Here's a little tidbit from Xconomy today with a good piece of advice I think. Joe Caruso, a veteran Angel Investor in the Boston biotech arena, tells biotech startups to focus on getting customers - NOT on spending all your time fund raising or figuring out an exit strategy.
He says if you are willing to bootstrap it a bit more in a tough funding environment, and spend the same time/effort in chasing customers as you do funding - you'll be able to secure some orders! Then the funding will follow.
Similarly, if you worry about creating a business and not obsessing about when/how to exit - you are much more likely to create value that someone will actually want to buy. He says entrepreneurs in many cases have been slow to adjust to the new valuations that biotech companies are receiving NOW. These are down from the heydey of 10+ years ago -- venture investors have become much more experienced and realistic - sellers need to adapt as well.
Seemed like good, straightforward, sensible advice to me from someone with a long history in the trenches from both sides of the lines.
Posted by Bruce Lehr September 7th 2010.
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