Engagement Process
The Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) created Heartland BioVentures (HBV) to foster the formation and growth of bioscience startups throughout Kansas. The goal of HBV is to provide hands-on assistance and pre-venture financing to early stage bioscience firms to fundamentally address business, technology, management and other strategic issues critical to their success.
Our overarching goal is to mitigate the risk associated with these companies and improve their access to capital by helping them become venture-ready. We achieve this by providing business consulting directly to early stage companies in order to evaluate their level of risk and identify their growth needs.
Companies interested in benefiting from HBV services and support are asked to follow a client engagement process that allows us to assess their needs as comprehensively as possible.
Client Engagement Process
Request for assistance (RFA): Companies begin by submitting a request for assistance, a form that provides HBV with fundamental information including stage of development, market being addressed, IP status, management team status, business model, and assistance required.
In-house assessment: Companies are invited to the KBA for a meeting with HBV staff to present a business overview, followed by a question and answer session. This meeting is an initial evaluation for HBV to determine if a company is best served by being referred to an outside resource or if it qualifies as an HBV client.
Selection as HBV client: Once the HBV team determines the appropriate course of action, companies are notified about the assistance they will receive.
Work action plan: When a company has been invited to become an HBV client, a second meeting will allow for a more detailed evaluation. This evaluation not only provides a deeper understanding of the company, it provides for the identification of specific needs and the creation of an action plan relevant to where companies are along the path to commercialization. This action plan is jointly agreed upon and drafted into a letter outlining the specific tasks for the company and HBV staff. Developing a prototype and proving out a concept often are the hardest hurdles to move beyond at the early stage, and they can be the most difficult activities for which to secure financing. These milestones are typically required before a company can consider raising investment capital.
Consulting: HBV will work closely with each client company, providing hands-on assistance with business models and strategies and helping recalibrate financial models, target markets, or go-to-market strategies. Providing assistance is critical, but helping a company secure technology development financing to complete a prototype or prove out a concept can have an even higher impact on the company and on moving its value forward.
Non-equity based programs: Federal technology development financing is an excellent way to complete prototype development and proof of concept milestones in a capital efficient manner. The HBV staff will work with the company to identify federal funding opportunities relevant to the company and assist in the application process.
Venture-ready: HBV will work with client companies to reduce risk by completing product prototypes or validating concepts or product applications with beta customers. Risk also will be reduced in the business model and business plan, as well as the presentation of clear and concise plans to potential investors. Once a company reaches a position of being venture-ready, HBV will provide pre-qualified referrals to potential investors.
Strategic partner: Often as important as investment capital is the cultivation of a relationship with a strategic partner, whether for the distribution of products or acquisition of a company. HBV works to build into the company’s commercial pathway a relationship with a strategic partner. HBV staff will provide guidance in this process, making sure the right goals are hit at the necessary inflection points.
Commercialization: HBV will help companies execute go-to-market strategies, including commercialization of products, managing sales teams, and expanding sales.
The services required from HBV will vary dramatically given the stage of the company or the milestones they are in the process of achieving. For a client company to successfully arrive at the commercial marketplace, several cycles through the process may be required, with a work plan built around different needs and milestones. The diagram below illustrates the process and the continued loop back to achieve goals:
Client Engagement Process (click to enlarge)
