Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF

Entrepreneurship Courses & Events

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Wednesday, April 17th, 7-9:30pm, Byers 212. TEDMED Viewing Mixer with MBAs.  We are featuring our first joint event with UC Berkeley’s Haas Healthcare Association.  Mix with Haas MBAs interested in healthcare and view a series of provocative short videos about how big data can produce real wisdom (see session two on this page).  TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) talks are prestigious, viewed globally, and cutting edge thought leaders. TEDMED is an offshoot of TED with a medical focus. RSVP: http://tedmed.eventbrite.com

Monday, April 22nd, 5:30-7:30pm, Mission Bay, Genentech N-114. Entrepreneur's Club: Post-Doc to CEO. Shawn Carbonell, MD PhD, Founder and CEO of Oncosynergy, was a postdoc in the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center before he started this funded, preclinical company.  In Shawn’s words, “frustrated by poor outcomes and the lack of clinical progress in malignant brain cancer therapy, I recently left my neurosurgical training in order to focus on developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. OncoSynergy is the embodiment of my vision for improving patient outcomes in cancer and beyond.” Shawn will share his story about starting the company. RSVP: http://postdoc-ceo.eventbrite.com/

Wednesday, May 15th, 5:30-7:30pm, Parnassus. Entrepreneur's Club: Does your idea have a market? Steve Blank, the creator of Lean Launchpad, is coming to EClub to talk about this hottest approach to entrepreneurship education. Steve’s unique methodology to help fledgling ventures vet their ideas has been adopted by the NSF nationwide under the iCorps program and is taught at Berkeley and Stanford. Steve will talk about Customer Development and its role in life science/healthcare ventures. He is going to teach a new course at UCSF this fall, Lean Launchpad for Healthcare/Life Sciences, that will take teams through a rigorous process to test the market. RSVP: http://mayeclub.eventbrite.com/

Wednesday, May 29th, 1-4pm, Mission Bay. Life Science Angels Mentoring Day. Life Science Angels, one of the key angel networks in the Bay Area, is bringing a number of its members to UCSF to spend an hour with any venture that would like mentoring.  The group has expertise in all areas of life science/healthcare – devices, therapeutics, diagnostics and dhealth.  Take advantage of this opportunity to get informed feedback on your business plan from high level investors in a non-investment, non-pitch setting. UCSF only. Sign up.

Opportunities:

Tuesday, April 16th, 3-6pm.  Alexandria Real Estate Equities is sponsoring a showcase for cutting edge life science, digital health, and technology startups in Mission Bay. 499 Illinois Street, Waterfront Plaza.  If you are interested in showcasing your start up, email Amanda Cashin. RSVP: http://alexandriastartupshowcase.eventbrite.com/

Friday, April 19th.  Applications due for the Grand Rounds Innovation Showdown. HealthBeat will showcase ten healthtech startups to 400 plus healthcare executives, leaders, and VCs, with the opportunity to win a  $250k convertible bridge loan, six months in Venrock’s incubator, PR support, and more. 

Friday, April 19th.  Applications due for space in SkyDeck, UC Berkeley's downtown Berkeley accelerator. UCSF startups are eligible. There are information sessions at SkyDeck at 4pm on April 12th & 19th with reception to follow. Apply.

June-July. The top business school in Russia – SKOLKOVO – is sending its  MBAs to Silicon Valley this summer and is looking for projects their students can take on at no cost to the company sponsor. This is an opportunity to access business expertise for your startup or company. Contact Lawrence Wright, Startup Director, at lawrence_wright@skolkovo.ru if you have an interest.

Outside Events:

Friday, April 19, 2013, 8:00am - 7:30pm, Mission Bay. Health Technology Forum Innovation Conference: Platforms for the Underserved. Key speakers include Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Partner and Head of IDEO's Healthcare Practice, Dennis Boyle and many other exciting and influential thought leaders. Tickets & Discount Code: HTFFRIENDS.

