Nature Biotechnology Volume 27 Number 1

10 February 2009

Four steps to finding the right people. Of all the ingredients in a biotech start-up, getting the right people involved is most crucial. Here, Ian Brown, CEO of SDP Technology, provides pointers for putting together a successful business team.

To start a biotech company, you need technologyassets, a commercialization plan, abudget and seed funding. But one key aspectthat is often the difference between success andfailure is finding the right people. Building aboard of directors, a management team andan advisory team with the right mix of experienceand expertise is of utmost importance. Myjourney with SDP Technology has beenbuilt around finding the right people first andthen building and refining a business strategywith the team.

In my experience, the investment in timeand effort to find the right people and builda core team at the early stage is essential.Development of the strategy, the plans andthe budgets does not start until the people areon board. The return on this investment canbe exponential, and it is measured by superiorefficiency, energy and performance. Below,I outline four key steps that should help anyaspiring entrepreneur build the right team andbring the correct people on board.

Step 1: set the visionBefore talking to anyone, you should createpromotional materials to help present theopportunity and the vision. This exercise assistsin communicating the enterprise and its positioning,and having materials readily availableallows quick and efficient communication.In the very early stages at SDP, for example,this included a PowerPoint presentation onthe company with a preliminary informationmemorandum (similar to a prospectus). I alsocreated a two-page (back-to-back) investmentsummary sheet (similar to any analyst's researchreport). This sheet helped people visualizewhat SDP might look like in a year or so when the company's programs may have progressedenough to attract analyst coverage. Later, as theteam formed, we created a 12-minute narratedpresentation on the science. This was then convertedinto a Windows Media Player video foreasy e-mail distribution. We also developed amore detailed PowerPoint presentation on thecompany with a comprehensive informationmemorandum.

As you generate new ideas or take on recommendationsabout your start-up business(described in Steps 2 and 3), you should continuouslyreview and refine your strategy, plansand budgets as well as the PowerPoint presentationand information memorandum.

Step 2: engage as many people aspossibleI invested time in having coffee, lunch, dinneror drinks with everyone in our network—mentors, colleagues, alumni, bankers, fundmanagers, advisers, analysts, journalists andmany others. On each occasion, I was presentingand discussing the whole story—the science,the company and the vision. I wanted toraise capital from sophisticated investors andreceive feedback from and lay groundworkwith investment bankers, analysts, journalistsand publicity consultants. What's more, Iwanted to obtain suggestions or recommendationsfrom market participants on additionalpeople who could join and add value to theteam. I remained flexible in the conversations,always keeping the doors open to ideas thatmight contribute to my plans and priorities.

Later, as the team formed, we started to usethe 12-minute narrated video presentation onthe science. As we set up meetings, we confirmedthem via e-mail and included a copyof the video. In the e-mail, we suggested thatthey watch the video before our meeting, as itwas an efficient way to get an overview of ourscience. This allowed us to focus the meetingon the company and the opportunity rather than on the detailed science. During the meetings,we either talked through the PowerPointpresentation (if in a more formal setting, suchas a boardroom) or the investment summary (if in a less formal setting, such as a café). Weforwarded copies of the in-depth information memorandum as a follow-up.

All this meant that in the very early stages, Ihad meetings, coffee, lunch, dinner or drinkswith three mentors, one venture capitalist,five alumni, four bankers, three fund managers,three advisers, two analysts and twojournalists, among others. This took severalmonths, with me also having to run the business,raise funds and refine and improve therelated presentations and materials. Later, wepresented to contacts in financial markets—including five sophisticated investors, threeventure capitalists, two fund managers and three analysts.

This methodical process allowed us to collectinformation that was later fed into Step 4.The information assisted the team in developinghighly tuned strategies, plans, budgets andcommunication tools. In my experience, it isextremely important to get out of your officeand talk to a broad range of market participantsto communicate the business story andget feedback.

