Adam Torres and Dr Juliet Singh discuss investing.
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Show Notes:
What should you look for in investment opportunities? In this episode, Adam Torres and Dr. Juliet Singh, Founder & CEO at Global Strategic Medical, Investment Partner at Debere Partners and Alumni Ventures, explore Juliet’s criteria for investing in companies.
About Dr Juliet Singh
CEO, entrepreneurial, and board level services on a global basis in a variety of areas including pharma, biotech and medical devices. Serving on venture capital and angel investor groups seeking excellent opportunities to fund and grow. Also, seeking consumer products for evaluation and commercialization.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to be a guest on the show, just head on over to missionmatters. com and click on be our guest to apply. All right. So today’s guest is Dr. Juliet Singh, and she’s a founder and CEO at Global Strategic Medical and also an investment partner at DeBear Partners and Alumni Ventures.
Juliet, welcome to the show. Oh, thank you so much, Adam. All right. So I know that you were sent over to us from Brad and over at the Newport investor conference. So first off I’m going to it. You’re going to it. Are you excited? Yes. I’ve actually been in Southern California for almost a year.
A week and a half now at various medical conferences as a judge, our panelist, and then I’ll also be a judge at Brad’s conference for Newport Beach investor. Hmm, that’s great. love it. And so this will be the first conference that I’m going to that, Brad Hoster is throwing.
have you been to these conferences in the past with, with Brad or with that team? I’ve been a long ago when I used to live in Southern California, but now I’m based in Silicon Valley. So, I’ve hit the whole round in this last 2 weeks for a variety of investor medical conferences. have to ask, cause I love going to conferences, but I know some people don’t always make it out late.
Like what keeps you coming back? But for me at this point, I mean, I come out of a medical school background and then getting starting my career at Genentech then Baxter drove regulatory approval for recombinant factor eight globally, which at the time was one of the first biotech products. Then that allergan drove botox approval globally for the 1st, medical indication for eye disorder.
Most people know that product for cosmetic, which is the billion plus market out there. Have to beat in that space and then corporate officer with a cardiovascular company where we were fired. And then I launched a company as CEO founder over 10 years ago and took a public. So the type of conferences I’ve gone to over in the past years have varied from those specifically in regulatory to medical to more science when I was CEO founder investment type where I’m presenting to investment groups for fundraising and now given I’m on the venture side.
I’m more the judge panelist going to come medical conferences, looking for good, unique investment opportunities in medical Pharmaceutical or biotech. thank you for sharing that. And I think based on your background, obviously just the education piece, but then also the founder side, the growing a company side.
I mean, you have really that 360 view and now the investor side, of course. So you’ve really done every part of the ecosystem there. I’m curious from your end, like, what do you look for when it comes to investment opportunities? when I’m at these conferences, or even when I get investor presentations, which are quite a few in medical device, pharmaceutical, biotech.
I do focus in initially as a CEO, I want them to be professional and especially knowledgeable in their space. If they’re running or starting a medical device company, then they should have a background in that space. Pharmaceutical biotech is even tougher, so 1 should be coming out of hopefully corporate environment with it have a hands on experience.
Or medical background, scientific. But know what it takes to get a drug to the market. And then I also look for revolutionary products, med device, drug or biotech. Where there are not really any other similar products in the marketplace, but you have a product that’s filling a market void because I looked at market opportunities globally.
And if you have a product that’s just coming in to a space, for example, and med device, where there’s already the similar medical devices. That, for me, is not going to be probably an area of interest. And then the company should have a clear regulatory path of what it takes to get the product to the market.
Globally, I look for patent protection in this industry. That’s important. And then again, market opportunity that revenue stream is very important. And if they have data, then show me the data, whether it’s. Animal studies are human studies. Show me that data in a summary format. And I especially don’t like if the CEO refers me to a publication.
As we don’t have time for publications, nor want to read publications, it’s the job of the CEO to summarize that data in a summary. Format so one can review it. And there should be no NDA required for looking at that type of data. And I’m also don’t like to see relatives in a company, whether it’s father, son, or daughter, a strong believer, it should be all business, and so those are the key things that I look for in terms of investment opportunities. What about on the on the company satellite? Like, how big should the company be? Or like, at what stage are you looking at at companies? I should say. Yes, I’m flexible. I am flexible in terms of if you’re beginning phase, especially a med device.
I’m a bio is a tougher space. So preclinical just where they have animal data. It’s a little tougher for me to get over as the failure rate is high as you get even to get that animal data and to get over. On that, the success rate goes down. I think the success rate in the industry is around 6 percent or so is very low.
So I’m flexible in that way, but I’m so I’ll look at a venture, but I can analyze it quickly. If it works. That’s sort of the criteria I’m looking for and then move on from there. I mean, we’ve talked a bit about the, about the business and maybe high level on like, you know, whether you like family there, not family there, which you said, of course, it’s got to be business business that you don’t, you don’t look for that type of family business.
But what about, I mean, specifically for the, for the founders like what kind of things are you looking for in them? Yes, for the founder, especially the C. E. O. know your have an expertise as I mentioned in the company that you’re a founder or starting if it’s the medical company, med device, pharma, bio, definitely have background experience in it because these are tough areas.
Even I see people coming into that space. That are tech people are real estate, and they have no idea as to what the definition of, say, for example, preclinical, even means really have got to come from extensive background experience and even there, for example, myself. Where I did, and then I look at the data at the end of it all, you need to have a bit of luck that that data, those clinical studies, for example, pharmaceutical biotech, make it all the way from phase 1, phase 2 to phase 3.
