Episode 149: How Biotech Founders Can Connect with Family Offices Beyond the Pitch Deck

Today's conversation is all about making smarter fundraising decisions through better market intelligence. You're listening to BIO from the Bayou, empowering biotech leaders with the tools, assets, and expertise to improve healthcare outcomes. Each episode provides insights and information to expand your network, advance your product line, and help your company thrive. Serving the entire Gulf South, but recorded in the heart of New Orleans. Welcome back to BIO from the Bayou. I'm your host, Dr. Elaine Hamm, the Executive in Residence at Tulane School of Medicine, and today's guest is Danielle Patterson. She is the executive director of a family office at ISS Market Intelligence, or ISSMI. Maybe we can cut it down. That's a long title, but I like it. Welcome to the show, Danielle.

Aw, thank you so much, Elaine, for having me. And yeah, it is a mouthful.

But it's new to you. So let's talk a little bit about that before we get into the work that you're doing currently. You're a bit of an entrepreneur right now, so let's talk about your journey and your career path.

Yeah. So it is anything but a straight arrow, which I think many entrepreneurs share that. I have a background in art. I was an art major.

Oh, perfect.

Yeah. And I didn't come from the world of finance or family offices, but I love building. And I think through my acquiring family office list, transforming it into Family Office Access, really became a new art form for me, building not just a better solution, but the relationships, the education, and infusing creativity into something that at one point was really rather static and stale. So I love connecting with people and I love solving problems. And so that really transformed Family Office List into something more. And yes, becoming now a part of a larger organization, it's just so much opportunity. And navigating the change of working with a small team and having complete autonomy into now having very structured kind of corporate processes has taken some adjustment. But 6 months in, and I'm really reaping the benefits of having incredible teams and people to basically amplify what I became so passionate about building.

Sure. You kind of start out with one set of problems as an entrepreneur, but as you become successful, you discover there's a whole other set of problems. And scaling is a good problem to have, but still a problem that you have to— it's a new set of skills sometimes, new team, and transitions can be hard. So.

It is. And I, I joke, you know, for all of us who became entrepreneurs to have freedom, you know, we, we end up working longer hours and, but.

100%.

I think for the right personality, someone who really thrives on being heart-led and, and passionate about what they're building, it's a wonderful path.

It helps. And yes, we work longer hours, but at least we get to pick the hours most of the time.

So 100%, I say that.

Is that true? I don't know. I say it so I can believe it. Well, so you started out with Family Office List. Tell me a little bit about how you got into that and what your goals were when you first started the company.

Yeah. So it really fit a thesis, low employee count, high revenue. It was much an entrepreneurial move. My husband and I have always kind of been attracted to certain models, and we've learned this through even our own failures. You know, his first business was a landscape design company. And so in 2008, when all these large homes with the beautiful landscapes weren't being sold, you know, we realized that was a very kind of volatile industry. And so we always sought from that point on to find models that really fit a certain thesis. And so when Family Office List came around, it was a great deal structure. We kind of partnered with the original founder, his name was Douglas Fathers, financial service provider, and infused what we do best, sales, marketing, building relationships, and really immediately kind of jumpstarted this business that had been, not to say passively run, but The more I learned about each client and the way they were using what was family office lists at the time, the less I loved it. You know, it, it encouraged the wrong behavior in the world of family offices where you have to lead with value alignment and think of it as a long-term relationship where this list really just encouraged a spray and pray, one-size-fits-all marketing approach.

Right.

And so really wanting to see people succeed, wanting the product to actually help, that really started the evolution. And so providing more than just names on a list, deeper insights, and then going beyond, okay, now we know more about this family, what makes it unique, how they think about their legacy, but helping people with the strategy because too often it's exciting to see people discover family offices as a source of capital. But too often they approach them as if they are just like the institutions they're accustomed to working with, you know, and it's just a game of send out your pitch and send out a cold email where the world of family offices is increasingly becoming affluent and it's going to change the way companies are funded.

Sure.

I mean, especially over the next 20 years with this generational wealth transfer we're already in the midst of.

Yeah.

And it's exciting, but it still is very heavily reliant on that trust and that relationship.

Yeah.

