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t m c » p u l s e | j u ly 2 0 1 5 23 Investing in Innovation Early-stage investors and life science entrepreneurs connect at the Redefining Early Stage Investments conference O n June 8, the TMCx was abuzz with the collective excitement of over 450 visitors. The Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference transformed the accelerator space into a venue for early-stage investors and life science entrepreneurs to open dialogue, build relationships, and close investment rounds. In the exhibit hall, poster presentations offered a glimpse of the emerging life science companies in attendance. Nearby, a partnering forum between investors and entrepre- neurs compressed 700 meetings into the course of a single day. Panels and workshops took place in conference rooms across the space and provided platforms for investors to communicate directly to their eager audience of fund- raising entrepreneurs. "It can be overwhelming, and we absolutely love that aspect," said Dennis Ford, founder and chief executive officer of Life Science Nation. "We want to give everyone who comes here more oppor- tunities than they can make a decision about, because if we're doing that, we're doing our job. We really want to inun- date everyone, for one day, and sub- merge them in this early-stage investor world to let them get a lot of bang for their buck instead of stretching it out B y A l e x O r l a n d o over a period of several days. We want to give them as much value as possible." "The day had a frenetic pace to it, but it ran with a great cadence," said William F. McKeon, executive vice pres- ident and chief operating officer of the Texas Medical Center. "It was so effi- cient. People knew exactly where they were going with the panel discussions, but the lion's share of the engagement was the matchmaking between inves- tors and entrepreneurs—it was all about prescreened compelling connections for startups and investors, and that pace ran at a vigorous level throughout the whole day. People were exhausted by the end of it." Through a partnership between Life Science Nation, Texas Medical Center, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and JLABS (JLABS @TMC), the event introduced fundraising CEOs to the right early-stage investors to meet their needs. "Before RESI, I don't think anyone really figured out how to do justice to the concept of an investor confer- ence," remarked Ford. "It was always an afterthought in these other conferences. Nobody really dedicated a conference to putting fundraising CEOs and early-stage investors together across all these areas, from biotech and medtech to health care IT and diagnostics. As it turns out, RESI was precisely what was needed." Fostering change is all about calculated risk taking, and with many naysayers advising that Houston wasn't ready for a prime time global investor conference, this year's RESI conference knocked it out of the park. — DENNIS FORD Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Life Science Nation WITH A GUEST LIST OF 426 PEOPLE, THIS YEAR'S TURNOUT AT TMCx MARKS THE STRONGEST NUMBER OF ATTENDEES AT A RESI CONFERENCE TO DATE.