Feb 06 2025 65 mins
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Part 2 of 2: Our guest today is Parag Shah, CEO and Founding Managing Director of K2 HealthVentures. K2 HealthVentures is an alternative investment firm that provides flexible, long-term financing solutions to innovative private and public companies in the life sciences and healthcare industries. Committed to making a broader impact, K2 also donates a percentage of its profits to support underserved areas in healthcare.
Before founding K2, Parag was Senior Managing Director & Group Head of the Life Sciences practice at Hercules Capital, where he led the fund’s public offering and managed over $2 billion in investments. His deep expertise in life science and healthcare financing was further shaped through key leadership roles at Comerica, Imperial Bank, and BankBoston.Parag’s academic background includes a Masters in Environmental Policy & Planning and a Bachelors in Molecular Biology from MIT, where he conducted research at the Whitehead Institute.
With 25+ years of experience at the intersection of science and finance, Parag brings invaluable insights for first-time founders, investors, scientists, and industry leaders navigating the complexities of biotech funding.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- How Parag scaled Hercules Capital into a multi-billion-dollar life sciences fund
- The challenges of building a strong company culture in investment firms
- Why evergreen capital structures can be a game-changer for biotech startups
- The founding story of K2 HealthVentures and its mission-driven approach
- How balancing work, family, and entrepreneurship leads to long-term success
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Find Our Guest, Parag Shah, at these links:
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Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
K2 HealthVentures: https://www.k2healthventures.com/
Hercules Capital: https://www.htgc.com/
Cooley LLP: https://www.cooley.com/
Life Science Cares: https://lifesciencecares.org/
Debt vs. Equity Financing for Biotech Startups: https://www.excedr.com/resources/debt-equity-options-funding-startup
Biotech Startup Fundraising: https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-startup-funding-options
Biotech Startup Support: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support
People Mentioned:
Anup Arora: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anup-arora-368ba81/
Meghan FitzGerald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanmfitzgerald/
00:00 Intro
01:54 Early days at Hercules and the challenge of biotech debt
06:14 Scaling Hercules, taking it public, and leadership lessons
11:34 Public vs. private investment funds: Key trade-offs and pressures
19:18 Leaving Hercules, taking a break, and redefining priorities
25:35 Avoiding burnout: Balancing work, family, and entrepreneurship
29:04 How time and capital constraints drive better decision-making
33:52 Founding K2 HealthVentures and reshaping biotech venture debt
39:01 Evergreen investment structure and why it benefits startups
46:59 The importance of co-founders, team culture, and shared vision
53:32 Scaling K2, launching a foundation, and investing with purpose
01:02:24 Outro
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