I am apolitical by nature. The entire process of electing representatives, from city councils to Presidents, leaves me cold. Blame my extraordinary microeconomics professor H. Scott Bierman who was at Carleton College then but now is the President at Beloit College. He helped me crystallize a handful of tangential thoughts about our system into a … Continue reading “Remove the Cap on Social Security”
Author: Carl Weissman
Carl Weissman is senior advisor and former CEO and chairman at Accelerator, a joint investment vehicle backed by a syndicate of venture capital firms. Accelerator invests in and actively manages emerging biotechnology companies. Carl was also previously a Venture Partner at MPM Capital. While at MPM, he served as President and CEO of Centagenetix, a human genetics company in Cambridge, MA. Carl led the 2003 merger of Centagenetix with Elixir Pharmaceuticals, catalyzing a $40M Series B financing in the combined company. Prior to joining MPM, he spent six years at Prolinx, Inc., where he held a number of positions, culminating as the head of both Finance and Business Development. Carl serves on the board of the WBBA and is Vice President of the Board of Teens in Public Service.
Seattle Doesn’t Need a Biotech Anchor Tenant. It Needs to Be a Place Where Startups Thrive
Over the past week or so, I have been asked by a number of people, both privately and in the media, what I think about the acquisition of Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) by Bristol-Myers Squibb. As is usually true in Seattle, the prevailing reaction following the announcement was some moaning and gnashing of teeth, with … Continue reading “Seattle Doesn’t Need a Biotech Anchor Tenant. It Needs to Be a Place Where Startups Thrive”
Seattle Is #3—Where Does Michigan Want To Be?
Seattle has, from my point of view, carved out its position as the No. 3 biotech market in the U.S. behind Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Michigan is currently an outsider looking in. Where does Michigan want to be in this hierarchy, and what will they need to do to get there? Michigan … Continue reading “Seattle Is #3—Where Does Michigan Want To Be?”
Recruit Rock Star Scientists To Make Seattle Thrive as an Innovation Hub
I am quite often asked, in some form or another, “What can [STATE][LOCAL] government do to spur on an innovation-based economy in [SEATTLE][WASHINGTON]?” Well, as I said on a panel at the Technology Alliance meeting in Leavenworth yesterday, the single biggest correlate to the strength of an innovative biotechnology industry in any geography is the … Continue reading “Recruit Rock Star Scientists To Make Seattle Thrive as an Innovation Hub”
Diamonds Are Forever. Why Not a Drug Patent?
Tell me if this makes sense to you: —If I buy a diamond, I can own it for as long as I like; —If I produce a brand name for a product, provided that I trademark it, I can own it for as long as I would like, until and unless it becomes “generic” (like … Continue reading “Diamonds Are Forever. Why Not a Drug Patent?”
Biotech in a Garage: It Can Work
(Editor’s Note: Carl Weissman submitted this in response to a feature story about entrepreneur Johnny Stine, who clearly relishes building a biotech startup without venture capital.) Stickin’ it to the VC Man? I am not so sure. Different businesses require different business plans. Some of those business plans support venture capital backing, others are more … Continue reading “Biotech in a Garage: It Can Work”
Death of Good Times? Hardly
I guess when you are Sequoia, you can hold a big public media-attended meeting where you display a faux tombstone ominously announcing the death of the Good Times. My approach has to be a little bit different. The investments that I am making, both at Accelerator and OVP Venture Partners, are generally years from accessing … Continue reading “Death of Good Times? Hardly”
Funding Gap? Ha!
Ever since I came back to Seattle in 2003 to help get Accelerator up and running, I have been barraged with rhetoric about something euphemistically referred to as the “Funding Gap.” Everywhere I went seeking interesting emerging biotechnologies, or to tell the Accelerator story, people I met constantly lamented the Funding Gap. So I started … Continue reading “Funding Gap? Ha!”