On JPM Week
I haven’t been to the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco (JPM) since January 2019, so some things may have changed, but… when I think about JPM, I can’t help but think about the annual financing calendar, especially with respect to early stage companies. More often than not these companies will raise enough money in a given round to last 18-24 months (or at least try to). This means that every year or two they are likely going to JPM in fundraising mode, and if not, then focusing on building relationships for future fundraising, updating current investors, and meeting possible partners or service providers, bankers, or potential acquirers.
If you’re leading an early stage life science or healthcare company and realize by Q2 that you’ll likely need new funds by year end or early the following year, JPM during the second week of January needs to be on your calendar. Bear in mind that most VCs start checking out after Thanksgiving, and corporate strategic investors are fully consumed trying to close business by year end, as well as conclude partnering or acquisition discussions already initiated. It thus makes sense to start reaching out to these groups any time between Labor Day and Thanksgiving to make initial inquiries about meetings during Q4 or at JPM. If you can get some traction, then you might be able to close a deal in Q1 or Q2 of the following year.
As for what we’ll call JPM week, here are a few tips that come to mind for those who haven’t been before. First off, don’t plan on going to the JPM conference itself unless you’re invited to speak there, or participate in a panel, or you’re seeking competitive intelligence or updates on specific companies who will be presenting there. The Westin St. Francis will be absolutely mobbed, and it will be impossible to have meaningful private conversations there.
As an early stage company, if you get invited to present a talk at JPM you’re likely to be far along in development of your business, either about to prepare for an IPO or M&A, and a J.P. Morgan client (or friend or affiliate of one, or being courted as one). A talk at the JPM Healthcare conference (or at one of the other satellite conferences going on concurrently in the City) is a great opportunity to get your message out broadly to potential investors, partners, service providers, and industry analysts.
In the absence of an opportunity to present your story to a large audience of interested people, the key reason to be in San Francisco that week is for the face to face meetings and receptions occurring around town. The major attraction of the week is the fact that so many people from so many relevant companies in the life science and healthcare space will all be in one place for 3-5 days, including investors of all types, and businesses at all stages of development seeking or providing financing, partnerships, acquisition, and financial advisory or banking relationships. It’s also a great opportunity to reconnect and catch up with colleagues from all over the globe - and as importantly, develop new relationships.
One should start scheduling meetings months in advance, and plan for short meetings, perhaps as many as 12 a day. It can be grueling, but well worth it. You need to have your elevator pitch (a few sentences), and your 5 minute and 15 minute pitches, and be crystal clear regarding the key message you want to communicate, and your single most important objective (your “ask”) for each person/group you plan to meet.
Book your travel reservations early, as flights will fill up. Even more importantly, figure out where you plan to stay. Big companies, banks or venture firms will likely have suites, or blocks of rooms, at all of the hotels around Union Square. For startups and smaller early stage companies or service providers that are more cost conscious, be aware that pricing is out of control. The local hotels all realize how important this meeting is, and they literally increase their daily rates 3-5x. Finding a room for less than $1000/night can be a challenge.
Before the price gouging started I would stay in hotels a short walk away from the conference. 7 or 8 years ago I started staying over the hill at Fisherman’s Wharf to save thousands on accommodations. It was fun taking the Powell St. cable car over the hill, but those hotels soon caught on and increased prices. The next few years we booked condos using Airbnb or VRBO, with 3 or 4 of us sharing a house in the Marina district. They eventually raised prices too. I’m guessing things have not changed for the better.
If you’re meeting with a large company (law firm, VC, pharma, etc.), then you’ll likely be hosted in a room they’ve rented (or their offices, if not too far from Union Square). If meeting anyone else, however, and you want to have private meetings in places where you can hear each other speak, you need to get very creative. I’ve resorted to meetings while walking around the park, or from one meeting to another that’s scheduled thirty minutes later; over meals (make reservations well in advance!); at coffee shops; in the food courts at the nearby malls; at restaurants in some of the department stores in the area; paying for time at tables in hotel lounges; while driving around town in the back of an Uber or a taxi with the meter running; and at or outside of evening events and receptions.
