Gm Brazeryens. The last line of this news feature is all you need to know about us.
[Welcome to Issue Lucky Number 13 šāā¬ ofĀ The House Brazeryen, where we break down the latestĀ Brazen Bio,Ā Brazen Capital, and bio-startup-related news for you fortnightly, in roughly 5 minutes.]
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INTRODUCING: Brazen Capitalās first Junior Venture Fellows [JVF01]
Weāre excited to introduce you to Katie Pohl and Liam Lewis, our first ever JVFs! This is a competitive three month program through Brazen Capital where students/trainees interested in life sciences venture capital can learn along side Monica and Shawn.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
KATIE POHL received her BS in Biology from Emory University in Atlanta. She is currently a PhD student at UCLA in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctorate program where she studies mitochondria in human retinal ganglion cells. She is the proud recipient of a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31) from the NIH and already has exposure to the venture world through the UCLA Technology Development Group.
LIAM LEWIS completed his undergraduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and now is a PhD student at Duke where he ALSO studies mitochondria in human retinal ganglion cells (WOT!). He is a Ruth K. Broad Graduate Student Awardee (2020-2021) and AAAS/Science Program for Excellence in Science Awardee (2019) and has worked with a local VC fund. Liamās most proud accomplishment:
āā¦being the first of my family to graduate from college. Seeing the sacrifices and challenges my parents faced on a daily basis were a consistent reminder to keep pushing forward and to follow my dreams and interests no matter where they take me.ā
āLiam Lewis
Each week, JVFs work on deals, participate in pitches, learn basics of venture capital and startups, attend office hours with the partners, and more. If you are interested in becoming a future JVF please reach out*.
[*But, honestly, folks, if you donāt study RGC mitochondria you canāt hang with us. J/K]
Brazen Bio Q&A featured in crunchbase!!
Grateful to discuss the BrazenVerse with crunchbase bio reporter, Keerthi Vedantam. Check it out: HERE!
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
QED.
VC CORNER: Is debtquity a thing?
Contributed by Scott Alpizar, PhD ā Alright, the dreaded moment is here. Itās time to fundraise. Your deck is ready to rockāwith your PAM and LAM in it, of courseāand youāre about to take your pitch on the road and wow some investors. [Yes, there are A LOT of other things you should do before going out to investorsā¦ just work with me here!]
Right as youāre walking out the door, you think about who you should talk to. Youāre obviously going to talk to venture capital firmsāthey have money. Your good friend also mentioned something about his uncle being an angel investor, you should go to him! But letās take a step backāthe fundraising process isnāt just thinking of āwhoā, you also need to be thinking of āwhatā.
Not all money is the same. Taking some money means you give up parts of your company. Others puts your company into debt. And different types of investors may offer different types of funding. So, before you go to fundraise, you should know these types.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
There's A LOT of back and forth on whether debt or equity is "good" or "bad" these days.
As I was just getting into VC, I found Elizabeth Yinās Twitter thread on debt vs. equity, which served as a good primer. Iāve since learned a lot about these and have seen some pros and cons (plus how grant funding can fit into the equation), so letās break it down.
Equity. This is money exchanged for a percentage of your company. But you will likely need to give up some of your equity for the new investors. This is typically what VCs offer. Certain convertible instruments (SAFEs for example) fall into this category as well, although the investor doesnāt obtain their equity right away, it is promised in the future.
Debt. This is money that will need to be paid back at a future maturity date, plus any accrued interest. However, some loans are also convertible, which means that instead of being paid back, the debt amount (+ accrued interest) could be converted into equity in the future. Angel investors typically invest with convertible debt [or SAFEs].
Grant Funding. I want to add this as a main option since itās helpful for early-stage biotech startups. These can be government grants such as SBIRs/STTRs, grants from nonprofits or patient advocacy groups, or even grants from big corporations. These can go a long way and usually donāt require you to pay them back or give up any of your company.
So, which is right for your startup? Well, that depends. If youāre too early, VCs may not see value. You can try for angels and get some convertible debt, but isnāt debt bad? And your SBIR grants may keep the lights on, but they may not be able to cover every expense you haveāplus nobody likes writing grant applications.Ā
Each has pros and cons, but the first steps are knowing what you need and knowing what you may be asked to give in return. The first part is on you, the second part is on meāand I donāt think Iāve given you enough info yet to be able to make any informed decisions! A high-level summary isnāt going to cut it, so Iām going to tackle each of these types in more detail over the next few weeksāhopefully youāll come out of this knowing what type of funding may be right for you.
š Brazen Snax
š©ŗ One of many āAI beats cliniciansā articles to comeā¦ cardiology edition
š° Irony of ironies, this article is behind a fucking paywall
š¦ Low hormones and herpes: Emerging biomarkers of long COVID?
āš½ Perpetuating āsystemic racismā in science: funding agencies
š„¶ Prime example of why scientists need to pay attention to context, DUH
šš½ Consider this: Anthony Fauci, MD
š„© Whereās the beef? Right here in the beetle larva seasoning
ā° TikTokCrak: Trout Milking, Genetics 101, and Incomplete Dominance
šŖ Carveout
WOW. Anyone with an interest in the venture capital industry must read The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future by Sebastian Mallaby. Gripping stories from Gene Kleiner and the Traitorous Eight to new details on Gurley and Kalanick.
šš½ A Dose of Gratitude
We are grateful for everyone who has reached out because of the crunchbase article! Welcome to the Brazen Army. The response has been overwhelming and we will reply to all of you shortly!
š Brazen Meme
āļø Feedback
Please tweet all thoughts, questions, and insults to usĀ @brazenbio. Bring it. No, really. COMEšš½ATšš½USšš½BROšš½
Another entertaining, witty and informative edition!
By far my favorite newsletter to open!
And the meme!šš!
Awesome, please keep them coming...