The
buzz
and
excitement
at
JPM
might
well
have
been
from
another
era.
On
Tuesday,
the
second
and
final
day
of
of
the
Investival
Showcase
USA
in
Miami,
the
mood
was
decidedly
glum
when
it
came
to
raising
capital.
From
early
stage
investors
to
private
equity
experts
and
operators,
the
only
question
was
how
to
survive
the
current
funding
environment.
Investors
have
an
appetite
for
risk
but
generally
prefer
market
certainty.
They
can
pay
for
disruption
as
long
as
markets
are
not
disruptive.
And
that
has
precisely
what
has
shifted
markedly
in
the
past
two
months.
U.S.
stocks
suffered
their
worst
day
in
2025
on
Monday
with
the
Dow
dropping
900
points.
Add
to
that
the
news
about
broad
research
cuts
at
the
NIH
—
including
it
cutting
$250
million
in
funding
to
just
one
U.S.
university
—
two
deaths
from
the
West
Texas
measles
outbreak
in
individuals
that
were
not
vaccinated,
a
tariff
war
of
words,
job
cuts
at
the
VA
and
Health
and
Human
Services.
All
of
this
has
created
an
environment
of
unprecedented
chaos.
And
yet,
ideas
will
still
need
to
find
capital
and
innovation
must
continue.
So
what
do
you
do
in
such
a
world?
Get
creative
Mary
Schaheen,
president
at
Prevail
Partners,
said
that
companies
have
to
look
for
alternative
ways
to
find
capital
given
that
later
stage
startups
are
going
to
find
the
IPO
markets
fairly
closed,
though
she
hopes
the
IPO
market
will
rebound
at
the
end
of
the
year
or
early
next
year.
“We
do
a
lot
of
matching
funds
ourselves.
We
have
the
states
stepping
up.
We
just
talked
to
a
company
who
has
got
a
million
dollars
committed
by
the
state
of
Delaware
and
they
want
us
to
match
it,
which
we
will
gladly
do,”
Schaheen
said.
“It’s
all
kinds
of
interesting
ways
to
keep
it
going….”
So,
how
has
the
IPO
market
fared
in
the
last
few
years?
Andrew
Lam,
managing
director
and
Head
of
Biotech
Private
Equity
at
Ally
Bridge
Group,
said
that
we
are
in
a
kind
of
“IPO
nuclear
winter”
The
10-year
median
for
biotech
IPOs
is
35.
In
2020
and
2021
it
was
75
each;
2021
had
10,
2022
had
another
10
IPOs
as
did
2023.
Then
in
2024
there
were
17
IPOs
and
2025
is
projected
to
be
only
slightly
better
than
2024.
“The
bankers
tell
me
they
expect
to
close
the
year
at
25
given
the
macro
weakness,”
Lam
said.
“I’m
skeptical
that
we’ll
get
to
that
number,
but
we
are
still
very
much
in
the
cleansing
periods
after
the
heydays
of
2020,
2021.”
Crowdfunding
Another
creative
path
—
other
than
looking
to
states
to
get
funds
—
is
to
seek
help
from
the
average
consumer.
“If
I
were
a
small
company
now,
a
private
company
looking
for
$4
to
$10
million,
I’d
be
looking
very
seriously
at
crowdfunding,”
said
Jeff
Luber,
CEO
of
Clarity.
As
soon
as
someone
laughed
in
the
audience,
Luber
shot
back,
“It’s
no
joke.
Good
luck
trying
to
raise
$5
million
from
an
investor
as
a
pre-revenue
startup
right
now.
I’d
rather
do
it
$500
at
a
time
and
then
you
can
go
raise
up
to
$75
million
through
Reg
A
plus.”
He
explained
that
through
Reg
CF
(crowdfunding)
from
the
SEC,
companies
can
raise
up
to
$5
million
without
any
filings.
However,
SEC
does
require
an
annual
report
from
companies
engaging
in
crowdfunding.
Reg
A+
is
an
alternative
to
an
IPO
and
is
an
exemption
that
allows
small
companies
to
sell
their
shares,
making
it
possible
for
almost
anyone
to
invest
in
a
business
through
crowdfunding. In
other
words,
companies
can
use
the
Reg
A
+
to
raise
money
from
both
accredited
and
non-accredited
investors.
Reach
out
to
incubators
An
investor
with
AbbVie
pointed
to
incubators
as
a
great
starting
point
noting
for
entrepreneurs.
Doug
Faunce,
executive
director,
head
of
search
and
evaluation
for
eye
care,
named
incubators
Mission
Bio
Capital,
BioLabs,
and
SoCal
Bio
as
incubators
worthwhile
for
entrepreneurs
to
reach
out
to.
He
added
that
incubators
are
a
way
for
entrepreneurs
to
begin
to
“get
that
early
network”
that
will
ultimately
help
in
getting
funding.
As
a
large
strategic
investor,
Faunce
also
had
some
advice
on
how
to
engage
with
AbbVie
Ventures.
“Don’t
be
afraid
to
connect
with
us
early.
A
lot
of
folks
think,
‘Well,
I’m
too
early,
maybe
I
don’t
want
to
share
yet.’
Share.
Openly.
Early.
Often.
We
take
your
information
and
your
data
as
seriously
as
we
take
our
own.
The
earlier
that
we
can
build
that
relationship
on
your
journey
to
search
and
establish
that
first
funding
is
all
the
better.”
Have
a
commercial
and
clinical
development
plan
It’s
not
just
enough
to
have
a
regulatory
plan
for
success.
Startups
need
to
have
a
commercial
as
well
as
clinical
development
plan.
according
to
Peter
Bojo,
principal
at
TPG
Life
Sciences.
“It’s
not
just
all
about
getting
through
regulatory
milestones,
but
you
can
start
to
think
about
commercially
how
is
this
going
to
be
positioned,”
Bojo
said.
Photo:
bayhayalet,
Getty
Images