And some people argue, you know, you need a warm introduction. I counter because I have hundreds of successful case studies of people who have done it every otherwise. And, you know, I'm really passionate about helping people understand the right way and cutting through the noise. But yeah, it's just an exciting time to be working in the sector and I love, kind of always refer to it as bridging the gap. When you've got these founders who are just fueled with passion, they're gonna make the world a better place, and you've got families that are in perfect alignment with those values and have the funding, but how do we help connect the two worlds?

Yeah, it's very challenging. It's such a nebulous world, and you're right. I mean, and I've been guilty of this myself, of just like, well, we're curing XYZ disease, why wouldn't anybody want to be involved in helping us cure XYZ disease? I mean, it's a nice value proposition in a lot of ways that biotech gets to have, is that we're helping change patients' lives and all of that versus, you know, some of the other tech worlds and apps out there. They have to really think about a very different value proposition and whether people would want to buy what they have or not. We're—

100%.

You know, a cure or something that, you know, can really help change the world. It's not as simple as that. And having a deck that even if you aren't pitching to, you know, you, you've made your pitch to where it's not heavily science-based, it's to the layperson and helping them understand the investment. It's still not just a matter of sending it to a family office and getting them to understand they can be a part of XYZ curing this disease, whatever that may be. It's very challenging. You know, every office is a little bit different and, and finding your advocates within it can be really challenging. What are some other— I love the spray and pray. I mean, that's a lot of what we do. Yes. To be honest, what are some other misconceptions that you think founders often have about family offices?

Yeah, I think honestly that they are just these checkbooks, you know, and they approach them the way they would another institutional investor. And the thing is, they have patient long-term capital, which is incredible. It's one of the greatest attributes for a family. They don't have to just follow what's trendy or market cycle or what fits the box of, you know, a private equity flip and sell in 5 years.

Yeah.

But it does mean that they're gonna pick and invest opportunities that make sense to them or with people they trust. And so a founder needs to earn that right. And I think that can be hard and intimidating, especially when you're building. Those relationships don't just happen on accident. I think it happens when people show up and they lead with heart and their passion becomes evident and almost magnetic. And so visibility is something I encourage for everyone. I, I'm more introverted than people realize, but I like to practice what I preach. And so I—

Sure.

I started putting myself out there a few years ago and, and it's really transformed, you know, people, know, and when you're consistent and you, you know, show up with value, whether it's education or, you know, thought leadership, something about, you know, your domain and biotech and educating people, they learn through that consistency, that visibility to really trust and connect. And I think that's the biggest thing. It's people think, well, I'm raising capital and I have this beautiful polished deck.

Yeah.

But it's really why you, you know, first people do business with people and they make that decision based on, on the heart and trust. And from there, of course, they're going to evaluate, they're going to do their diligence. And, you know, each, each family, like you said, they have a different process and really knowing not only what the family office itself stands for, how they think about legacy and/or investing, But also, who is making those decisions?

Yeah.

And what is their role in relation to the family? Communication, I think you've got to cut through the noise in this day and age and really knowing who you're speaking to and making their life as easy as possible, you know, given their role and what your end objective is.

Yeah, making it easier for them to pitch it back to whomever they report to is always a good thing. Even, even with regular old VCs, they still have LPs that they have to explain things to. So sometimes it's good to give them little soundbites that they can take back. But that trust piece is very interesting because on the one hand, I really understand what you're like positioning yourself as sort of a KOL, for example, and, and being seen as a thought leader within the industry is something that I've learned over the years is a really important part of the story of being seen on stage, whether it's moderating panels or giving keynote addresses or publishing, whatever that looks like. That path I understand. Now, what I don't necessarily understand is how do you build trust when a lot of times that we are only given moments to sell ourselves, we're only given Zooms to communicate over. And I've read a couple of books on like, there's one called The Speed of Trust, but still like, how, how do you recommend that entrepreneurs think about building trust with someone that they may only have, you know, a certain amount of time with?

