hope to see you all at Engage 2020! This is Princeton’s first innovation and entrepreneurship conference that is free and open to the general public. It will be held live and online November 4-6. With 50+ sessions and more than 150 speakers, many sessions are highly relevant to entrepreneurs and investors interested in university technologies and startups. Infact, I'll be moderating a panel at 9a ET on Nov 6 about "How to Start a Company Using University IP" with Althea Stillman, Julius Korley, Manny Stockman, and Tony Williams.
And what a busy October it has been. The IndieBio pitch day was excellent (you can catch a nice summary on TechCrunch as well as the NYC and SF demo day recordings here!) with several teams launching with technologies from AVX partners, such as Cayuga Biotech (UCSB), Advanced Microbubbles (Columbia, Colorado), Allied Microbiota (Columbia)! And DARPA has 'uncloaked' their new Embedded Entrepreneurship Initiative Program after 2 years of beta testing. Along with many, many, many other events and news flying by.
With our updated interface, you can see all ventures here: AVX Feed
Conversation Statistics: We are up to 8916 total connections and conversations on the AVX network - 471 more over the last month (6% month over month growth!). We are currently tracking 19 potential match negotiations and another 120 with multi-month long discussions heading toward possible matches (and a handful of matches in stealth). We have now actively connected 491 different ventures (out of 1230+ examined) with 1142 different entrepreneurs and investors (out of a pool of 2700+)
Top November Digital Events
Princeton Innovation Engage 2020 (Nov 4-6): Engage 2020 brings together a roster of accomplished academics, inventors, and entrepreneurs from science, medicine, engineering, technology, social sciences and the arts, and external partners from government, businesses, finance, and organizations. Our integrative conference platform will offer many opportunities to interact with our speakers and other conference attendees.
Anatomy of a License (Nov 10): Navigating the details of a license agreement with a university for an academic invention can be daunting from a startup perspective. Join Karin Immergluck (Exec Director of Stanford OTL and AVX Board Member!) and Seth Levy as they introduce you to the various sections of a typical license agreement and provide an explanation of the importance of the various terms.
BlueTech Week (Nov 16-20): BlueTech Week is all about the companies and the people driving the sustainable Blue Economy. It's the annual event where hundreds of senior international participants gather (virtually!) in San Diego to highlight collaboration and innovation. The theme this year: AquaOptimism and Sustainable Development Goals.
NYC Life Science Innovation Showcase (Nov 17): Please join us as New York City’s most talented life science entrepreneurs showcase their work to investors and biopharma business executives. The day will include virtual networking, rapid-fire business pitches, and distinguished keynote panels.
DIGITAL EVENTS
UCLA Entrepreneurs Pitch (Nov 2): Find out about great innovations at UCLA. Some examples include:intelligent insulin patches for controlled release, VR application for immersive self-expression in 360 degree space, transforming CO2 emissions into construction materials, a mobile app that allows users to access thousands of fitness classes, and developing small molecules that target RNA regulators to overcome therapy resistance in cancer.
Investor Spotlight: Deerfield (Nov 4): Collaboration, intellectual curiosity and pragmatism drive Deerfield’s approach. With its holistic view, Deerfield tailors flexible financing options designed to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and corporate partners. Dave Greenwald from Deerfield will present an overview of the firm and its primary areas of interest.
Princeton Innovation Engage 2020 (Nov 4-6): Engage 2020 brings together a roster of accomplished academics, inventors, and entrepreneurs from science, medicine, engineering, technology, social sciences and the arts, and external partners from government, businesses, finance, and organizations. Our integrative conference platform will offer many opportunities to interact with our speakers and other conference attendees.
STL Startup Week (Nov 9-13): STL Startup Week 2020 is going to be a week full of valuable events. There’s a great lineup that will connect you to resources, educate on trending topics, and build the core skills you need to launch and grow your business.
Anatomy of a License (Nov 10): Navigating the details of a license agreement with a university for an academic invention can be daunting from a startup perspective. Join Karin Immergluck (Exec Director of Stanford OTL and AVX Board Member!) and Seth Levy as they introduce you to the various sections of a typical license agreement and provide an explanation of the importance of the various terms.