If you want to make the most of your time in SF then it’s likely to be an exhausting week - but it can be well worth it. For example, here are two short stories regarding pivotal meetings I wound up having during JPM, each of which I entered with no expectations and no idea that they might lead to anything meaningful.
In January 2017 I scheduled roughly thirty meetings over a three-day period at JPM. I was CEO of Transplant Genomics, and we were seeking a lead investor for a series B financing we desperately needed to close. On the second morning, I met to provide an update to one of our key existing investors (who I’ll call “Jim”) over breakfast at Sears Fine Food on Powell Street. Sitting in the classic breakfast joint, with power meetings going on at every table, Jim realized how critical a situation we were in. As an insider he understood how much progress we had made and how close we were to a major value inflection point, and he already had skin in the game.
As we sipped coffee and picked at our eggs, Jim scribbled on a napkin the terms under which he would lead a series B equity financing round, and in the process convert all outstanding convertible debt to equity. This would not only provide the additional funding we needed but would also allow us to end a yearlong furlough program we had initiated to reduce our cash burn. Moreover, it would clean up our equity structure and associated capitalization table, which would help us in future partnering and financing discussions. I immediately offered to participate personally, began canvassing our existing investors to solicit other participants, and within a month we completed the fundraising. It was an unexpected event, but one that dramatically changed the trajectory of our business.
Another unexpected event occurred a few years prior. I was a Director with a different company at the time, and once again seeking new investors. One evening I stopped into a reception hosted by an investment bank. It was a wine tasting with live music, and the room was dimly lit and jammed with people. At some point I bumped into a longtime colleague who was chatting over drinks with two partners in a major venture fund. She introduced me, and the four of us continued drinking and talking. Most of the conversation had been totally unrelated to business, covering current events, as well as our different life experiences (they were European) and challenges we had faced. We were just getting to know one another on a personal level. No serious business discussion.
Sometime after 1:00 am we decided to get some fresh air. We walked around Union Square and stopped into a pizza joint on Powell St. before finally wandering off to our hotels, but a friendship had been established. A few weeks later we reconnected by email and then phone, eventually agreeing to engage in more serious (and more sober) discussions about my business and our financing needs. They ultimately wound up investing.
The experience reinforced with me the importance of building relationships, even when you aren’t seeking anything in particular out of it, and the value of showing kindness and empathy towards strangers from whom you have no immediate expectations. That reminds me of a quote I read in Bob Dylan’s book Chronicles vol 1, where a newfound friend asked him about what advice on life he got from his family as a young boy growing up in Minnesota:
“I told him about my grandma on my mom’s side who lived with us. She was filled with nobility and goodness, told me once that happiness isn’t on the road to anything. That happiness is the road. Had also instructed me to be kind because everyone you’ll ever meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Aside from the advice on how to treat strangers, the other key message in Dylan’s quote is the importance of finding a way to enjoy the journey. It’s rarely wise to simply slog along in some activity for which you have no passion, thinking joy will eventually come sometime in the future.
Lastly, I’m reminded that nearly everyone we meet has encountered tough times at some point, and fought battles, whether in business or their personal lives. These challenging events often occur with no warning. The actions we take and the decisions we make in these moments of truth usually determine whether or not we’ll go on to achieve our goals. It’s stories such as these, and the skills, values and approaches that I believe increase the likelihood of achieving successful outcomes – that I talk about in my upcoming book, Can’t Tame a Mongoose: Memoir of a Genomics Entrepreneur, which is now available for preorder.
If you’re in San Francisco this week, I wish you good luck in achieving your goals. No matter how exhausting it may feel, or how challenging it gets, remember to try to build new relationships, to shine in those moments of truth, and to enjoy the journey.