In a previous article, we explained the value that venture builders, incubators and accelerators bring to the biomedicine and healthcare ecosystem. Today, we would like to look further into how a venture builder like BHV Partners can help researchers with disruptive ideas who want to provide patients with a therapeutic solution but lack experience in business development and attracting investment.
Starting a business in the healthcare sector is exhilarating when we consider its potential impact (prevention, diagnosis, curing and simply improving patient’s quality of life). However, barriers to entering the market (preclinical and clinical trials, certifications, approval from healthcare authorities, etc.) and the risk involved in funding a long-term project make it a complex undertaking. Our advice to the researcher-entrepreneur is to always surround themselves with good advisors and experts, not only scientists but in business and entrepreneurship, who complement their skills, and a venture builder contributes this expertise from idea to success.
Right now, BHV Partners is the only venture builder specializing in healthcare in Southern Europe and is therefore the only one able to provide real and practical focus on the needs of biomedical researchers-entrepreneurs, who are considerably different to those in other sectors.
The value that a venture builder brings
- Duration: Long-term, from the idea and the start-up creation to exit.
- Intensity: Strategy and hands-on (not mentoring).
- Expertise: Highly specialized by sector and entrepreneurship.
- Network: To experts and investors.
Investment: In the portfolio. - Business model: Equity and/or fees.
Operating model of BHV Partners
BHV Partners works side by side with the researcher-entrepreneur as part of government bodies and team to define:
Strategy and value proposition:
- Defining the strategic plan for the start-up.
- Defining the governance and team once the start-up is established.
- Defining the financial plan and the fundraising strategy (public funding and private investment).
- Accompanying in negotiations with investors.
Technology advice:
- Defining the roadmap.
- Identifying and limiting the scientific, technological, and business risks of the project.
Business Plan & Investment Deck
Access to network of experts:
- Incorporating an Interim CEO and experts as needed.
- Potential directors for the advisory board of the start-ups.
Profile of venture builder professionals
A venture builder operates as a talent hub. To provide strategic and operational advice to each new start-up, the venture builder has the support of qualified experts who have prior experience, in both success and failure, so that they can anticipate the processes, look for alternative paths and find the necessary resources.
BHV Partners is an international network made up of more than 60 experts with proven experience in the different stages of a biomedical start-up, right up to launching the product or service onto the market: serial entrepreneurs, investors, business angels, C-Level industry executives, doctors and scientists.
Another important aspect is how the founding team intertwines with the venture builder team. At BHV Partners, we recommend including a venture builder as part of the board of directors of a start-up and incorporating an Interim CEO until raising a series A round, as well as the necessary experts in each stage.
Once the start-up is already in the market, the venture builder can keep its share and help grow and expand the project or sell its share to the founding team or other investors or companies.
Types of projects selected by BHV Partners
The venture builder mainly looks for seed projects that respond to medical needs that are not currently covered, as well as proven businesses who need scaling-up. In the case of BHV Partners, we opt for seed projects in biotechnology, digital health, medical technology and devices, diagnostics, and nutrition.
Here you can see the start-ups we have invested in to date. In 2023, we will take part in creating new entrepreneurial projects. Follow us or contact us if you have a disruptive idea we can collaborate on.
