Investing in Half a Bridge Won´t Get You Across

One of the most common questions investors ask me:
“𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿?”

While it’s tempting to just crunch numbers (capex, burn rate, cost factors), I’ve found that 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁:

🧪 Even in the age of AI, 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿. Research often means repeating what’s been done with minor tweaks—over and over—before something works.

🦠 When biology is involved, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱. Cells, organisms, and biological systems have their own agenda, leading to unpredictable delays.

🤝 Many startups rely on collaborations with external partners for product or technology development, but they have 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲.

This is why a reality check on the timeline is crucial. 𝗔 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Because no investor wants to be stuck with half a bridge to nowhere when a company runs out of funding just before reaching a critical milestone.

Only an experienced biotech entrepreneur can assess whether a timeline is realistic. If you want to ensure your next investment makes it to the other side, get in touch.