Venture funds attending the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference said mounting funding pressures and Chinese competition have sharpened their focus on leadership qualities, from regulatory expertise and industry experience to the ability to scale—or step aside—as companies mature.
Investors have become increasingly focused on specific founder and C-suite attributes such as regulatory and market understanding and relevant industry experience to gauge capital deployment in early stage companies, said venture capital (VC) funds on the sidelines of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
The comments echo a report issued by J.P. Morgan ahead of the annual healthcare conference in San Francisco. The report cited how funding pressures on early stage biotechs grew in 2025, with the priorities of VC funds, public investors and large biopharma companies all squeezing access to capital for startups.
There’s a hyper concentration of capital in a small number of firms, which in turn translates to investment in a smaller number of players, noted Gurdane Bhutani, managing parter at New York-based MBX Capital. While there may be many early VCs, there are small check sizes, leading to further competition for follow-on rounds.
The influx of Chinese assets has certainly increased the focus on management teams and board members that appreciate the need to move quick, added Anthony DiNatale, Ph.D., vice-president at Agent Capital based in Massachusetts.
Key Founder/CEO Qualities
It’s crucial that companies have a good understanding of the therapeutic profile from inception to the market, to lay out product differentiation in a competitive environment, said Lorenzo Pradella, board director at Zcube, the integrated venture arm of Zambon SpA in Italy. As part of this trajectory, company executives should have a clear understanding of the regulatory pathway, he said.
Founders and CEOs with a proven track record of successful exits and value creation, and an appreciation for capital-efficient execution to achieve meaningful data and true value inflection, are key attributes, DiNatale said.
“Can they help put the right team in place to execute and give investors confidence that they will deliver?” DiNatale posed in considering investment.
Efficiency in data gata generation and a successful founder record of accomplishment such as a previous company sale are attractive qualitied, agreed Ngang Heok Tang, associate vice president at Bayland Capital, based in China.
However, young, first-time founders can be solid investments, in terms of their ability to execute science effectively and having an openness to capacity and infrastructure improvements, Tang said. Bhutani agreed, adding, “There is no single phenotype for a founder.”
Companies should have a solid plan for strong IP protection, Pradella added.
CEO Maintenance Potential
At times, there is a distinction between founders and a CEO, Pradella said, with the former often scientists and the latter having the vision to build a company and its future. A CEO has to juggle various skillsets such as a good understanding of IP, finance and business development, and build a team that can specialize in these areas.
A CEO may also not last a company duration, VCs agreed. If a CEO cannot pivot effectively for different company needs or directions, such as moving from development to the commercialization stage, there may be time for a replacement, they said.
The best founders and companies are “egoless,” Bhutani said, in that they can understand if a CEO is not the best fit at a particular time, and adapt a team accordingly.
