
YC competitor: how TechStars was born - Sam_Odio
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5933462
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rms
List of participants

# digitalsoap - St. Louis

# Eventvue - Greenville, S.C.

# Intense Debate - St. Louis; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sweden

# No Sleep Media - Denver

# LingoLinko - Philadelphia;

# Berkeley, Calif.

# Tru.Vu - Boulder

# Villij.com - Homer, Alaska;

# Bellingham, Wash.

# Zemble.com - Los Angeles

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davidw
I think it's cool they funded people in so many different places, although in
terms of getting people together to share ideas and have intense mentoring, Y
Combinator's strategy is probably better.

That doesn't mean this doesn't have a shot, though - maybe they'll get some
good people who simply can't pick up and move to SV or Boston.

It's not a zero sum game in any case, I hope they both do well!

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rms
There is such an enormous demand for this type of funding that I hope to see
many, many more YC style seed stage funding companies. I wish there was a way
to make the model work for biotech but I haven't figured it out yet.

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kmt
What is different in the case of biotech? Can you elaborate? Why do you think
the model doesn't work? Do you need equipment? Or is your biotech startup
purely based on software?

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rms
#1: Institutional investors in biotech require patents for funding. Period.
Without a patent, there is no funding. If you don't have a patent, you're
probably stepping on someone else's IP. Unlike software patents, life science
patents are real and enforceable.

#2: There are regulatory issues for most biotech startups. This means you may
need 3 years of cash to burn before you have a chance of seeing revenue.

#3: Startup costs are all around higher. Just about always, biotech startups
need specialized high end lab equipment in very specific lab spaces. The only
lab I've found that will take me is in San Jose and is $3,000 a month. The
_only_ commercial lab space in Pittsburgh is with a state sponsored
institutional investor and they only give space to portfolio companies.

A YC for biotech would need to be a true incubator with office/lab space. And
you'd have to give each team $100,000. In biotech, $100,000 is equivalent to
the "living expenses only" money that YC gives out.

It could very well work and I'd love to see it but someone would have to put
up a very, very large amount of capital for something very risky by the
standards of biotech investment.

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kmt
Very interesting. After all these difficulties, what attracted you to biotech
so much? I'm really curious. Is it primarily an intellectual/scientific
curiosity or a desire to help people or the business aspect of it or...?

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rms
I'm in biotech because I see a rare opportunity to bring a company to revenue
on $10,000. All I have to worry about is being sued.

It also gives me a pathway to this:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13464>

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aquateen
Incredible rip-off of YC. However, it doesn't look like too bad a deal...

They sound like "Mr. Skipper" to YC's "Dr. Pepper". I like to drink
rootbeer... not sure what that signifies.

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machine
This is completely off topic, but I couldn't resist: <http://www.marion.ohio-
state.edu/fac/schul/drp/dr.html>

I've had the misfortune of trying Dr Becker and Dr Perky.

Maybe, as in soda, when it comes to early-stage funding you can't beat the
original?

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pg
_Brainchild?_