A University Venture Perspective (Nov 10): BioPathways is a monthly speaker series featuring prominent local bioentrepreneurs, biotech execs and biotech investors. Teri Willey returned to Indiana in 2018 to join Indiana University as an Executive Director of IU Ventures and to launch and manage the new Indiana Philanthropic Venture Fund (IU PhV). She is a member of The Dimension Mill/Velocities Investment Committee, a Director of the Venture Club of Indiana, an Advisor to OnCode Institute in the Netherlands, an Advisor to the Frankel Innovation Initiative and serves on the Board of several early stage companies.
BlueTech Week (Nov 16-20): BlueTech Week is all about the companies and the people driving the sustainable Blue Economy. It's the annual event where hundreds of senior international participants gather (virtually!) in San Diego to highlight collaboration and innovation. The theme this year: AquaOptimism and Sustainable Development Goals.
NYC Life Science Innovation Showcase (Nov 17): Please join us as New York City’s most talented life science entrepreneurs showcase their work to investors and biopharma business executives. The day will include virtual networking, rapid-fire business pitches, and distinguished keynote panels.
Center for Biotechnology, Life Sciences Summit (Nov 17-18): The Life Sciences Summit is an early stage investor and business development conference that highlights innovation. The objective of the event is to connect emerging biotech companies and academic innovators with the capital and strategic partners they will need to move new discoveries through clinical development.
Penn Celebration of Innovation (Dec 3): Join the Penn Center for Innovation to celebrate Penn researchers and innovators who were awarded a patent this past fiscal year. Jonathan A. Epstein, M.D., Executive Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer, Perelman School of Medicine, will give a keynote address.
Yale Lifesciences PitchFest (Dec 3-4): See Yale's Leading Lifesciences investigators with this year's top Biotech proposals competing for accelerator awards of up to $300K from the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, presenting their ideas in 5 minute pitches. Biotechs, big pharmas, and venture investors won't want to miss seeing Yale investigators with advanced projects.
Innovate Next (Jan 7): Innovate Next is an interactive gathering from Silicon Valley Bank envisioned to deliver revolutionary thinking from influential leaders at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Trailblazing change-makers from some of the world’s most pioneering companies will discuss and debate pressing topics shaping the industry and innovative ideas on the horizon.
Some Thought Pieces
Common Causes of Very Bad Decisions: Morgan Housel at the Collaborative Fund breaks down some of the reasons we find good people making poor decisions. Morgan starts by quoting Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini who said it was "Inattention, distraction, lack of interest, poor preparation, genuine stupidity, timidity, braggadocio, emotional imbalance, ideological, racial, social or chauvinistic prejudices, and aggressive or prevaricatory instincts." and then expands a bit from there.
15 Rules for Co-Founder Relationships: Gagan Biyani, co-founder of Udemy, starts off very simply "I’ve been thinking about co-founders a lot lately. In 15 years of building companies, I’ve had >10 different co-founders. They’ve fired me. I’ve fired them. But I’m still friends with 100% of them to this day." A great short - and quick! - read that should resonate with the AVX community.
Illogical Truths: The Paradoxes of Silicon Valley: This is an opener I hope many of you can appreciate: "World-famous companies that have never turned a profit. A sprawling homeless epidemic cheek by jowl with some of the wealthiest zip codes in the world. Techies who are more likely to bond at Burning Man than at golf courses. Silicon Valley seems to make little sense from the outside."
First Round Review presents In Depth: a new podcast by First Round review that is going deeper on the advice startup leaders need to grow their teams, their companies and themselves. They are taking the very same signature style they cultivated over the years and are delivering it in a new way, giving you a chance to listen in on these deeper conversations firsthand.
And one more thing
Oh, hello again, my diligent friend - I thought I'd take the chance again to end this newsletter with something just for fun!
What's that? You want to have another coffee break? Well, maybe you'll be interested to take a peek at the economics of coffee - in one chart! "What goes into your morning cup of coffee, and what makes it possible? The obvious answer might be coffee beans, but when you start to account for additional costs, the scope of a massive $200+ billion coffee supply chain becomes clear." While COVID may have disrupted some habits and supply chains, the culture of coffee continues to evolve - aspirational automated pour-over coffee, anyone?
So long for now! – Hamdi