Ventured Growth with Hercules Capital Hercules Capital

In the dynamic field of life sciences, skillful operators ensure the efficient development of medical innovations, while insightful investors provide crucial capital and strategic guidance. Rich Aldrich's 30+ year career uniquely bridges both sides, having played key roles in founding and managing successful ventures in the industry.

Rich Aldrich is a co-founder and partner at Longwood Fund. Before Longwood, he founded RA Capital Management and has been instrumental in co-founding and contributing to the growth of notable biotech companies, including Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Concert Pharmaceuticals, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, among others.

In this episode, Hercules Capital’s Janice Bourque and Rich Aldrich discuss key lessons in operations and investment, the advantages of public investing, the attributes of a strong management team, Rich’s reflections on the industry and much more.

Topics include:
Transitioning from operations to investingRich’s key lessons from public investmentsThe advantages of public investingAttributes of a strong management teamCurrent areas of scientific interest for RichEmerging challenges in life sciencesDeciding whether or not to commercializeRich’s reflections on the industry’s evolutionAnd other topics…Rich Aldrich is a co-founder and partner of Longwood Fund, an early-stage life science venture firm. With over 30 years of experience in the life sciences space, he has co-founded and helped build several biotech companies including Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Concert Pharmaceuticals, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, among others. Before the Longwood Fund, Rich founded RA Capital Management, a life sciences investment fund with an AUM of over $9 billion.

Rich received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth. He currently serves as a Director of Longwood portfolio companies Axial, Sitryx Therapeutics, and Colorescience.

The healthcare space has long been a transactional one, seeing patients as numbers instead of human relationships. In 2004, Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle began to challenge the status quo and create an entirely new model of care delivery that finally put patients at the center of healthcare.

Rushika Fernandopulle is the co-founder and former CEO of Iora Health, a value-based primary care group based in Boston that was acquired by One Medical in 2021, where he served as Chief Innovation Officer. One Medical was acquired by Amazon earlier this year for close to $4 billion. Rushika currently serves on the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital, on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and on the boards of Families USA and the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care.

In this episode, Hercules Capital’s Katie Segien is joined by Rushika Fernandopulle to discuss how he created a new delivery model for medicine, Iora Health’s business model evolution, going from bootstrapping to six rounds of funding, and other topics.

Topics Include:
Rushika’s mission and experience in transforming healthcareHow he created a new delivery model for medicineIora Health’s business model evolutionGoing from bootstrapping to six rounds of fundingRushika’s process for building an optimal teamAdvice for entrepreneurs who are struggling to raise capitalAnd other topics…Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle is a practicing physician who has spent decades improving the quality of healthcare delivered to patients. He was co-founder and CEO of Iora Health, a value-based primary care group based in Boston that delivers better quality, lower costs, and improved satisfaction for both patients and providers. Iora was acquired by One Medical in 2021 for over $2 billion, which went on to be acquired by Amazon earlier this year for close to $4 billion.

Rushika was the first Executive Director of the Harvard Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement and Managing Director of the Clinical Initiatives Center at the Advisory Board Company. He serves on the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital, on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and on the boards of Families USA and the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care.

Successful biotech companies require a capable CFO to guide the company through conducting clinical trials, securing regulatory approvals, establishing scalable production, and adeptly conveying value to healthcare stakeholders.

Mark Hahn is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of CFO experience. He is currently the CFO of Verona Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs.

In this episode, Hercules Capital’s Janice Bourque is joined by Hahn to discuss his experience as CFO of Verona, Dova, and Cempra, the intricacies of single-asset companies, preparing a company for FDA approval and commercialization, identifying a successful launch, and much more.

Topics Include:
Mark’s experience as CFO of Verona, Dova, and CempraThe intricacies of single-asset companies and the challenges when raising capitalThe steps a CFO should take when preparing for FDA approval and commercializationWhat biotech companies should focus on before presenting to the FDAHow to know when you’ve had a successful launchMark’s experience as a CFO with a late-stage assetAnd other topics… Mark Hahn is a seasoned CFO with over 25 years of experience. He joined Verona Pharma as CFO in 2020. Prior to Verona, Hahn served as CFO of Dova Pharmaceuticals through its 2019 acquisition by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum for $915 million. There, he was instrumental in raising capital and launching the company’s first commercial product. Prior to Dova, Hahn was CFO of Cempra, where he led the company’s IPO and several subsequent follow-on offerings until the company’s acquisition by Melinta Therapeutics in 2017. Earlier, Hahn was the CFO of several other public and private companies. Hahn began his career at Ernst & Young. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is a certified public accountant in Maryland and North Carolina.

The healthcare technology sector has witnessed astonishing growth in investments, skyrocketing from $3 billion pre-pandemic to $29 billion in 2021. Michael Greeley brings invaluable insights to the show as the co-founder and general partner of Flare Capital Partners, a pioneering venture capital firm dedicated to healthcare technology.

