Startups have navigated the perilous Valley of Death period with varying levels of success. Conifer Life Sciences Group at MBI is trying to change that.
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It’s a tale as old as time in the startup world: A brilliant scientist comes up with an idea for a technology with world-altering implications, but lack of funding or the regulatory landscape causes things to fall apart. That’s why the period before profitability in the startup cycle has earned the name Valley of Death.
Central Massachusetts startups have navigated this perilous period with varying levels of success. Mustang Bio, which develops immunotherapies and gene therapies for diseases including cancer, had to terminate its lease at 377 Plantation St. in Worcester, move to Waltham, and complete a reverse stock split to avoid being delisted from the Nasdaq. In its 2024 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it incurred significant losses since it was founded and anticipates it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
“Our future growth and success depend on our ability to successfully develop, and, if approved, commercialize our product candidates, which we have yet to do,” the company said in its filing with the SEC. Mustang Bio did not respond to a WBJ email requesting more information.
It’s hard to put a number on the percentage of startups that fail; a 2023 paper from the University of Pennsylvania found it’s 75% for venture-backed entities, other sources say it’s closer to 90%. But at the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives incubator in Worcester, the success rate for its 200-plus graduating companies is 80%. MBI, which has been in business for more than 40 years, uses the it-takes-a-village approach favored by startup incubators across the commonwealth.
New to MBI is investment firm Conifer Life Sciences Group, the second-ever venture capital company to set up shop within the incubator. Founded in 2023 by wife-and-husband team Jean Qiu and Peter Li, Conifer has already invested in three startup companies, all of which are located within MBI. The firm provides seed funding and business support for startups in the life sciences tools industry.
Putting Conifer in MBI was a no-brainer, said Jon Weaver, the incubator’s president and CEO. Although it’s been awhile since MBI had a venture capital firm within its walls, it did have one back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he said. Throughout its history, MBI leadership has always believed access to capital is a key component to a startup’s success.
“It’s a win-win for us: The more capital we can attract to Worcester, the faster the area will grow. It’s a no-brainer in our minds,” he said.
“Not a traditional investor”
Li and Qiu know what it’s like to start a brand-new company. Qiu is the founder of Nexcelom Bioscience, a Lawrence-based firm with a technology used in drug discovery, biomanufacturing, and biomedical research. After starting the company in 2003, Qiu eventually sold it in 2021 for $260 million in cash to national life sciences firm PerkinElmer.
After Nexcelom was sold, Li said he and Qiu knew they wanted to stay in the life sciences space. They love the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and they wanted to use the abilities, resources, and connections they gained over the course of their years with Nexcelom to help startup companies.
When considering a potential investment, Conifer weighs a variety of factors, Li said. The first is the market: What needs are the company’s products or services addressing, are they real needs, and will they still be there when the company grows up a little bit? The technology the company is developing must be sophisticated, innovative, and not easily replicated, and the co-founders have to be committed with a strong desire to carry out their vision, Li said.
Conifer’s approach to investing is a little more hands-on than the typical venture capitalist, Li said. When Conifer invests in a startup, Li and Qiu become part of the founding team and provide Conifer’s business platform for companies to use for things like finance, accounting, human resources, marketing, and information technology.
“In this case, Conifer is not just a traditional investor. We’re a business partner,” Li said.
That’s been the case with Highspin Biosystems, a Conifer-funded startup located within MBI. Chief Technology Officer Leo Chan has known Qiu and Li for 20 years; he worked with them at Nexcelom and was visiting them at MBI in 2024 when he was introduced to Highspin Chief Science Officer Osman Bilsel.
Osman “had a wonderful idea for a technology. We had a very long conversation. It was supposed to be one hour, but it ended up being three or four hours,” Chan said. “I felt this was a great opportunity to get involved in the startup environment and to put my energy into the project.”
Highspin spent the last quarter of 2024 doing a feasibility study and collecting data to submit for the intellectual property it needed. With the company’s IP secured, it is now in the prototyping phase, Chan said.
Money moving westward
Partnering with Conifer, Bilsel said, allows the co-founders to focus on the technology side of things without having to worry about business functions like marketing and human resources.
“My entire career has been in academia. I only left UMass [Chan Medical School] four to five years ago to start a company. I didn’t have a lot of the skill sets I needed to make a thriving business: the product development expertise Leo brings in, or the business experience Peter and Jean bring in,” he said. “Those are things I don't really know how to do, and they’re good to have.”
That’s part of the idea behind MBI, Weaver said. The team views itself as an extension of each startup team.
“We’re their receptionist, shipping and receiving, and more. We do things so they don’t have to, which dramatically reduces headcount upfront,” he said.
Having Conifer at MBI is part of a larger westward shift in venture capital funding, Weaver said. Beverly businessman Cliff Rucker in January launched Auxilium Worcester, an entrepreneurial hub in the Central Exchange Building at 311 Main St. in Worcester. Companies in Auxilium will have access to potential seed funding to grow their businesses.
“There was a perception that you never raise VC money in Worcester. If you wanted VC money, you had to be in Kendall Square, and that’s just not true at all,” Weaver said. “There’s something special happening right now. You can feel it.”
