Top Ten Mistakes Made By Entrepreneurs
Panelist' Biographies
Rick Andrews, President and CEO, Thrasos Therapeutics
Rick Andrews has over 28 years of experience in the development, management and financing of new ventures in biologicals, diagnostics, and medical devices. Prior to Thrasos, Rick was the founding President, CEO and Chief Business Officer of RenaMed Biologics which was focused in cell based products for the treatment of Acute Renal Failure. Rick also directed the clinical program at VascA Inc., a “vascular access for dialysis” company, and helped establish the strategic foundation for Next Stage, a VascA subsidiary focused on unique therapeutic technology for the ESRD market. Rick has held Division President positions at BioTechnica Diagnostics and EcoScience, directing the introduction of biotechnology products into the fresh fruit, insect control, dental, and medical markets. He has held business development and strategic consulting roles at Amicon (division of W.R. Grace), where he helped to establish the W.R. Grace venture in bioartificial organ development. Rick completed a Master’s degree in Technology and Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Department of Chemical Engineering), a Master’s degree in Physical Biochemistry at Purdue University and is a graduate of Hobart College
Richard Horan, Senior Managing Director, Slater Technology Fund
Rich Horan began his career in the investment banking business in 1980, when he joined the Capital Markets Group of BankAmerica, San Francisco, CA. In 1986, he joined the venture capital firm of Johnston Associates in Princeton, NJ, one of the original seed stage investors in the field of biotechnology and life sciences. In 1998, Rich founded Sachem Ventures LLC, an independent seed stage venture development firm which focused in life science and healthcare markets. Rich joined Slater in January 2002 as Executive Director of the Slater Center for Biomedical Technologies and was appointed Senior Managing Director of Slater Technology Fund upon March 2005 combination of several Slater entities. He has served as CEO of several of his portfolio companies during his tenure in the venture capital business, including Immunicon Corp., Praelux Corp., and Medical Media Systems Inc. Rich received his A.B. from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.
Jon Lourie, Partner, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge
Jon Lourie assists technology, science based and other companies in all aspects of achieving commercial success. He represents companies and individuals around the world in joint ventures, technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, international law and securities law. Jon is Co-Chair of the Firm's Life Sciences Practice Group and a past Co-Chair of the Firm's Technology Transactions Practice Group. Jon received his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and a B.S. from McGill University.
Andre Marquis, CEO, Amplyx Pharmaceuticals
Andre Marquis has a long history of starting successful technology-based companies. He is currently the CEO of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, an early stage biotechnology company. Andre was a founder and COO of Chorus, a revolutionary business unit inside Eli Lilly that runs rapid, outsourced pre-clinical trials through Phase II drug development. Prior to that he was the CTO and Vice President of Marketing at Internet Pictures Corp, a founder and Vice President of Marketing at Emptor/Accept.com (acquired by amazon.com), and the head of Marketing at CyberGold. He holds an MBA from The University of California at Berkeley and a BA in Cognitive Science from the University of Rochester.
Edward A. Sullivan, Jr., Venture Capital Partner-In-Charge, KPMG New England
Ed Sullivan specializes in working with both publicly and privately owned companies at all stages of development. Ed’s industry knowledge includes software, electronics, communications, media, Internet, and professional services. His relevant technical experience includes issues regarding revenue recognition, including software contract accounting, channel management, restructuring, acquisition accounting, and stock compensation/equity transactions. In addition to his client responsibilities, Ed serves as Partner-in-Charge of the Venture Capital practice for the KPMG New England region.
Thayer Swartwood, Principal, ABS Ventures
Thayer Swartwood is a Principal at ABS Ventures, the independent venture firm originally associated with technology investment banking pioneer, Alex. Brown & Sons. Thayer invests in the software and technology enabled business services sectors. Before joining ABS, he was with Deutsche Bank Venture Partners, he served in the Corporate Development group at ZEFER, participating in a variety of corporate finance and strategic activities and was also part of the Technology Investment Banking group at Alex. Brown & Sons. He is actively involved with Gomez and Island Data. Thayer received his BA from Vanderbilt University.
Robert Valentini, President and CEO, Myomics, Inc.
Bob Valentini is President, CEO, and founder of Myomics, Inc., a Providence, RI early-stage biotechnology company that is discovering drugs for neuromuscular diseases and screening drugs to eliminate muscle toxicity. He was previously Program Executive at Shire HGT, Cambridge, MA, where he was responsible for Replagal, a $100-million enzyme replacement therapy approved in 34 countries. As a co-founder, director and chief operating officer of Cell Based Delivery, a biotechnology company that developed innovative products to treat hemophilia, anemia, and cardiovascular disease, Bob raised over $11 million in venture capital financing. He was formerly professor of medical science at Brown University, where he focused on biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He serves on the board of directors of Concordia Fibers, a developer and manufacturer of biomedical textiles and engineered fibers. Bob obtained his Sc.B., Ph.D., and M.D. degrees from Brown.
Steve Woit, Publisher, Xconomy; Chairman, Riga Ventures
Steve Woit is an investor in and publisher of Xconomy, a new media and events company covering technology, life science, and energy companies in leading high technology clusters. He is also the founder of Riga Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage Internet and software companies since Sept, 1999. Prior to this, Steve spent 17 years with International Data Group, the largest global technology publishing and research company, and was a Partner with IDG Ventures. He has over 16 years of Internet content and Internet-based services experience with companies providing online advertising and lead generation services. Steve is a member and former Board Member of CommonAngels investment group (www.commonangels.com).
Christopher Graham, Co-Partner-in-Charge, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge
Chris advises business clients of all types, although he invests much of his time on matters involving private equity. He counsels start-up enterprises and assists in their capital formation, represents emerging companies and private equity investors in different rounds of equity financing, and negotiates acquisitions, dispositions and management buyouts for corporate buyers and sellers, private equity funds and management teams. He is general counsel to many closely-held businesses, as well as to businesses acquired by his private equity clients, handling issues ranging from employment matters to commercial contract disputes. He also serves as counsel to several non-profits and numerous university-based start-ups. Chris received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Brown University.