Yeah. As much as you can lead with value and forget any transaction, you know, and for me, genuine curiosity tends to be just my nature. How can I help or add value, or who can I help connect you to, you know? So, 1+ 1= 11. I think connecting on a human level, not just the immediate, you know, let's do business, but really Being thoughtful, doing what you'll say, that dependability, accountability. And also, it's like 101, but like, you know, just the way that you interact. It may not be the right time with that particular relationship, but the way that you handle it and treat it, you know, with professionalism and kindness, I mean, that will open doors. They may, well, gosh, you know, thank you for getting back and let me introduce you to someone else, you know? And so always having a demeanor of Personability, thoughtfulness, accountability. I think those things go really far and, and a curiosity to get to know the person, what they care about, and how you can create long-term value together, like a true partnership.

So taking all of that pieces of it, how do you connect then from family offices to entrepreneurs and vice versa? Yeah.

So I love getting the opportunity to really understand an entrepreneur's passion, what they're building. I always wanna see the pitch deck, you know, the nuts and bolts, the finances.

Sure.

But I always start with the why, and I do my best through the data and understanding of the different family offices to try to align those whys. You know, when you see mission and value, it's kind of that 1+ 1 makes 11, and how do we connect and add value together. The visibility, the trust is paramount. So I always encourage people, you know, multichannel strategy. You need to build your brand, you need that visibility, always lead with value, education, all the thought leadership, but one-on-one personal outreach. Again, to think long-term beyond a transaction. People do business with people leveraging the network that you have and are building to try to get those warm introductions as well. And then getting yourself out there. I think there's so many amazing family office conferences right now. And, you know, showing up with that same energy of curiosity and getting to know people, how you can help without an agenda to pitch anything or anyone, and really learning about the industry and who's Speaking there, I think it's kind of like an ecosystem. We see so much change. The number of family offices has doubled in the last decade alone and is not anywhere near slowing, but they're siloed and they're dysfunctional in many instances. I always relate the world of family offices almost to a startup, and I try to bring people on the same level to be empathetic and relate to one another. And for the families, you know, finding the right teams, Making sure that the investments and the processes that they're doing are really in alignment with the why behind the family. There's no playbook, there's no one-size-fits-all. So it's really about how do we help the sector at large?

Sure. Well, and the sector really has an interesting opportunity now. It feels like the gap between academia and grants And angel investing to that Series A and institutional investors is widening and widening.

Yeah.

More so than I've ever seen. I mean, usually the angels had an overlap with the VC community, but there's that Venn diagram is getting harder and harder and then starting to become just 2 circles. So I think it's gonna be really interesting to see how family offices can really help bridge that gap from NIH grants to angel groups, and then angel groups to VCs, even depending on, on the family office. It should be interesting to see how that, that plays out over the next few years.

It is, and it's really neat to see the next generation become involved with the family. I think one of the hardest challenges the family office faces is that generational wealth transfer. And so involving that next gen in conversations, empowering them to play a role, And what we're seeing is many are interested in building something for themselves. Maybe they don't follow the exact business of the family, but they want to be a part of reinvesting in things they're passionate about.

Yeah.

And so where historically many family offices had, you know, their traditional investments, we're seeing an increase in direct investing. Also, of course, the primary function of many family offices is to find tax-efficient strategies.

Sure.

So huge, huge philanthropic arm and getting to see the visibility around some of these families who want to stand for something and they want their family legacy to now be tied to some of these exciting things that they're participating in. And I think when the next gen gets to play a role, it also helps the continuity of that family when Like, I'm passionate in saving the sea turtles, and our family is really passionate about the environment. And so getting to play a role and, and have the family legacy stand for something like that.

Yeah.

And so we're, we're seeing a lot of programs, and again, through the universities as well. The Chicago Booth School of Business has a phenomenal family office program, and it's just helping people learn how to serve the industry because Yeah, as we see the shifts and the, the gaps widen, I think more and more people when they graduate aren't gonna say, I wanna go work for, you know, the top investment bank. I wanna work in the family office sector.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, one of the challenges as it relates to family offices can also be just finding them. I mean, if you, it's, you can't just Google, I mean, yeah, rich people who wanna make a difference, you know?

Yeah.

