I was in the audience last week when Brook Byers shared his 30-plus years of experience as a venture investor at the UCSF Center for BioEntrepreneurship (CBE). As his host and moderator, G. Steven Burrill, pointed out, it was a rare opportunity to hear Byers’ soft-spoken yet authoritative musings in a somewhat informal setting for two uninterrupted hours. The room was full of bright scientists and tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, eager to learn how innovation can be translated into commercial success. The conversation, which consisted largely of Byers’ remarks punctuated by Burrill’s gentle but persistent probes, covered two major areas: What are the hallmarks of a successful venture? And how does a venture investor separate the wheat from the chaff in making investment decisions? Along the way, Byers offered practical tips as well as glimpses into his philosophy and outlook on business.
Focus early money and attention on the white-hot risk. New ventures are built on innovations and by definition untested ideas and hypotheses. Byers suggested that the entrepreneurial team work on a thorough assessment of the risks and identify that white-hot risk—the one around which the business can fail— and focus early money and attention to address it. In drug development, for example, the white-hot risk is often wrapped around the biology. “Most people want to postpone the experiment,” he noted, but in fact this early focus on the white-hot risk equates with efficient use of capital. By concentrating early resources on the white-hot risk, a business can emerge in a much stronger position to secure the next (and more substantive) round. A corollary is that early failure translates into less costly lessons that can propel new ideas.
Spend more time on fieldwork than on the writing of the business plan. Byers emphasized the importance of talking to people—30 or so—and seeking their input, as part of the process for developing the business plan. In his view, entrepreneurs should spend more time on fieldwork than on writing, but this part of the process, which is often difficult and intimidating, is easy to overlook. Not surprisingly, he suggested tapping one’s network during this fieldwork phase and, importantly, writing notes after each conversation to make the best use of the input.
Be sure you have a solid knowledge of the adoption process. Byers noted that the rate of adoption is almost always underestimated. This in turn adversely affects the accuracy of the projected revenue ramp and creates the potential for companies to get carried away and build infrastructure and spend money too fast. He walked the audience through the process: the clinical trials, the submission of data to peer-reviewed journals, the time to publication, then the adoption by key opinion leaders and ultimately their recommendation to include a product in the clinical pathway. “There is just no way to front-run that,” said Byers. And don’t forget pricing and reimbursement. He reminded the audience that doctors are notoriously slow adopters, and understandably so, because they are making decisions that affect lives. Similarly, he urged the audience to think through the challenges to distribution and clearly understand the economic incentives needed for every point on the distribution chain.
One (good) product at a time. As the conversation turned to platform vs. products, Byers noted that it is challenging for a platform company to develop more than one vertical (product/market) at a time. The key, he said, is “to pursue products in an orderly sequence” and be very clear in the business plan about what the family of products will be. He pointed out that Myriad Genetics, with the famed BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests for genetic predisposition to cancer, has been a one-product company for a long time. The same goes for Genomic Health with Oncotype Dx, which by any definition is a success story in the world of molecular diagnostics. By the way, Byers noted that he “loves” molecular diagnostics.
Always leave a little on the table. The subject turned to today’s economic climate and the companies that are trying to raise the next round following an earlier, very favorable round two years ago (e.g., $20 million raised, $80 million post money). For many of these companies, the starting point today is, at best, a flat round, but more investors are opening the negotiation with “30 percent off” as Burrill pointed out. Byers counseled a more measured, judicious approach when it comes to valuation. He went on to suggest that valuation should not be the sole or key criterion in deciding on an investor. “Think about who you want to be in the foxhole with when times get tough.”
There are more great ideas than good teams. Byers listed the idea, the business, people and capital efficiency as key ingredients of a promising venture. He spoke of the great athlete—an exemplary CEO with a track record of prior successes—but felt that the great athlete is an exception. Instead, he looks for people who are smart, credible, thoughtful and flexible about letting venture investors help round out the team. The team has to be “authentic” but does not necessarily have to be complete during the early stages. Byers also emphasized the importance of the right mix, and conflict as “the only way to get objectivity.” As Burrill probed persistently about the role of culture, Byers spoke of culture as something that evolves, and cited Jeff Bezos’ ability to empower Amazon.com employees and get them to believe that they were going to change the world as a positive example of how culture drives a business.
It’s all about relationships. Looking at the eager faces in the room, Byers noted that scientists tend to pay attention to “things,” but urged them to remember that while ideas have a finite life, relationships endure. He suggested that they spend the time to cultivate relationships—those with mentors, coworkers, collaborators—and invest the effort to stay in touch.
A book you must read. Byers strongly recommended High Output Management by Andy Grove which, written in 1983, is still relevant today.
Building companies is ambiguous and messy. Byers offered these words of wisdom almost as soon as he sat down and this seems to be a good encapsulation of the process. This is where I believe scientists have an edge over businesspeople, because scientists are trained to deal with ambiguity and complex, interacting variables on a day-to-day basis. And they have to learn to accept and thrive on interdependency with their colleagues who may be competitors trying to beat them to the finish line.