Tuesday, June 07, 2005

And Away We Go…(An Introduction)

Welcome to what may be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Here I hope to enlighten and inspire those who pursue or are considering angel investing in the life sciences with a behind the scenes look at the voluminous number of seed stage bio-pharma and medical device companies emerging in the Rocky Mountain region.

Establishing RNA Ventures, LLC in 2003 while engaged in business school has allowed for a continuing behind the scenes look at this exciting pipeline of life science potential. Spending years at the lab bench combined with years of work in the capital markets has afforded me a perspective that considers equally the strength of the science with that of the projected business model.

Kicking the tires of these emerging companies, a much less dangerous endeavor then kicking the test-tubes, and doing the due diligence has yielded a growing list of what I believe to be an environment where if seed funding is acquired the likelihood of a VC led Series A to follow is very strong.

A word of caution…this stuff is not for the faint of heart, but consider the history of the perceived bio-sleepy Colorado where the roots of Amgen can be traced, recent IPO’s from the likes of Myogen, Pharmion, Array Biopharma and Allos Therapeutics and, the sales of Dharmacon and Genomica are all just a sampling of the regional success stories. But these triumphs mark only the Paleozoic era of bio-pharma in Colorado, abundant life in the life sciences is certain to follow. You can think of me as your eukaryotic flashlight illuminating early investment opportunities with significant upside potential (but naturally not without significant risk).

Just a quick acknowledgment of thanks to Brad Feld of Mobius Ventures, who with the posting of his blog (Feld Thoughts), has functioned to both inform and inspire me to dip my toe here into the blog pond. I passionately believe that the blog will evolve into a critical component of the corporate communication landscape, impacting both internal and external clients and I would stress to young and old alike to learn the way of the blog…become one with the blog.

If you are an entrepreneur I would encourage you to contact me with your executive summary or business plan. If you are an angel investor or VC I would encourage you to contact me for a more in-depth analysis on any of the companies that have been highlighted. If you are neither an entrepreneur or an investor I would encourage you to contact me because well…why not?

A final DISCLAIMER: I receive no form of compensation for including any company here however, RNA Ventures, LLC may be engaged in a business relationship with one or more of the companies featured. But that would only make good business sense, no?

And away we go…first company up to bat is: MycoLogics, Inc.

No comments: