This post was originally published by Inside Indiana Business. Click here to read the original article.
INDIANAPOLIS – BioCrossroads has launched an online platform that aims to serve as “front door” for Indiana’s life sciences startup community.
The BioCrossroads Startup Resource Hub is designed to provide startups and entrepreneurs with a wide variety of resources, including funding pathways, regulatory and clinical resources, and ecosystem connections in one place.
CEO Vince Wong told Inside INdiana Business that while there has been a proliferation of entrepreneurial support organizations in the state’s life science sector, it has led to a fragmentation of resources available to startups, which can create barriers to growth.
“We heard from the entrepreneurial community…and they gave us a message loud and clear that they would love a one-stop shop, a front door to really aggregate and bring together all those resources to really provide a bit of a digital concierge and sherpa through all the different assets and resources and organizations that are available within our community.”
The hub includes an interactive startup journey map with stage-specific guidance for entrepreneurs; Indiana-specific funding pathways, including grants, angel networks, and venture capital; mentorship and peer support programs; and clinical data assets and regulatory resources, among other features.
But the platform isn’t just for the benefit of startups, entrepreneurs and innovators exploring commercialization; it also is designed to help potential investors find their next investment.
“We want this to be a platform,” Wong said, “that gives investors, especially those that may not be as familiar with our community, ability to access and gain visibility to the really robust portfolio of exciting startups in our community and really reduce the barriers from the startups in our city, in our region, and pools of capital that may be sitting in other markets, whether it be Boston or New York or San Francisco.”
Wong noted the importance of having a tool to help make those connections and fuel the startup ecosystem in Indiana.
“If there’s not a bit of an easy button for those different stakeholders to be able to either start a business or relocate or invest in a company, then we’re really making life harder for ourselves,” he said.
With the launch of the hub, Wong said the organization’s first goal is to raise awareness of the platform but also listen to stakeholders in the life sciences sector on how the platform could be improved.
“We’re very open to feedback from the stakeholders and audiences around what else could we include in our resource hub? What changes do we need to make?” he said. “So just like digital platform that’s launched, we’ll continue to update and refine and improve while trying to drive visibility and awareness of the of the platform itself.”
The launch of the BioCrossroads Startup Research Hub comes just one day after the organization announced the first close of its new early-stage venture fund, Crossroads Health Ventures, which has secured more than $21 million to support startups state’s human, animal and health innovation sectors.
“We’re building this real portfolio of assets that we feel like will be supportive and helpful for life sciences startups to grow and flourish here in Indiana,” said Wong.
