IndieBio

The world’s largest seed Life Sciences Accelerator devoted to funding and building startups dedicated toward solving humanity’s most pressing problems with life itself.

About the Program

Each team receives $250,000 in seed funding, lab and co-working space, dedicated mentorship, and become part of a huge network of IndieBio alumni, investors, biotech entrepreneurs, investors, press, corporate partners, and more.

For each IndieBio program, early-stage biology companies move to downtown San Francisco or New York City to take part in an intense 4-month program, unlike anything they’ve ever experienced in their Ph.D.’s and Post-doctoral training. Founders engage with customers and partners, pitch to investors, and turn science into a real product people pay for. Both locations run 2 programs with 15 companies each year.

IndieBio has an unparalleled track record of its companies raising seed rounds and beyond. We continue to support and invest in our companies through the years after the program.

Accelerate Your Science

A huge focus for every team while at IndieBio is going from bench to product in four months. This means making prototypes, getting them into the hands of mentors and potential customers, and iterating off of their feedback over and over again.

Teams are able to do this since we have a fully equipped biosafety level 1 and 2 lab on-site and accessible 24/7. It’s high density with world-class scientists, and many teams have had fundamental breakthroughs due to problem-solving and working with other scientists in their class. We also have a large network of facilities and institutions in the Bay Area that can lend teams equipment and expertise as needed.

“All the teams learn they’re capable of going at a pace that’s orders of magnitude faster than what they’re used to.”

We’re compressing years of learning for many companies and researchers into a four-month window. As a result, all the teams learn they’re capable of going at a pace that’s orders of magnitude faster than what they’re used to. This is always done with a focus on product directed discovery – doing science to discover how to make a product people actually want.

On a day to day level this means:

• Running experiments in parallel
• Working with IndieBio’s scientific staff
• Talking with other teams
• Creating mentor relationships through our global network and in the Bay Area
• Participating in a weekly scientific roundtable
• Science panel discussions with major biotech CSOs

Accelerate Your Business

We’re always pushing teams to close the distance between science and money. Your startup isn’t an academic project or research for a new paper. Becoming a real company means having a real product that people want and pay for.

We push founders beyond their comfort zone from day one. Most of our teams are relocating to a new environment in the Bay Area, building their first startup, and learning to do business for the first time. They are talking to potential customers and partners right away to close sales and test their assumptions on what the market really needs.

“Entrepreneurs figure out their ten-year vision in order to work backwards and build a world-changing biotech company.”

Our program shows founders to be relentless with emails, knocking on doors, and having in-person meetings as many times as it takes to close a deal. It’s about learning from every interaction to hone their pitch and iterate on the product. They know their numbers – market size, cost of goods sold, profit margin, and more.

Finally, entrepreneurs figure out their ten-year vision in order to work backwards and build a world-changing biotech company.

On a day to day level this means:

• Cold call and email training
• Weekly business development round table
• Creating a powerful pitch deck
• Pitching to investors
• Forging corporate partnerships
• Selling product

IndieBio