That's not gonna get you what you need. But at the same time, like we get inundated, especially if you attend conferences and partnering meetings. You get all of these people saying, hey, I'll sell you the list of all of the attendees, you know, and, and you get a list and sometimes the list is helpful and sometimes it's not at all, but it's still, again, that spray and pray. Like it's just the laundry list of names that you're going to check boxes for. Let's talk a little bit about your actual platform and full disclosure, we, we just signed up for it. So, and we start our kickoff meeting tomorrow about it. So I'm very excited, but talk to a little bit about how this isn't just a list and good luck.

Yes. Well, the very first problem I set out to solve when we acquired Family Office List was the problem everyone faces with lists. You know, this is stale, static data and it's not even accurate. So we built processes and technology to ensure that this data, which is still proprietarily collected and there is a human involved, 'cause we, sure, Our data isn't just scraped off the web, but we use a lot of signals, you know, M&A activity, news media, our attending conferences in our network. But what we find is it takes continuous maintenance because there is actually a lot of movement in the sector, new hires, even rebranding. We just got an update today of family offices rebranded. And interestingly, over the past 3 years, when we look at the data, The increase in branding has been tremendous. And I think it, for a sector that historically has been so secretive, to now see families building brands, I think there's a few reasons for it. You know, the next gen, they're digital natives. They know their information is going to be out there with AI and, you know.

True.

So at least let me write my narrative. Let me decide what we want our family to stand for, to attract the right aligned partners. But also to attract talent. You know, if no one knows your family office, what real talented chief investment officer's gonna wanna come work for you? You know, there, there has to be something. And then creating a legacy for that family. So it's interesting and it's neat, but we have to make sure that we're staying on top of that as brands shift, as talent changes. So the data is meticulously maintained and we leverage a lot of technology to check deliverability of emails and things like that.

Sure.

But also, I mean, as assets under management, as investment thesis shifts, you know, it, it really does take a dedicated team. And for us, our approach is less is more. It's about really focusing your energy on the right relationships, and it starts with that alignment. So leveraging the filters to highlight the right industry, the right Deal structure, the right stage of investment, and then really working through any more relationship channels. Do we have shared connections? And so I think anything people can do to really build their network, join communities, attend groups. There's a lot of WhatsApp groups. There's a lot of noise. So seeking feedback, I absolutely love. I'm passionate about helping people. It's hard to Stay on top of the LinkedIn inbox, but I often will give advice and do workshops, even if it's not myself presenting. We love featuring experts who can help people navigate with confidence.

Yeah, I think that was the other piece. This isn't just sort of a filtration device where you can go through and, and find stage of development and they do pharma, whatever. There's also work, there's an educational piece to your platform as well of helping people understand what they need to present, et cetera. So, which is nice.

And that to me is so important because I look at the mentors I've had in my career, and they've all been so generous, and I always felt very safe to ask questions, and I just had to learn that way. So I want to be that resource for others. I want to help give people the confidence to work in this sector because it can feel intimidating.

Yeah.

You know, who am I? But with the right approach and the right kind of partner to help guide you through, I think It really makes a big difference.

Okay, so for our last piece of advice to our founders that they're looking for investment, what would be your piece of advice for them?

Yeah, I would say start now. Start before you need the, the actual money, you know.

Must be raising.

Think, think beyond the next funding round. Think long-term. Think in terms of generations, even though you have your immediate needs. But visibility creates familiarity, and it's that familiarity that creates trust, and trust ultimately is what will open those doors. So it's never too early to start. Lead with as much value and get your passion out in the open, because I think too, people like connecting each other when they see the impact it can make. And so the more visibility you have, I think the better.

I love it. Well, thank you so much for taking the time outta your day to come share What you've been working on and your advice on navigating what can be, well, used to be a secretive siloed area, but now is becoming a little more mainstream, but still challenging to navigate. We appreciate you taking the time and congrats on the new deal with ISS Market Intelligence. And I'm looking forward to using your platform, as I will find out tomorrow. So thank you.

Looking forward to it. Yeah. Thank you for having me, Elaine.

As always, we will make sure to have Danielle's contact information and informational links posted in our show notes. Make sure you check them out to learn more. And thanks once again for joining us for Bio from the Bayou. Thanks for joining us for Bio from the Bayou, and we hope you'll join us again. To never miss the latest updates in biotech, hit the subscribe button now. We'll catch you on our next episode of Bio from the Bayou. This podcast was edited by Resonate Recordings.