Rebecca Bekkenutte, Managing Director – Gateley Global
Every successful life sciences company starts with an idea. Sometimes it is sketched on the back of a napkin, and more often it is born from years of lab work and research. But turning that idea into a commercial reality is a completely different ball game, requiring a different set of skills. You are embarking on an entirely different journey. It’s not just about having the best science; it’s about building the right team, protecting your assets, funding your vision and expanding at the right time and to the right place.
Growing Pains:
Founding a business often starts with a single person – or a couple of co-founders – obsessed with solving a problem. At this stage, the business may feel like more of a side project than a start-up; however, the moment you raise capital, hire staff or sign a partnership agreement, everything changes. Going from 2 to 5 to 20 people etc means moving from internal conversations to structured management. Suddenly, you need organisational charts, HR policies, board meetings, and maybe even….a detailed budget. Leadership becomes less about the science and more about building a culture, setting direction and making decisions that ultimately could affect people’s careers.
The hardest shift for many founders? Letting go. The skills that got you through the early research stage aren’t the same ones you need to manage a 50-person company. Recognising when to bring in experienced operators – or simply ask for help – isn’t a weakness; it’s a path to survival.
Backing Innovation:
Before you build a business, you need to have an idea that’s more than clever; it needs to be findable, fundable and functional in the market. Product market fit is a pre-requisite to success.
This means being brutally honest and challenging your assumptions: Is your idea addressing a real-world, recognised problem? Is it novel? Is it protectable? Too often, founders fall in love with a solution before confirming that there is a customer on the other side.
Establishing the commercial opportunity early means evaluating market size, market opportunity, competitors, routes to market and reimbursement pathways (especially in healthcare). You also need a clear understanding of your own intellectual property (IP). What do you own? What is licensed? What do you need access to and what’s still just a good idea sitting alone in a PowerPoint deck?
Founders who take time to understand the commercial value of the intellectual assets – and who can communicate that value clearly – set themselves up for far more productive conversations with partners and investors down the road.
The Critical Moat:
In life sciences, your competitive edge often is your IP. Without protection, what’s to stop competitors from doing the same? And in a sector where timelines are long and risk is high, that’s a deal-breaker.
Strong IP protection doesn’t just fend off competitors – it builds confidence. Whether it is patents, know-how, data exclusivity, or trade secrets – your moat is what justifies the funding you’ll need to navigate the Valley of Death – and come out triumphantly on the other side.
But filing patents too early or too broadly can burn time – and more critically – cash. It’s important to be strategic: align filings with your development roadmap, consider geographical coverage carefully and make sure your IP strategy continues to evolve as your product matures.
Cash Runways:
Fundraising in life sciences is rarely quick – and almost never painless. From first conversation to money in the bank, it can take 6-12 months, and often longer. This means founders need to be realistic about their cash runway and plan accordingly.
But runway isn’t just about survival. It’s about momentum. You should know exactly what milestones your next round is meant to fund; whether that’s pre-clinical data, regulatory clearance, a pilot study or early revenue. These value inflexion points aren’t just goals, they’re justification for the next cheque.
Make them count. Vague milestones like “build team” or “develop platform” won’t excite many investors; however, “complete GLP tox study” or “achieve CE mark” will.
Cash discipline matters too. Every penny you spend today should push you towards the outcomes that unlock tomorrow’s funding. And if you’re trying to raise capital before you’ve hit those milestones? Be prepared to explain why.
It’s All in the Timing:
For growing and scaling life sciences companies, international expansion can be both a huge opportunity and a massive distraction. Getting the timing right is everything.
Too early, and you’re burning resources before you’ve stabilised and gained traction in your home market. Too late, and you risk losing ground to faster moving competitors.
So when is the right time? Usually, it is when you’ve proven your concept in one market, identified clear demand in another and have the operational and financial headroom to support the leap. It also helps if your next market shares language, regulation or cultural norms with your home base. In your first foray into international expansion, these factors can help make the transition run more smoothly.
The golden rule: expand internationally, not reactively. Just because an overseas investor or distributor shows interest doesn’t mean it is the right time to jump.
Safe Travels:
Expanding into new markets isn’t just about translating your website and hiring a local salesperson. It’s a complex project involving regulatory approvals, supply chains, market access, hiring, global tax structures and – let’s not forget – cultural nuance.
Mistakes can be expensive. Setting up the wrong legal entity, underestimating clinical trial timelines or navigating a foreign IP system without expert help can cost months and hundreds and thousands in wasted effort.
A strong plan includes:
- A clear market entry strategy
- Defined roles and responsibility
- Regulatory and legal due diligence
- Support from local experts (i.e. legal, financial and commercial)
- Contingency plans if things don’t go to plan
In short: approach international expansion with the same rigour you’d apply to a product development plan.
Final thoughts: Progress over Perfection
Ther’s no single path from invention to realisation. Every life sciences company takes its own winding route. But what separates those who succeed from those who stall isn’t just great science – its great execution.
This means understanding what you own, why someone would pay for your innovation and how to protect it. It means building the right team, managing your resources wisely and making hard decisions at the right time. Most importantly, it means being open to learning – because no one gets everything right the first time.
If you’re building something meaningful in the life sciences space, the road ahead will be challenging. But with the right insight, support and timing – it will also be extraordinarily rewarding.
