I recently talked with Susan Baxter, Ph.D., Executive Director of CSUPERB, to find out how the CSU I-Corps program is impacting the local biotech community.

“The CSU I-Corps program had 34 teams state-wide in the first year,” said Dr. Baxter. “We work with student-based teams in the fall and the faculty-led teams in the spring.” Each team has three members and works for three months to evolve a business model. “The student teams are made up of scientists and engineers, and are required to have a business student,” said Dr. Baxter. “The faculty teams include a faculty member, a post-doc or graduate student, or even an undergrad.”

SDEE partner, Hera Hub, presents Hera Venture Summit on Saturday September 19th to bring together EXPERTS from both sides of the investment table to share best practices, essential tips and lessons learned. Binational, local and global resources will be shared and discussed along with trends and hot topics around gender investing.

Please join us at this one-day intensive event aimed at equipping and connecting female founders and female funders. Register using our promo code SDEE40off to get a $40 discount. Stop by our SDEE exhibit table to see what resources we have for entrepreneurs. Hope to see you there!

Commercializing academic research isn’t typically included in the curriculum for scientific training. Entrepreneurial researchers struggle to translate their skills to industry and their inventions into a new company. Finding a market fit, or just navigating the entrepreneurial world can be a hard puzzle to solve. The skills required for success in a start-up differ from skills needed to succeed in an academic lab. 

Dear SDEE Members! Since our first roundtable in 2010, SDEE has been helping entrepreneurs and their companies succeed in San Diego. This would never have been possible without the extensive efforts and vision of our Founding President, Scott Thacher. After five years serving as our president, Scott asked the Board to choose a new president and I am honored to serve in that role for the next two years. Scott will continue to be actively involved in SDEE as a member of the Executive Committee and a member of our Board of Directors.

This SDEE event was inspired by our members, who shared their experiences of starting and growing companies in San Diego area. Strategies included asking colleagues to share lab space and equipment, funding via SBIR grants or “Friends and Family” sources, making tough decisions on resources and partners and keeping a “can do” attitude throughout the process.

Scott Thacher, SDEE founder & CEO of Orphagen Pharmaceuticals,  shares the story of how early stage entrepreneurs needed an association where they could discuss their issues and find ways to work together. A few like-minded entrepreneurs decided to share business strategies, space, insights and connections, and San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange (SDEE) was born!

Jiwu Wang, PhD, is President and CEO of Allele Biotechnology, Scientific Director and Professor of The Scintillon Institute, Visiting Professor of Nanjing Medical University and Maternal and Child Health Hospital, and SDEE member. We caught up with Dr. Wang to talk about his experience as an entrepreneur starting and growing a biotechnology company, and how he’s benefited from SDEE.

Sridhar Prasad, PhD, is Founder and Vice President of Research at CalAsia Pharmaceuticals Inc., and SDEE member.

We caught up with Dr. Prasad about CalAsia, as they were recently awarded a $600,000 NIH Phase I SBIR grant. He tells us how he got started and how to persevere.

The SDEE April 17, 2014 event “Get to Know Your Neighbors” provided a unique opportunity for San Diego entrepreneurs to showcase their companies and network with fellow entrepreneurs. This event was sponsored by SDEE and organized at the Janssen Research and Development Center in San Diego, CA. The program included an Open Exhibition and Networking session and a presentation on the “Origins and History of Biotech in San Diego” by Dr. Ivor Royston.

The July SDEE event titled “How to be a Green Entrepreneur” was hosted at the Town Hall Room of Janssen Research and Development Center in San Diego, with a focus on identifying opportunities for developing and sustaining innovation and entrepreneurship in Green Technology. About 100 members attended the event who represented various organizations ranging from non-profit, biotechnology, hi-tech industry, information technology, sustainable product developers and law firms to name a few. The event provided an opportunity to attendees to network with people from different area of business.