Venture Network: an important part of IE Executive Education's Accelerate program

When scientific expertise and business acumen meet, visionary ideas come to life and impact the world around us. IE Executive Education’s Accelerate program does exactly that. This innovative program helps scientific professionals gain the necessary entrepreneurial and managerial abilities to implement and sustain their projects as successful business ventures.

Over 5 months, students from a variety of technical backgrounds develop key business knowledge in marketing, finance, human resources, economic environments, legal issues and more. However, the program goes far beyond theory.

Venture Labs is a start-up accelerator which focuses on helping teams develop their ideas and find their market niche, before coming up with an effective launch plan. The home and hub of all this entrepreneurial activity is Area 31. This innovative space provides teams access to mentorship and cutting-edge resources as they develop, nurture, challenge and launch their ideas.

Every Thursday, Area 31 hosts Venture Network, an event where start-up founders pitch their ideas to industry experts and receive constructive feedback, while also getting the opportunity to socialize and expand their networks.

On April 19th, a special Venture Network was held for Accelerate (Building Business from Science & Technology) students who have been working on start-ups as their final projects. Two teams presented their ideas to a panel of experts, consisting of Marisol Quintero, CEO of Bioncotech, and Emilio Ayanz, Investment Director for CRB Crossroad Biotech.

This company is building an online platform that will provide outsourcing solutions for research and biotechnology companies in need of Genomics and Proteomics services. According CMO, Elisabeth Baucells, it can be difficult to find the right company to outsource specific services. As the Genomics and Proteomics markets are expected to double in size by 2022, the company predicts a growing demand for their services.

Oncobridge was the second start-up team of the night. This company aims to bridge the gap between cancer patients in search of new therapeutic options and pharmaceutical companies looking for patients to participate in oncological clinical studies. Presenting founders Susana Llanos and Jesús García Donas explained that clinical trials are the longest and most expensive phase for drug development—but the best way for patients to gain access to new medical options that haven’t been approved.

Following extensive patient interviews, they found that the search for clinical trials was confusing and overwhelming. Identifying a need for clear, accessible information, they sought to build a better means of communication between pharmaceutical companies and patients would help to solve many issues faced by all parties involved. 

Are you ready to launch your innovative idea? Join IE Business School’s Accelerate program next October 2018, and gain the business skills you need to turn your technical and scientific vision into a reality.