🧬 Choosing the Right VC: What Money Can’t Buy | Jacob Glanville Re-Release (Part 4/4)
"If you can synthesize, then there's no such thing as too much expertise." We’re revisiting some of our previous episodes over the holidays this year. Our next re-release is this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, where Jacob Glanville pulls back the curtain on the “black box” of venture capital for biotech founders, sharing what he learned moving from pitching antibody platforms to pitching VCs. He explains how aligning with each firm’s investment thesis, simplifying your story, and using sharp visuals—while treating fundraising like dating, not a numbers game—can dramatically improve your odds without ever resorting to exaggeration or dishonesty. Jacob then dives into choosing the right venture partners, negotiating fair terms, and focusing on what real success looks like for both founders and investors. He shows how the best VCs act as strategic allies and “polishing engines,” and explains why he partnered with NFX and GHIC to help drive Centivax’s universal vaccine programs forward, from RNA-LNP–enabled flu vaccines to broad-spectrum efforts in HIV and coronaviruses, all powered by a village of mentors, collaborators, and family.
The Biotech Startups Podcast · Excedr
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Show Notes
We’re revisiting some of our previous episodes over the holidays this year. Our next re-release is this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, where Jacob Glanville pulls back the curtain on the “black box” of venture capital for biotech founders, sharing what he learned moving from pitching antibody platforms to pitching VCs. He explains how aligning with each firm’s investment thesis, simplifying your story, and using sharp visuals—while treating fundraising like dating, not a numbers game—can dramatically improve your odds without ever resorting to exaggeration or dishonesty.
- How to pitch VCs: Simplifying your deck, using strong visuals, anticipating objections, and treating fundraising like dating rather than a numbers game.
- Founder mindset during rejection: Seeking honest feedback, avoiding neediness or defensiveness, and using “your baby is ugly” moments to strengthen the story.
- Selecting the right VC partners: Investment theses, stage and check-size fit, reputation checks with portfolio founders, and the importance of warm introductions.
- Negotiation and deal terms: Market comparables, fair ownership splits, avoiding paranoia, and focusing on building a massive outcome rather than fighting over a few points.
- Beyond the money: How NFX and GHIC provide networks, strategic guidance, media amplification, and “fairy godmother” polishing for Centivax’s universal vaccine platform.
- Roadmap for Centivax: Universal flu vaccine timelines, pivot to RNA-LNP delivery, expansion into HIV and coronavirus programs, and organizing the company around going first-in-human.
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