Why Life Science Companies Fail,
and Why They Don't Have To
Scientific discovery often leads to a new company with a commercial product. But starting up a company is risky business. Statistics tell us that only about 10% of startups make it. Narrow that statistic to life science startups and the numbers get even worse. Why? Because unlike a tech company that can launch a product within months, a biotech company often requires years of development and the financial burden that goes with it before its product is determined to be viable, much less actually getting to market.
Compounding the problem is that while life science founders may be technical experts in their field, they often fail to understand financial strategies, the role and needs of stakeholders, and the nuances of bringing a product to market.
This knowledge gap, at best, can send investors running. At worst it all but ensures the immediate or eventual failure of the company.
In our upcoming webinar, “Predictable Failure (And How to Avoid It) for Early-Stage Life Science Companies,” our speaker, Lucia Mokres, the Founder and Principal of Araneae Biotech Consulting, will examine the complexities of this scientific founder knowledge gap and explore why even when aware of this knowledge gap many founders are:
- Overwhelmed by the complexity of the stakeholder ecosystem
- Resistant to doing the work required to close their knowledge gap
- Unfamiliar with the resources available to them in order to do so
- Unaware of the “unknown unknowns” and therefore fail to conduct their investigation in a comprehensive and organized way
- Unable to assimilate collected information into a strategic plan
During this one-hour webinar, Dr. Mokres will describe in detail how these problems are preventable if founders follow a robust, methodical process that allows them to discover and understand the needs and motivations of each stakeholder in their stakeholder ecosystem and develop a plan to close this gap and how doing so significantly de-risks their business model while providing them with a framework from which to create an evidence-based product development plan.
During this session, Dr. Mokres will also review the 6 major stakeholder categories that are relevant to most life science companies and provide specific strategies that she believes are critical for closing the knowledge gap between founders and their market success.
You can now access the webinar recording below.