A practical guide to building and de-risking your biotech startup, uniquely curated for those pursuing novel ventures in contraceptives research & development. De-risk your venture, attract the best talent and investment, and tackle the right problems at the right time.
About the Author
Aaron Crapster, PhD
Scientific Fellow and Entrepreneur in Residence, MCI, 2024-2025
Aaron is a PhD chemist with postdoctoral training in cell signaling, male reproductive biology, and drug development. He was Head of Biology at Vibliome Therapeutics between 2019-2023 and joined the MCI team as a Fellow and EiR in 2024. But Aaron’s connection with MCI runs deep. He was the inaugural MCI postdoctoral fellow in 2018, and served on MCI’s Scientific Research Committee from 2021-2023. Aaron is currently the CEO, CSO at Anther Therapeutics, PBC, a company he co-founded to pursue the next generation of non-hormonal male contraceptives.
Scientific Fellow and Entrepreneur in Residence, MCI, 2024-2025
Aaron is a PhD chemist with postdoctoral training in cell signaling, male reproductive biology, and drug development. He was Head of Biology at Vibliome Therapeutics between 2019-2023 and joined the MCI team as a Fellow and EiR in 2024. But Aaron’s connection with MCI runs deep. He was the inaugural MCI postdoctoral fellow in 2018, and served on MCI’s Scientific Research Committee from 2021-2023. Aaron is currently the CEO, CSO at Anther Therapeutics, PBC, a company he co-founded to pursue the next generation of non-hormonal male contraceptives.
The Startup Founder Playbook is designed to help scientists and first-time founders who are navigating the early stages of company building in the biotechnology industry. There is no one path to success, but the information here will provide you with actionable insights to develop a sophisticated startup that is compellying to Venture/Impact Capital investors.
Notes Before Diving In
This Playbook is generally applicable across the biotech sector, but, wherever possible, content is presented with researchers in the male contraceptive development community in mind. It is meant to inspire and equip first-time scientist founders with the language, tools, and confidence to begin their journey as company builders in the biotechnology industry.
There are many ways to advance contraceptive development, and MCI created this resource as an introduction to Venture/Impact Capital-backed startups, representing one avenue that is of interest to the field. Bear in mind that market trends and macroeconomic forces change and shape the VC landscape, sometimes abruptly, so we recommend using this as a starting point for further research when thinking about starting a company.
Those familiar with MCI will know that we are fundamentally driven to enable and promote the global development of novel male contraceptives, and global access to these future products. This playbook, however, is primarily geared towards understanding the system and motivations in the VC-backed biotech ecosystem in the U.S. and E.U., since many of our grantees are exploring this as an option to advance their projects.
Much of the information found in the playbook was curated from other resources and authors, cited throughout.
This Playbook is generally applicable across the biotech sector, but, wherever possible, content is presented with researchers in the male contraceptive development community in mind. It is meant to inspire and equip first-time scientist founders with the language, tools, and confidence to begin their journey as company builders in the biotechnology industry.
There are many ways to advance contraceptive development, and MCI created this resource as an introduction to Venture/Impact Capital-backed startups, representing one avenue that is of interest to the field. Bear in mind that market trends and macroeconomic forces change and shape the VC landscape, sometimes abruptly, so we recommend using this as a starting point for further research when thinking about starting a company.
Those familiar with MCI will know that we are fundamentally driven to enable and promote the global development of novel male contraceptives, and global access to these future products. This playbook, however, is primarily geared towards understanding the system and motivations in the VC-backed biotech ecosystem in the U.S. and E.U., since many of our grantees are exploring this as an option to advance their projects.
Much of the information found in the playbook was curated from other resources and authors, cited throughout.
An Introduction to Venture Capital and the Biotechnology Industry
- Venture Capital in the biotechnology industry
- Intro to capital flow in biotech/pharma investing
- Vehicles that support biotech startups (i.e., what’s the difference between accelerators/incubators/studios/FROs vs. angel and venture capital investment?)
- Hierarchy at a typical Venture Capital fund
- What incentivizes new innovation?
- Intro to drug pricing (and insurance) in the US pharmaceutical industry
- Biotech Social Contract