Step 3: an interactive processWithin the presentations, you should detaila team structure organization chart (includingfilled and vacant positions) and talk aboutit. It is important that you listen for feedback because the people you talk to might offer information crucial to shaping the core team,and they might just know someone you shouldtalk to—a potential team member. In the earlydays, when we presented SDP, we often hadpeople say, "You should talk to X; he or shehas a lot of experience in Y." For each recommended member, we did a background checkand spent time talking with the person.

It is instructive to relate how this processworked in creating the team at SDP. A key event was presenting the company informationto our new chairman, Andrew Lord, whois an experienced commercial lawyer specializingin venture capital private equity anddebt, mezzanine funding, business structuringand corporations law and capital markets. As Andrew is actively involved at board level withmany unlisted and listed biotech companies,he knew Murray Tait through his dealings withanother biotech company, Cerylid Biosciences(Melbourne, Australia). At the time, Murraywas that firm's vice president of drug discovery.When I spoke with Andrew, he suggestedI talk to Murray.

A week later I followed up. By the end of themeeting with Murray, it was clear that he hadthe skills and experience to manage SDP's drugdiscovery and development program. In fact,Murray had the requisite qualifications andmore than 27 years of international industryexperience in drug discovery with internationalindustry partners, including 14 yearswith GlaxoSmithKline (London, UK), 1 yearwith GlaxoSmithKline in Singapore and 12years with AMRAD (Richmond, Australia) andCerylid. The passion Murray showed for drugdevelopment and his interest in our science, plans and the opportunity was invigorating.I knew that he was the right person to driveour discovery and development programs. Wemade Murray an offer, and he joined the team.Murray is now chief operating officer at SDP,and he was instrumental in the developmentof the 12-minute video.

Many of our core team and our extendedteam of consultants were found this way. Wehave done many coffee, lunch and dinner presentations;we have done many formal presentations—in some cases, we have raised capital,whereas other times, we received recommendationsthat helped refine plans.

Step 4: engage everyone on the teamIf you do your job correctly, everyone you bringonto the team will add value and detail to theplans. It is important to engage them, get theminvolved in the company as quickly as possibleand facilitate them taking ownership of theplans.

Once the team is formed, it is essential thatthey critically review any existing strategies,plans and budgets and take ownership of them.This can be done in several ways. I usually startby either initiating a detailed review and discussionon each element of the strategies, plans andbudgets or starting a risk-management review to tease out key issues and create methodologiesto manage or mitigate them. The review processoften helps to refine plans and, in some cases,can assist in finding ways to accelerate them. Whenever the team presents the new revisedstrategies, plans and budgets, I always ask if they'own the plan'. I remind the team that we will beasking investors to provide funding, and investorswill ask if we are committed. I reinforce thisby pointing out that the team will be standingalongside me when I present our plans to investors.They need to be able to put their handson their hearts and know that the plans are thestrongest we are able to build.

In the case of SDP, when Murray Tait joinedthe team I asked him to do two things: first,conduct a risk-management assessment ofour plans; second, refine and further developthe detailed R&D plans and budgets. Whenwe were discussing what needed to be done, Isaid that he should feel free to change anythingthat requires reworking, that we all owned theplan and we will be measured by our ability todeliver on it.

Ownership is a key factor in success. Ournew board members, management team andadvisers have all contributed to the company'sstrategy, plan and budget development.

Conclusions

Having lived and worked in Australia andEurope, as well as participated in many projectsin the United States, I believe the resourcesI refer to in this article exist internationallythroughout the biotech sector. But they areparticularly effective in key biotech cities suchas Boston and the Bay Area in California.Thankfully, the sector has evolved so that thereare enough people with the depth and breadthof skills and experience to draw from and helpbuild a great biotech company in many partsof the world. In most cases, the biotech cultureallows small start-up companies to engage theright people in various ways (casually, parttimeand full-time).

I believe an entrepreneur's role is to buildthe team and develop and execute the strategywith his or her team. To achieve this, an entrepreneurfirst needs to focus on finding the rightpeople. Development of the strategies, plansand budgets does not start until these peopleare on board. Using a process based on developingmaterials and then getting out and talkingabout the opportunity makes it possible tofind the right people. Then you can build andrefine the strategies, plans and budgets with theteam and create a great company!

Back