Before Flare, Greeley was the founding general partner of Flybridge Capital Partners. Earlier in his career, he was with Polaris Partners, and also held positions at GCC Investments, Wasserstein Perella & Co., and Morgan Stanley & Co. 

In this episode, Hercules Capital’s Katie Segien is joined by Michael Greeley to discuss his experience as an early pioneer in health tech investments, the remarkable growth and challenges of healthcare technology, the impact of AI on healthcare programs and services, and much more.

Topics Include:
Michael’s experience as an early pioneer in health tech investmentsLiquidity and scaling challenges for healthcare tech companiesHow to create a more sustainable business model in this spaceWhat Michael looks for when building out his portfolio companiesAI’s impact on healthcare programs and servicesThe Flare Scholars programFuture challenges and possibilities in the healthcare sectorAnd other topics…Michael Greeley is a co-founder and general partner at Flare Capital Partners. Before co-founding Flare in 2014, he focused on emerging growth company financings as the founding general partner of Flybridge Capital Partners. Earlier, he held positions with Polaris Partners, GCC Investments, Wasserstein Perella & Co., and Morgan Stanley & Co. Greeley sits on dozens of boards and authors the blog On the Flying Bridge.

Greeley received a BA with honors in chemistry from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. While he considers himself a New Yorker, he grew up in Hong Kong and currently resides in Boston.

Resources Mentioned:
Flare Capital Partners: https://www.flarecapital.com/
Michael Greeley’s blog: https://ontheflyingbridge.wordpress.com/
Flare Capital Scholars Program: https://www.flarecapital.com/flare-capital-scholar-application 

Elizabeth Bailey has more than 20 years of experience supporting early-stage startups as a venture capitalist. Today, she is a founding member at RH Capital where she serves as the fund's Managing Director. RH Capital is a women-led, impact venture capital fund that strategically invests in early-stage startups dedicated to revolutionizing women's health.

In this episode, Elizabeth joins Hercules Capital’s Janice Bourque to discuss the origin, strategies, and portfolio of RH Capital. They discuss how female founders are changing the landscape in the women’s health space with support from venture capitalists.

Topics Include:
- High return opportunities for investors in the women’s health space
- How venture capital can improve health outcomes for underserved groups
- The origin, strategies, and portfolio of RH Capital
- Collaboration opportunities for strategic investors, startups, and venture funds
- Conducting thorough due diligence when evaluating companies
- And other topics…

Elizabeth Bailey is the Managing Director and founding team member at RH Capital, a women-led impact venture capital fund for early-stage startups focused on health equity and revolutionizing women’s health. RH Capital leverages investment capital to address health disparities, focusing on biotech, devices, diagnostics, digital health, and services.

Elizabeth has over 20 years of experience in venture capital and supporting early-stage companies. Before joining RH Capital, Elizabeth served as the Founding Director of the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies at Massachusetts General Hospital and Investment Partner at Commons Capital, one of the first impact investment funds. Elizabeth holds a Master’s from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from Brown University.

Resources Mentioned:
RH Capital: https://www.rh.capital/
Tara Health Foundation: http://tarahealthfoundation.org/
May: https://www.getmay.com/
Radiant Oximetry: http://www.radianoximetry.com/

The subscription e-commerce market is expected to grow by $784 billion by 2026. Locus Robotics, a subscription-based mobile robotics and software provider, is a pioneer leading the way in warehouse automation.

Dustin Pederson is the Chief Financial Officer of Locus Robotics, a company that supplies over 230 warehouse sites with up to 500 bots per site. With 15 years of experience in enterprise software, AI, warehouse automation, education, and aerospace, Dustin helps companies grow by enabling high-performance teams and overseeing all aspects of a business.
 
In this episode, Hercules Capital host Noah Carville and Dustin discuss the principles of scaling a business, fundraising and managing operations in today’s economy, the trade-offs between raising debt versus raising equity, and much more.

Topics Include:
Dustin’s pivot from multifaceted companies to startupsThe guiding principles for scaling a businessAligning business needs, goals, and leadersThe CFO’s responsibilities in managing scaleAdvice for fundraising and managing operations in today’s economyCreating the right leadership teamTrade-offs between raising debt vs. raising equityAnd other topics…Dustin Pederson is the Chief Financial Officer for Locus Robotics, a subscription-based autonomous mobile robotics and software provider for over 230 warehouse sites in the U.S. He is also the previous VP of Finance and Operations at Cognito and Advisory Board Member for Text IQ.

With 15 years of experience in enterprise software, AI, warehouse automation, education, and aerospace, Dustin helps companies grow by enabling high-performance teams and overseeing all aspects of a business. His roles have covered venture fundraising, business planning and analysis, sales strategy and operations, finance, marketing, legal contracts management, and facilities management.

Resources Mentioned:
Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight: https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike-ebook/dp/B0176M1A44