Friday, April 12th, 8am-5:30pm.  2013 Global Social Venture Competition Finals at UC Berkeley, Haas. Several ventures are healthcare focused. 

Tuesday, April 16th, 6-8:30pm, MIT VLab at Stanford.  The Future of Diagnostics: Consumer Driven Medicine. A panel speaking about point of consumer diagnostics.  Tickets.

PAST COURSES AND EVENTS

The Entrepreneurship Center's Winter 2012-13 Events, including those sponsored by others:

Wednesday, March 20th, 5:30-7:30pm, Parnassus. Opportunities in Digital Health.  Abhas Gupta, Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures, a leading venture capital firm that makes seed and early stage investments, will share his analysis of the digital health landscape. An M.D. with a background in healthcare strategy consulting and computer science, Abhas embraces a vision of healthcare that effectively harnesses technology to create scale, improve quality, and reduce costs.  He’ll explain key trends, opportunities, business models, challenges in changing consumer behavior and example companies that are in the market.  Come network, eat pizza, and learn something about this hot area for healthcare ventures. RSVP: http://marcheclub.eventbrite.com/

Entrepreneur’s Club Leadership.  Eclub is recruiting new leadership. Thank you to those that attended our informational meeting on 2/27. We have so much interest that we’ve developed an application. Please apply here (it’s a short application) and we'll get back to you by March 26th. Thank you!

Friday, March 22nd, 11:30-12:30pm, Mission Bay. A New Era of Biomedical Open Innovation.  Anthony J. Coyle, PhD will provide an overview of Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI), the evolution to create a new biomedical ecosystem, and key attributes of the open innovation model. Learn how you can contribute and gain from this ecosystem and work collaboratively to close the gap from research discovery to clinical application, and ultimately benefit those patients who are waiting. RSVP: http://pfizerinnovation.eventbrite.com/

Monday, April 1-May 8th, Mission Bay (Mondays 4-7pm, Wednesdays 1-4pm). Modern Methods in Drug Discovery. This five week, 30 hour course will survey how new drugs are discovered and brought to the clinic. The course is taught by Prof. Brian Shoichet, with several sessions given by speakers from industry and venture capital. Students work in teams to present a drug recently discovered, and will write a proposal. Apply here.

Tuesday, April 9th, 6:00-8:00pm, Mission Bay. Entrepreneurship Center’s Speaker Series: Reflections from All Sides of the Fence. Charles Holmcy, MD, Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures and Founder, former President and CEO, Portola Pharmaceuticals. Charles will talk about founding Portola, creating value in drug discovery and development, the Third Rock investing model and anything else you ask him about. With 10 years as a UCSF clinical professor and president of a Lederle division, Charles has been in academic medicine, Big Pharma, a biotech startup and venture capital. (Third Rock is one of the few remaining early stage life science investors). Charles will share his broad perspective.  RSVP Early: http://ucsfaprilspeakerseries.eventbrite.com/

Wednesday, March 6th 12-1pm: Brown Bag with Mike Powell:  http://brownbagucsf.eventbrite.com.

Wednesday,  Feb. 27th 5:30-7:30pm. Ever wonder what’s involved in starting a life science company?  Come to the Entrepreneurs Club meeting next week to hear a founder/CEO talk about his journey from starting a company in his living room to raising money from venture capital and managing an operational venture.   “How to Start a Biotech” by the  CEO of Carmot Therapeutics, Stig Hansen, will answer your questions.  Stig will talk about the path he’s followed and lessons learned.  He acquired IP, organized the company, successfully won an SBIR grant, advanced the science and raised a seed round of venture capital.  Stig can address operational issues, strategic issues, financing and any other startup topic. This is an opportunity to quiz the founder of a company in the UCSF ecosystem (QB3) about startup life.  Come for pizza and to network with others having entrepreneurial interest.  Open to UCSF and the Bay Area community. Mission Bay, Byers 212.  RSVP: http://eclubfeb.eventbrite.com/

Wednesday, Jan. 23rd, 5:30-7 pm.  Mission Bay Campus, Byers Hall, Room 212.  Entrepreneurship Club's January Meeting.

