Startup Grind

Date: June 1, 2017

Name: Startup Grind – Chat with Natalie Dakers

Presenter: Natalie Dakers

Successful entrepreneurs seek for successful experience from acknowledged leaders in difference industries. Startup Grind Vancouver invites Natalie Dakers, the Founding President of Accel-Rx, to discuss her success and mistakes. Entrepreneurs will learn her path and apply the lessons to their businesses. Moreover, Natalie Dakers will share her personal experience in the view of investor.

Natalie Dakers is the Founding President and CEO of Accel-Rx. She was also the Founding President of The Centre for Drug Research and Development and the CEO of Neuromed Technologies Inc. Natalie Dakers is considered to be one of BC’s most influential woman entrepreneur in biopharmaceutical industry. She helps many startups with her expertise and raises over multi million dollars of venture capital. Moreover, she inspires many young entrepreneurs and she is a role model for future entrepreneurs.

Chat with Natalie Dakers

During her trip to Europe this year for Health Science Conference, Natalie Dakers saw the opportunity of collaboration. Her mission was to sell Canada to invest and attract companies to Canada. Her role of an advocate allowed her to build opportunities with many companies oversea. The value proposition for Canada is good corporate tax. Comparing with other countries, Canada has good corporate tax. Canada also have well scaled workforce, great environment, and future young spirit.

When it comes down to capital versus talent, Canada needs to find ways to recruit, keep, and grow good talents. In Dakers’ point of view, the application from tech sector has increased, so as the students. However, in biotech sector, the challenge of growing comes down to a lack of leadership skill, not technical skill.

Many entrepreneurs label Dakers as the entrepreneur, but Dakers believes everyone can be entrepreneur if they want to. She realizes it is the way of being. The fund about being entrepreneur is the uncertainty. There are opportunities around them.

“Be comfortable in uncomfortable”

People are in fear of failing because everyone wants to look good all the time. Being an entrepreneur is about believing what he or she can give. Passion plays a huge role. What entrepreneurs believe depends on their definition of entrepreneur. Furthermore, Dakers wants entrepreneurs to ask themselves “why” they do what they do. It is good to fail because entrepreneurs need to know the feeling. It allows them to prepare. Entrepreneurs embrace failure and many of them tend to take the safe path and do not allow others to do too good. This has to stop. Dakers believes entrepreneurs need to prepare to failure; otherwise, they will not able to reach their top potential.

Many people label Dakers as an investor, but Dakers emphasizes that she loves pitching ideas. She has more compassion in companies. It is difficult for Dakers to transfer from being an entrepreneur to an investor.

“Entrepreneur is a pain in the ass”

Dakers has learned that being an entrepreneur is to work with people who wants to work with them. To be successful, entrepreneurs need to seek feedbacks. Listening is the key. There is a gem in every feedback.

Her business model for Accel-Rx comes from her passion. She had built neutral infrastructure for biopharmaceutical industry. She allowed people to take advantage of the resources. She seek this opportunity by creating Accel-Rx to streamline the pipeline for helping companies in funding. Accel-Rx provided customized support and it helped many startup companies to prepare for series A investing opportunity. Accel-Rx raised commercialize funds and other capitals. The key is to streamline the investing process.

Dakers shares the trick to raise fund is to have a good story. Entrepreneurs need to communicate and listen to the needs. They need to keep their eyes open for possibility. The problem she is facing is that British Columbia does not have enough companies to form resources for startups. The competition is rising, yet there is not enough venture capitals. Dakers needs to take her company to national view because she believes there is money out for every startup.

To identify investment opportunity, Dakers will focus on 2 main questions.

1. Is there enough money on the table to go Series A?
2. Can it build relationship around people?

Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves if they are a bridge or a pier. Will they make a difference? Can they connect with people? Are they able to work together? At the end, technology factors often rank the lowest.

Dakers see in the future that the problem occurs more in people than technology because everyone has already assumed technology will change. In other words, people will hold entrepreneurs back, so they need to know who are dedicated. A majority of entrepreneurs who are on board with their projects is part time. This characteristic need to change because the is no chance for them to succeed Series A if they are part time. The question is how to convert them to be ready for Series A. Dakers looks for passion and determination. The best combination is science person with a business person. Why? Because they respect as team. Dakers emphasizes the power of company is that partnership.

In 2008, Dakers mentions British Columbia had lost many ventures due to the crash. BC has not bounced back from the recession. Accel-Rx is created to have open doors for startup companies. Dakers is certain that Accel-Rx has the ability to make them as profitable companies in BC. It will be difficult, but they will find the way.

There are too many false hopes passing down to students. Principle is important, but understanding what entrepreneurs try to do is more important. There must be a change in managing expectations.

Questions and Answers

When the funding pool is limited, venture capitals will base on different mandate to allocate the funds. Entrepreneurs need to look at it as continuum. The advice Dakers gives to young entrepreneurs is to think who they are as a person. They do not need to be in hurry to figure things out. They just need to breath and do not believe that a single decision can change everything. They must follow their passions. They need to be practical and be willing to work hard. They need to build their network.

The strategy is to chase all the leads because young entrepreneurs will never now. They should conduct a lot of conversation. They are seeds and they need to nurture. Therefore, Dakers think entrepreneurs should have the mindset of expect small percentage of ownership of a bigger pie. Culture is important. Value is important. However, living in value is more important.

When it comes down to personal, Dakers shares her sons are the most important people in her personal world and her team is the most important people in her professional world. All good things and bad things revolve around people and when entrepreneurs invite the wrong person in, it is death.

“Think hard about people”