10 Essential External Partners to Build Early
At Sky Valley Advisors, we work with biotech / life sciences founders from inception to IPO and beyond—and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s this:
You don’t just build a biotech / life sciences company. You build an ecosystem.
Before your science ever reaches patients, it will go through licensing offices, law firms, patent filings, regulatory bodies, consultants, capital markets, etc. Every external partner you bring on can either accelerate your path—or become a bottleneck.
Here’s our founder-friendly checklist of the critical external partners we recommend our clients to assemble early:
Selecting the Right VC Partner
At Sky Valley Advisors, we don’t just help biotech founders create compelling investor decks— we partner with them to develop a thoughtful, targeted investor engagement strategy.
Early-stage investors shape more than your cap table—they shape your story. When the time comes to go public, having top-tier VC firms can serve as validation for quality institutional investors who are evaluating your IPO.
Reputation, network, and ongoing support can make the difference in attracting long-term, fundamental investors who will back your company beyond the IPO. Selecting the wrong partner can cost time, control, and even the future of your company.
Here are 5 key questions every biotech founder and CEO should ask before signing a term sheet:
Pitch Decks from an Investor’s Perspective
At Sky Valley Advisors, we are often approached by early-stage biotech founders on what investors look for in pitch decks.
Here’s a framework we often recommend as a starting point that covers both scientific credibility and commercial potential.