 In addition to PIZZA and networking, we’ll have two short talks.  Jeff Burton, Executive Director of Berkeley’s startup accelerator Skydeck, will tell us about his program that offers space, mentoring and resources from the Berkeley ecosystem to UCB and UCSF affiliates. Our second guest is Dennis Boyle, is a founder and partner of IDEO, a state-of-the-art design firm with an innovative approach design, whether a device, diagnostic, mobile/digital app. Dennis will describe IDEO’s methodology to incorporate needs and behaviors into product or service design.  Dennis speaks all over the world, has a focus on health and wellness and teaches at Stanford.

  To register, go to: http://eclubjanuarymeeting.eventbrite.com/

"Idea to IPO...and Beyond."  January 10-April 8, 2013, Mondays and Thursdays (except holidays), 5:30-7:30 pm. UCSF Mission Bay Campus, Genentech Hall N-114, 600 - 16th St., San Francisco, 94158. Our core entrepreneurship class, is now open for applications. This intensive, 12-week course runs from Jan. 10th to April 8th (Monday and Thursdays, 5:30–7:30 pm), teaching scientists, technologists, clinicians, faculty and students how to move an idea from the lab/clinic/digital world to commercialization.  Top-tier industry experts will join Course Directors Steve Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company,  a leading life sciences investment firm and UCSF Professor and Entrepreneur Charly Craik, bringing real-life experience to the classroom.  Topics cover the full range of life science/healthcare entrepreneurship subjects for therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, tools, and digital health ventures.  Participants will apply classroom learning as they form a team to focus on an idea, assess its market potential, create a business model, and learn about clinical trials, the FDA, IP, financing, budgets, legal structures and operational nuts and bolts.  You will hear stories of entrepreneurs and investors in the sector.  Experienced mentors will help teams develop a detailed business plan culminating in a presentation before an investor panel representing billions of dollars in capital. A total of $25,000 in prize money for the top ventures will be sponsored by Burrill & Company.  This is an unparalleled opportunity to tap into a knowledge base and network that can help advance your idea or venture. No business background is required. Enrollment preference for the UCSF community. QB3 community, UC Berkeley, Stanford and Industry applicants welcome.  Free to UCSF Masters & PhD students.  $200 for UCSF, Berkeley, Stanford postdocs; $400 for UCSF staff; $800 for QB3 Garage companies and early stage startups; $1250 for Industry. See syllabus  (application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document, 43.1 kB, info)   (Click through sign-in). Course Application Form. Questions? Email Entrepreneurship Center Director Stephanie Marrus at stephanie.marrus@ucsf.edu.

Monday January 14, 5:30 pm: Speakers Series:  State of the Life Science Industry. UCSF Mission Bay Campus, Byers Auditorium. Steve Burrill, Founder and CEO of investment firm Burrill & Company, will deliver his respected annual analysis of the life science industry: opportunities, challenges and trends for the next year. Steve’s firm has $1.5 billion in assets under management and includes venture capital/private equity, merchant banking, and media, operating in the US and globally. His view of the industry derives from the scientific and business networks of his team, participation on numerous Advisory Boards; the strategic and financial network of the firm’s limited partners; and the close relationships developed with numerous life science companies and management.  Join us to learn what’s in store for the industry and where you should focus to take advantage of the opportunities. Sign up at ` http://stateoftheindustry2013.eventbrite.com

2012 Courses: The Center's course offerings make use of practitioners who are successful entrepreneurs, investors, service providers and other experts, as well as UCSF faculty.  Most courses offer the option to be taken for credit.

