Entrepreneurs’ Network

Entrepreneurs’ Network – 7:00PM, Tuesday, March 15

Build Your Company with Strategic Alliances

Location: Online Webinar

This event is FREE, however, registration is required https://bostonenet.org/events/build-your-company-with-strategic-alliances/

Being a successful entrepreneur often takes a special kind of person. An inventor, innovator, willing to work hard, long hours to build an idea, a dream, into a company. It would be a mistake, though, to assume that entrepreneurship means a solo slog through a long, lonely path to success. Building and growing a company generally requires considerable expertise and resources that go well beyond invention. Assuming proper steps have been taken to secure Freedom to Operate, identify a suitable gap in the competitive landscape, plot out a business strategy, and generate specifications for the product candidate/prototype, the work is not done. Depending on the complexity of the specific asset, product development can be a years-long process, requiring specialized expertise, including process manufacturability and scaling, quality control, raw materials sourcing and supply chain logistics, applicable regulatory compliance, distribution, pricing, marketing, sales, and the list goes on.

While a truly gifted entrepreneur certainly can build a successful company organically, hiring the right expertise at the right time, and essentially going it alone, Strategic Alliances can be leveraged to speed the process, and can even be an integral part of the product monetization strategy. Whether the goal is speed to market by securing specialized expertise and resources, tapping established regulatory infrastructure and distribution channels, or paving a path to a lucrative financial exit, well considered collaborations can nicely complement a brilliant entrepreneur’s innovative thinking.

Tonight’s panelists will share their stories about their respective organization’s approaches to catalyzing success with strategic alliances.

Event Schedule:

7:00 pm – Introduction - ENET Chairperson’s announcements 7:10 pm - eMinute Pitch - Up to 3 Startup pitches 7:25 pm - Expert Panel - 4 expert speakers on the night’s topic 8:10 pm - Q & A - Moderator and Audience Q & A with the speakers 8:30 pm – Networking - Panelists will be available afterward for responses to individual questions.

Rachele Ryan - Director of Partnerships, LabCentral Rachele Ryan is the Director of Partnerships at LabCentral, a Massachusetts non -profit organization, founded in 2013 as a launchpad for high-potential life sciences and biotech startups. In this role she is responsible for business development strategy, resident company growth and development, and leading entrepreneurship programming for LabCentral’s newest initiative, LabCentral Ignite.

Rachele’s professional career has revolved around connecting startups to the Boston/Cambridge innovation ecosystem. Prior to joining LabCentral, Rachele led the MassCONNECT mentoring program at MassBio, the Massachusetts biopharma industry association. In that role, she matched life sciences entrepreneurs and founders with seasoned life science professionals to catalyze and commercialize innovation. Previously, as a part of the International Business Development team at the Consulate General of Canada in Boston, she assisted Canadian companies with their expansion efforts into New England and supported fast-growing startups participating in the Canadian Technology Accelerator in Boston (CTA@Boston).

Rachele holds a BA from College of the Holy Cross and an MA from Middlebury College. She currently serves as an Advisory Board member for the digital-health focused accelerator PharmStars.

Anh Hoang - Founder of Sofregen Medical Anh Hoang is the founder of Sofregen Medical, a company that is re-inventing ancient silk technologies for medical treatments. At Sofregen, Anh operates as the chief