It is very tough, even if you have, say, Einstein as CEO, if the data doesn’t work. Then that mission is over, you can’t do anything to change it. So you do need a bit of luck and then you need an expert medical person, which I can’t stress enough. That really comes based hands on experience to design those trials, because if they miss something.
And that becomes an issue for the trial. That’s also going to negatively impact that trial. Now, how important it is to have experienced clinical people that know that specific space and. Therapeutic area that they, they’re going after
so you’re an investment partner over at to beer partners and then also alumni ventures. Maybe tell us a little bit more about about the groups. Yeah, again, I. Look at the based on what I outlined type of opportunities and then to bear partners. We’re also more family office based and it’s based.
And then I was out in London for less than 2 years prior to cobit. And alumni ventures is. According to pitch book 20, 23, one of the most active BC firms in the U. S. it’s all looking at U. S. based ventures. It’s multi stage and sector. And we don’t care as far as geography within the US. There’s over 1300 portfolio companies.
It’s a network powered venture capital. There’s 10, 000 individual investors and over 600, 000 followers. So it’s quite a quite an extensive network with an extensive array. That met to buy. Pharma, biotech, and so on, and AI centers too, medically related. So you’re looking at, you know, you’re at a lot of deals.
You’re looking at a lot of innovation. You’re looking at a lot of comp, a lot of companies. What, what excites you right now? And I don’t mean like you don’t have to say a specific company’s name. It could be a niche in a technology. It could be developing. It could be, I mean, I’m just trying to, you know, a lot of things come across your desk.
What excites you right now in the industry? Yes, I’d like to see mentioning all those items that I look for. looking at a cardiovascular venture that has the ability. You place a scaffolding, and it can rebuild the valve. Naturally within the body that to me is a very good venture and mental illness right now, topping as 1 of the top.
Health concerns globally and looking at a venture seriously that is more neurotransmitter based, that can help people with the. Depression anxiety, so those are just the top 2 right now, given some focused on and maybe 2, 3 others that fall below it, given all the 100 ventures. I see a lot, right? And then you’ve got to like the CEO and they, they can’t become defensive when you ask them questions.
They have to be professional answers, questions, professional manner, and not get defensive. And if you don’t know the answer to something, then say you don’t know, rather than trying to make up an answer. Yeah, you can say, I’ll get back to you regarding that, but that’s important too. Okay. And it’s important that they hire well, have experienced professional and trustworthy people on your team, the best you can determine, because sometimes when a company venture becomes successful, people start getting envious, and they want to take over the role as CEO and become backstabbing.
So there’s a lot of things that could occur that you may not know. Is the case for a person that you may have even known for years. But that those dynamics change when perhaps they were not able to start or run a company and feel they want to run a company. Heard hires are very important. You want to hire people on the board that will help you with whatever it is, marketing, regulatory, clinical, manufacturing, or fundraising, not just board members.
Thank you. Give you a hard time and just ask question after question, but don’t contribute. I would like to put that actually is making significant contributions and the job of the CEO is a lonely, hard, difficult job. Make sure you’re focused and you’re not doing a number of ventures as CEO. If I see a CEO and they’re running 2 companies, that’s a negative to me as it takes 100 percent of your focus and time to drive these products from start to finish.
Whether you want to get acquired or IPO or take it to market yourself, but be 100 percent focused. That’s wonderful. Well, Julia, I think you’ve given literally a roadmap or a masterclass into what I feel like individuals should be aspiring for out there in terms of like what’s going to you know, deem being, being an investable company.
Right. Like, so there’s a, there’s another side of that, of that whole conversation, which is if I’m, if I’m an entrepreneur or CEO, I’m listening to this right now. And I’m, and I’m in that space or just in general, I’m thinking about like where my deficiencies are and where, you know, cause I feel like most of us are pretty self aware on that, depending, right.
I guess. Just figuring out like, okay, I’m strong on this, but I’m not strong on this. I’m strong on that, but I’m not, you know, this part we could use a little bit of work, but I feel like as, as founders kind of check those boxes off and become stronger, they just make a better case for investment, not just with yourself and your group, but just in general, right.
It just makes them a more attractive partner to those that would want to be investment partners. That’s right. And have a good summary presentation put together. All these key points, and if you have data, that is your bread and butter. So, that data in a summary format. Yeah, and it does not surprise me. I know this is we’ve communicated through email a multiple times, but it doesn’t surprise me that they chose you as a judge because you have, because you have a direct, but I mean, like, you’re not guessing here.
I know you are. That’s why these conferences keep choosing you as a judge. I come from the ground up with a medical background to actual hands on experience and repertory to CEO, so it, it, it helps a lot. Amazing. Well Julia, first off, it’s been great having you on the show, looking forward to meeting you in person at the conference.
That being said, if somebody is listening to this and they want to follow your journey and, and and connect with you, I mean, what’s the best way for people to do that? I think just my global strategic medical email. So Juliet at global. Strategic medical. Dot com, as I pay attention to emails, I’m not a real big social media person.
I’m private that way. But emails, I will focus in on. Fantastic. And appreciate that. And to the audience, as always, thank you for tuning in. If this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t hit that subscribe button yet. Hey, now is your invitation. Hit that subscribe button because this is a daily show.
We’re releasing new content for you each and every day, and we don’t want you to miss any episodes. We have many more mission based individuals coming up on the line, and you’re not going to want to miss it. And for our long term listeners, if you haven’t left us a review yet, hey, We appreciate reviews helps the show grow and helps us extend content.
So leave that review, Juliette, thank you so much. And I will see you at the conference. Appreciate it. Sounds good, Adam. Thank you very much.