Monday, Dec. 17th, 5:30 pm:  Stephanie Marrus, Director of The Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF, is offering a free workshop to instruct participants on how to create an executive summary in the UC-Berkeley Startup (Bplan) competition-required format.  Competition participants get education, networking, team creation, mentorship, new venture financing and potential winnings of up to $25,000.  The UC Berkeley Startup Competition (Bplan) is one of the foremost events for University-affiliated early stage startups. Bplan (http://bplan.berkeley.edu ) winners have come from the Life Sciences Track for the past four years.  The workshop will be held in Genentech Hall.  For information, contact Stephanie at stephanie.marrus@ucsf.edu. Open to UCSF community only.

Monday, Nov. 19th, 2012, 5:30 - 7 pm. - Entrepreneurship Club.   UCSF Mission Bay Campus - Genentech Hall, Room N-114 , 600 – 16th St., SF 94158. FREE.  Pizza & Beverages. Hear about “Idea to IPO…and Beyond” from 2012 participants in this 10-week course that will run from January 10th to April 1st, 2013 (Mondays & Thursdays, 6-8pm). This informal group meets monthly to discuss topics of interest to entrepreneurs. For information on this and other events, please see the eCLUB BLOG: ucsfeclub.blogspot.com. Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF and the law firm of Morgan Lewis.

Tuesday, November 13th, 5:30 pm to 7 pm.  Can Angels Fill the Venture Capital Void in Life Science?  Allan W. May, Founder and Chairman of Life Science Angels -- the nation's largest life-science angel organization -- will discuss the role of angels in funding bio/medtech/life science companies.  He is also Vice Chair of the Kauffman Foundation's Angel Resource Institute, and co-Founder and Managing Director of Emergent Medical Partners, a life science investment firm. For information, contact Stephanie Marrus of the Entrepreneurship Center at stephanie.marrus@ucsf.edu. Meeting will be held at UCSF Mission Bay Campus, Helen Diller Cancer Building, Room HD-160, 1450 Third St.(@ 16th St.), San Francisco 94158. A reception will follow. This event is free to UC community; $20 for industry.  Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF and Wells Fargo Bank's Life Sciences Group.  View Allan May's slide presentation here (application/pdf, 3.8 MB, info).

Monday, October 15th, 2012. 6 pm to ?  Entrepreneurship Club Meeting.  This informal group discusses topics related to entrepreneurship, with occasional speakers. Hear from funded entrepreneur Surbhi Sarna about her personal journey in starting a company. Sponsored by UCSF's Entrepreneurship Center, Office of Innovation, Technology & Alliances (ITA).  cbe.ucsf.edu and the law firm of Morgan Lewis.  See the Club blog at ucsfeclub.blogspot.com To register for this FREE event, please go to http://eclubmeeting101512.eventbrite.com/#. For information, contact Stephanie Marrus at UCSF's Entrepreneurship Center at stephanie.marrus@ucsf.edu.  Meeting will be held at UCSF Mission Bay Campus, Byers Hall 212, 600-16th St at 4th, San Francisco.

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012. 1pm-2pm.  Catalyzing Commercialization: NCI SBIR Funding Opportunities & Resources for Early-Stage Ventures.  NCI Program Directors will discuss current funding opportunities and available resources, SBIR/STTR program policy changes and how to write a competitive application.   Xing-Jian Lou, PhD, Program Director for NCI's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center and Jennifer Shieh, Ph.D., NCI's SBIR AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, will present.  NCI will hold one- on-ones after the event for anyone seeking specific guidance.  To schedule a time slot, email adriana.tajonar@qb3.org. Location: Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCSF Mission Bay Campus, 1450 Third St., Room HD-160, SF 94158.  Co-sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF, Office of Innovation, Technology & Alliances, QB3 and Prescience International.  View this event's slide presentation here (application/pdf, 1.6 MB, info).

