline Sai is the Head of the EIT Health Investor Network and Angels Santé (Angels4health) & EBAN Board Member. The EIT Health Investor Network is a European network of healthcare investors dedicated to supporting healthcare startups in their fundraising journey. It is a network managed by Angels Santé and co-financed by EIT Health . To learn more about how to join our program as an investor or a startup, click here