Top 3 mistakes biotech companies make when pitching to investors (and how to solve them)
Fundraising never stops in biotech, which is why company leaders need to continually refine their fundraising strategies. In this article, we are highlighting the top 3 mistakes we see biotech companies make when pitching to investors.
These three key mistakes came up during a recent appearance by our CEO and Creative Director Oksana Bovt on Life Science Marketing Radio, where she and host Chris Conner discussed the importance of marketing and storytelling to help improve a company’s chances of raising funds. Addressing these three issues can help level-up your fundraising marketing and attract investor attention more easily.
1. Underestimating the power of marketing to investors
It’s no secret that biotech marketing is focused on commercial products, launches, and patients. However, companies can’t bring their therapeutic to market unless they survive by funding the earlier stages of the discovery and development process.
Raising investor funds requires marketing, too. In the same way that you want to communicate the value of your drug to patients, you must communicate the value of your company to investors.
Developing a marketing strategy specifically tailored to the interests of potential investors will help you hone your organization’s messaging and uncover the strengths buried in your scientific hypothesis, technical process, IP, and data. This is the basis for creating a concise and compelling pitch that delivers the essential information investors need when deciding to fund your next stage.
2. Assuming data is enough to persuade investors
| Your science may be exciting and innovative, but that’s not enough to guarantee investor interest when competing for funds. The reality is that most companies pitching to investors and partners have great data or they wouldn’t be pitching.
So how do you stand apart from the rest? It’s in your story. A compelling story weaves together each component of a well-rounded presentation. Team, company history, science, technology, and data together build an overarching narrative that is unique to your organization. Highlight your scientific and business journey and offer insight into your decision-making rational to add depth to your data and make your company more memorable. |
3. Letting the audience’s mind wander
If you don’t keep the audience’s attention, you lose the chance to present your point of view. Don’t let their minds wander or allow them to make assumptions about your target, data, or science.
An effective biotech pitch connects the dots for the audience and provides a clear line of reasoning investors can follow to confidently invest in or partner with your organization.
When you structure your presentation, communicate one message per slide. This will allow you to strategically walk them through your corporate story step-by-step and ensure they understand precisely how your history, science, data, and results will work together to achieve your corporate goals and investor outcomes.
Your science and data are important, but it’s your story that gets you through the door and gets investors excited about your company.
To hear more about the importance of storytelling in your biotech pitch, along with some real-life examples of how we helped our clients tell their stories, listen to this episode of Life Science Marketing Radio.
PARTNER WITH THEORIA CREATIVE TO TELL YOU STORY
The Theoria Creative team will help guide your company through the branding, pitch deck, and website design processes so you’ll have the materials needed to showcase your organization’s innovative science and technology. Contact Theoria Creative to find out how we can transform your science into a complete company profile with cohesive communication materials.