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012:  Life Science Angels Mentorship Program for New Entrepreneurs.  If you have a high-impact idea that addresses an unmet clinical need, and the desire and passion to bring your idea all the way to commercialization, you are eligible to be part of this program.  To be considered, you must submit the information requested on the Life Science Angels website by Monday, October 1st.  Mentor sessions will run from 45 - 60 minutes, and will be held from noon to 5 pm on Oct. 10th at the Palo Alto offices of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati.  For more information, please email mentorship@lifescienceangels.com.

*IP Due Diligence/Patent Landscape Analysis for the Life Scientist    

Michael Shuster, Partner, Fenwick & West
Meets once a week on Thursday from Sept. 20-Nov. 8,  5pm to 7pm at UCSF Mission Bay,Genentech Hall, Room N-114, 600-16th St., San Francisco. 

This eight-week course is oriented to the life scientist who is seeking practical skills for analyzing patentability and freedom-to-operate issues associated with a technology of interest.  The course includes lectures and practical exercises designed to provide the student with a working knowledge of patent concepts and their application for developing an understanding of how to assess and navigate the patent landscape associated with a given technology.  Students will be organized into teams of 4 to 6 people and paired with an assigned mentor to guide the team through patent searching and analysis exercises culminating in an assessment of freedom-to-operate risk and patentability of the team's chosen technology.  The final week will include presentations of awards for the top three teams.  Each team should expect to come away from this class with the understanding necessary to prepare  the traditional “IP Slides” for inclusion in venture-capital presentation slide deck without the expense of engaging a patent attorney.

Course Syllabus (Click through Sign In screens until Syllabus loads):

IP Class Syllabus SF-#5404887-v1-Landscape_Analysis_Course_Syllabus (application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document, 26.4 kB, info)   

Course fee is $50 for the UC Community and $150 for Industry.

IP Course Enrollment Information Form (application/msword, 76.8 kB, info)

Bioscience Entrepreneurs Navigate Funding Options in Inaugural Course

Stephanie Marrus, who heads the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF, speaks to students during the five-week summer course, "Financing a New Venture," aimed at bioscience entrepreneurs looking to secure funding.

By Kristen Bole on August 9, 2012 Email

A first-of-its-kind UCSF course to help bioscience entrepreneurs secure funding met with high interest and overflowing classrooms during its five-week run this summer. The class, “Financing a New Venture,” was created by the UCSF Center for BioEntrepreneurship and presented a real-world view of financing startups in challenging economic times.

“I’m gratified to see the extent of entrepreneurial interest on campus and the energy in the classroom,” said Stephanie Marrus, who heads the Center for BioEntrepreneurship.  “Most of the participants are engaged in a venture currently or actively thinking about doing a startup.”

The course, which ran July 10 to Aug. 7, enrolled 78 participants from the UCSF and UC Berkeley communities, including PhD students, post docs, researchers, faculty, staff and Medical Center personnel, as well as outside industry. The classes featured top-tier industry guest lecturers representing a foundation, an angel investment group and a venture capital firm, as well as a corporate attorney and a CEO who recently raised venture capital funding.

The Center for BioEntrepreneurship is part of the office of Innovation, Technology and Alliances, which transfers UCSF knowledge and research into public benefit through innovative alliances and the creation of new companies. ***

The center is initiating a number of additional courses, a Speakers’ Series with topics of interest to entrepreneurs, an Entrepreneurs Club and mentoring opportunities.  More details are available through the Innovation, Technology and Alliances website.

CleaveBio CEO Laura Shawver, PhD, speaks as a guest lecturer about her experiences raising the first round of venture funding for her company.

Shuvo Roy, PhD, who is leading the implantable artificial kidney project at UCSF, listens to an Aug. 7 lecture by CleaveBio CEO Laura Shawver, PhD.

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The Center for BioEntrepreneurship is committed to encouraging entrepreneurial activities that lead to the creation of high potential healthcare ventures.  Our aim is to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and spirit in the UCSF community.  This  may result in founding a new venture, taking a position in a venture or working in an innovative large company . Our domain includes many aspects of the healthcare world – drug development, medical devices, diagnostics, tools and e-health. 

