KickStart Venture Services and the Office of Technology Commercialization strive to connect UNC emerging startups with investor networks and institutional and strategic venture capital funds. As part of our strategy to foster and strengthen relationships with new and existing partners and investors we participate in key national conferences every year. Continuously maintaining and growing our network enables us to better support technologies and ventures developed at the university.
One of the most effective conferences we attend is the annual BIO International Convention and Conference. It is considered the world’s largest global biotechnology partnering event and had over 16,000+ attendees from 67 countries in 2019. Participants include senior executives of leading biotech companies, large and midsize pharma companies, investors, and industry experts. It is invaluable for promoting academia-industry collaborations and connecting large companies with early-stage innovations stemming from academic ventures, public research institutions, and emerging biotech firms. BIO’s One-on-One Partnering System allows you to identify and meet directly with relevant attendees in 30-min timeslots. Our team is heavily involved in the partnering system and reaches out to key private and public stakeholders that best match the needs of our technologies, faculty, and startups.
Typically held in June, and rotating between U.S. cities, this year’s BIO was supposed to take place San Diego. Like so many business gatherings and events that have been side-tracked by COVID-19, BIO’s annual in-person meeting did not take place as planned. In lieu of an in-person event for this year, the conference moved to a virtual format, BIO Digital 2020. Although there were lower number of attendees compared to last year (7,000 vs. 16,000), they may have set a world record for the largest business virtual partnering event ever held. Instead of face-to-face meetings attendees could schedule virtual meetings through the BIO One-on-One Partnering system.
KickStart and the Office of Technology Commercialization scheduled over 50 virtual meetings this year, many of which have already led to valuable feedback, connections, and follow-on conversations about our technologies and startups with interested parties.
The slogan for the conference was “Nothing Stops Innovation,” and they certainly delivered. UNC, KickStart, and the Office of Technology Commercialization are committed to supporting our faculty and innovators make the right connections with partners and investors, particularly in these uncertain times and are thrilled that conferences such as BIO have created virtual formats that enable successful partnering.
If you are interested in KickStart Venture Services showcasing your technology or startup at events such as BIO please contact KickStart at kickstart@unc.edu.
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