Entrepreneurship
Selected client projects and JFA results
For Start-up and Early-stage Companies

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Developed partnering alternatives for start-up food safety company, including identification of potential partners for applications research, commercial testing, scale-up, and customer marketing; also assessed financing alternatives and potential exit scenarios for review by Board of Directors.
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Developed financing and development roadmap for early-stage pharmaceutical company, including intellectual property plan, business and technology risk assessment, and milestone-based financing plan.
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Delivered expansion strategy and implementation plan for agricultural biotechnology company Chromatin, Inc. to establish operations in Canada; also developed business development strategy and implementation campaign for commercial partnerships in corn, soybeans, and canola
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Provided interim executive services (as interim VP Finance and Business Development) for ZelleRx, a start-up oncology company. Resulted in business plan and investor presentations, $400,000 in clinical and development support in an equity-for-service deal, and intellectual property license for firm’s cell therapy platform.
For University of Illinois at Chicago

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Serving as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at EnterpriseWorks Chicago, the University’s on-campus incubator for new ventures.Featured leader of faculty workshops on entrepreneurial finance, value proposition, channel-to-market, and venture validation.
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Directed student consulting teams’ assessment of commercial potential of UIC faculty inventions, across numerous healthcare and engineering disciplines. Projects included developments in: water treatment, anti-microbial therapeutics, maternal health, cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, and specialized medical devices. Recommendations presented to Illinois Ventures and the UIC Office of Technology Management.
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Co-developed commercialization assessment program for faculty invention winners of the UIC Chancellor's Innovation Fund Proof of Concept Award.
For University of Chicago

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Co-developed launch plans for and co-led implementation of Chicago Innovation Mentors, a team mentoring initiative co-sponsored with Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and iBIO. Co-authored successful grant funding proposal supporting the program.
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Initiated portfolio review of University of Chicago research and intellectual property for major pharmaceutical company, resulting in funding of oncology research program.
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Read more at: "Fostering a New Entrepreneurial Spirit" at University of Chicago.
For Venture Capital Investors

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Delivered independent business valuation to Chicago-based venture capital firm for prospective software-as-a-service (SaaS) investment opportunity
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Provided due diligence support to a Chicago-based venture capital investor regarding a human therapeutics investment; focus on development milestones and financial projections.