We provide entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs with the network, tools and expertise that can increase the chance for success whether they are exploring creating a venture or growing an existing business.  Our access to real-world business experience gives students, faculty, research scientists, physicians and staff a way to learn about and participate in the entrepreneurial process. Through our connections to seasoned entrepreneurial business executives, venture capitalists and service providers, we can help build momentum for emerging ventures.

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Financing a New Venture (non credit, July 10 to August 7)

Stephanie Marrus, Director Entrepreneurship & Marketing, UCSF Office of Innovation, Technology and Alliances

A  five session mini-course that explores financing options for startup ventures.  The course provides insight into the inner workings of angel groups, seed investors and venture capital including a tutorial on venture capital term sheets.  Top tier industry participants will give an insider's view of the financing scene and how to navigate it.

Idea to IPO (Biochemistry 241 - January to March)

Steve Burrill, CEO, Burrill & Company
Charles S. Craik, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry

The core entrepreneurship course that takes the student on a journey through the entire process of creating a company from idea generation to an exit strategy.  It covers the state of the industry, idea generation, business plans, capital sources, IP, regulatory and reimbursement.  Students form teams to work on their ideas and have the opportunity to pitch a panel of venture capitalists at the course conclusion.

Drug Discovery (Pharmaceutical Chemistry 152 - April to May)

Brian Shoichet, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry

A technical course for students interested in understanding the commercial drug discovery process to develop ideas for independent research and understanding how others approach the process.  It includes lectures, discussion, case studies, a laboratory and guest speakers from pharmaceutical companies.

Programs for Startups

Speaker series  A set of timely, relevant topics will be explored by industry speakers approximately once a month.  Speakers will include CEOs, venture capitalists, attorneys and other industry experts and will enable learning about practical aspects of entrepreneurial activity.

PAST PROGRAMS & EVENTS:

Monday, September 17, 5:30 pm-7pm (reception follows):  Speaker’s Series.  What Pharma Wants: The Perspective of 3 Technology Scouts – Merck, Sanofi, Abbott.  Hear from Pharma executives about their interests as they seek external R&D to augment their pipelines.  Learn about the stage of research they are interested in, the data they want to see and how to best approach the company. Speakers include Steve Bartz, Merck's Director of Worldwide Licensing; Sylvaine Cases, Sonofi-Aventis' Director of External Innovation (West Coast US); and Neela Patel, Abbott Laboratories, Director of External Research. Sponsored by Wells Fargo Life Sciences Group and The Entrepreneurship Center in UCSF's Office of Innovation, Technology & Alliances (ITA).  UCSF Mission Bay, Genentech Hall, N-114.  Free to UC community; $20 industry. On-street parking very limited.

Friday & Saturday, September 21/22.  Hacking Health, a weekend event for digital and M-health entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs.  Over a roughly 24 hour period, teams will create an application relating to healthcare.  There will be coders, designers, engineers in attendance; you can join a team or pitch your idea to form a team.  This is a joint program with Berkeley and will be held at Berkeley’s accelerator, Skydeck.  To register:  http://blogs.ischool.berkeley.edu/hackinghealth/

Mentoring  We have a cadre of experienced entrepreneurs, vc’s and professional service providers who can provide advice to startups to help refine their business ideas.  Mentors will be available through classes and occasional office hours.

Competitions  We support teams that want to participate in the UC Berkeley Startup Competition, the Intel Global Challenge at UC Berkeley or the Global Social Venture Competition.  We can provide mentorship to help ventures develop winning business plans and presentations.

Other organizations at UCSF that support entrepreneurship are:

QB3  http://qb3.org

Business Club   http://www.businessatucsf.org/

Calendar

Our calendar collects entrepreneurship events at UCSF and throughout the Bay Area that may be of interest.  If you know of an event that we’ve missed, please email the information to Stephanie Marrus at stephanie.marrus@ucsf.edu