Life science advisory for pre-seed to Series B founders

Founders ask for a deck. Investors buy a business case.

Bench2Bio builds the business case behind the science: fundraising strategy and materials, financial models and valuation, pharma partnering and commercial strategy.

Book a 20-minute call Find your starting point

Led by Vadim Shepel, formerly Pfizer, BeiGene and Concarlo Therapeutics

Line drawing of a porcupinefish on a square grid, and the same outline redrawn on a curved grid so that it becomes a sunfish. — Figs. 381 and 382. A porcupinefish, transformed into a sunfish by a single change of coordinates. D'Arcy Thompson, On Growth and Form, 1917.

15+: years across pharma strategy and BD, biotech operations and finance
$10B+: vaccines and hospital product portfolios, corporate strategy at Pfizer
1,200+: founders and investors read Bio Founder GPS each week
100+: family offices active in life sciences, mapped in our research

Pre-seed to Series B · Therapeutics · Medtech · Diagnostics · Health tech

Selected companies we have worked with

Find your starting point

Tell us where you are. We will show you where we would start.

Two choices, one sentence. Every path ends with a conversation, because the right first step depends on details a form cannot capture.

We are building aCompany typecompany, and next we need to What you need next.

Where we would start

Pitch Deck Audit

3 to 5 days

A written diagnosis, slide-by-slide commentary and a tiered investor shortlist, walked through together in a working session.

Often followed by the Investor-Ready Kit.

What investors and partners will look at first

Whether the data package supports the next inflection the round is meant to buy
A probability-adjusted view of value by phase, not a single peak-sales number
Which partners screen this modality, and what comparable deals paid

Talk it through Fundraising strategy and materials

Why founders come to us

The deck is the tip. Investors diligence what sits underneath.

Most founders come to us for a sharper pitch. When we look closer, the gap is usually below the waterline: a market without a first customer, a raise without milestones, a valuation without a model.

Pitch deck and one-pager

What investors see firstWhat they diligence

Fundraising plan · Round size, milestones, investors

Practice 01

Evidence and development plan · What is proven, and what comes next

Practice 01

Market model and commercial strategy · Beachhead, pricing, path to customers

Practice 04

Financial model and valuation · NPV and rNPV, runway, use of funds

Practice 02

Partnering and exit path · Who licenses or acquires, and on what terms

Practice 03

We work across the whole iceberg, so your deck has something solid to stand on.

Practices

Four ways we strengthen your investment case.

One investment case, built consistently across your story, your numbers and your partnering path.

Fundraising strategy and materials

Raise the right amount, from the right investors, with materials that hold up.

Round strategy
Deck, one-pager and investor FAQ
Investor list and pipeline

Explore the practice 02

Financial models and valuation

Numbers that support the story and survive diligence.

Bottom-up market model
NPV and rNPV valuation
Operating plan and runway

Explore the practice 03

BD and pharma licensing

A partnering path that pharma recognizes.

Partner strategy
Partnering deck
Deal comparables and terms

Explore the practice 04

Commercial strategy

A credible route from product to patients and customers.

Target product profile
Beachhead and positioning
Pricing and go-to-market

Explore the practice

Design and website production are delivered with a trusted network of specialists.

What founders say

“He is very thorough and it is demonstrated in the work output. Our deck was a compromise: great content, less than great format. He recognized it, understood why I made those decisions, but explained that we need to be firing on all cylinders. It changed my perspective.”

Gary Kellstrom, Jr.

CEO and Founder

01 / 03

Discretion by default

Client names are withheld unless a founder chooses to share them. Cases are described by stage and modality, and references are available after an NDA.

Line drawing of a hatchetfish on a square grid, and the same outline on a sheared grid, becoming a related species. — Figs. 373 and 374. One species of hatchetfish becomes another through a simple shear. D'Arcy Thompson, On Growth and Form, 1917.

Selected work

What this looks like in practice.

Recent engagements, described by stage and modality. All cases

Seed · Women's health therapeutic

Putting the strongest evidence first

A well-protected asset with published preclinical data, a recognized clinical lead and written interest from a pharma company. The deck opened with regulatory detail, and the strongest credibility points arrived near the end.

What changed: The team went into a pitch competition the following week leading with the problem, the data and the partner interest, instead of the regulatory background.

Read the case

Series A · Platform therapeutics

Platform or lead program?

A strong preclinical package, including head-to-head results against standard of care, and well-known early investors. The deck had no ask, no competitive landscape and no exit path, and moved between a broad platform and a single lead indication.

What changed: One coherent story: a lead program investors can underwrite, and a platform that explains why they should stay for the next round.

Read the case

Seed · Medical device

Projections investors can believe

Granted patents and real policy traction, but two different raise amounts in the same deck, and revenue projections that ran ahead of the clinical and regulatory evidence.

What changed: A deck and a set of numbers that tell the same story, ready for medtech seed investors and hospital system venture arms.

Read the case

Show the work

What the deliverables look like.

Clients keep every file, model and draft. These illustrative exhibits show the kind of thinking behind them.

Exhibit A · Models and valuation

From headline value to risk-adjusted value

Unrisked NPV

$400M

Phase 1 to 2

$208M

Phase 2 to 3

$60M

Phase 3 to filing

$35M

Approval

$31M

Illustrative only. Phase transition rates are rounded industry averages (BIO, 2011 to 2020); real models use asset-specific inputs and costs.

Exhibit B · Fundraising materials

Slide titles that carry the argument

Market Opportunity: $42B TAM

18,000 US patients a year fail first-line therapy. We start there.

Our Platform

One assay, three readouts: a two-week workflow becomes a two-hour test.

Illustrative only. An investor should understand the deck from its titles alone.

Exhibit C · Investor targeting

A tiered list, not a long list

Tier	Investor	Check	Warm path
1	Specialist seed fund, can lead	$1M to $3M	Board advisor
1	Corporate venture arm	$1M to $5M	Mentor
2	Angel group syndicate	$250K to $1M	Direct
3	Family office	$250K to $2M	Co-investor

Illustrative structure. Real lists are matched on stage, thesis, check size and recent activity.

How we work

Senior judgment on every engagement.

Every engagement is led by Vadim Shepel, our founder and principal: formerly in strategy and BD at Pfizer and BeiGene, and Chief Business and Operating Officer at Concarlo Therapeutics. Vetted specialists join defined workstreams when your question needs them.

Fixed fees, agreed before we start
No success fees, no pay-to-pitch, no paid introductions
You own every file, model and draft
Confidential by default, with an NDA on request

About the firm

Our network, by discipline

Investors: Seed and Series A funds, angel groups, family offices and corporate venture arms.
Pharma BD: Business development and search and evaluation leaders who screen assets for a living.
Regulatory, clinical and CMC: Specialists brought in when the plan depends on a pathway, a trial design or manufacturing.
IP: Patent counsel for freedom-to-operate and claims questions, alongside your own counsel.
Design and web: Presentation designers and developers who turn finished thinking into finished materials.

Insights from Bio Founder GPS

Read how we think before you call.

Weekly frameworks, investor conversations and original research for life science founders, read by 1,200+ founders and investors. All insights

Oct 5, 2026

Asia biotech industry report

How China and Asia-Pacific are reshaping biotech licensing, trials and capital, and where founders can still compete. Includes our conversation with Marc Appel.

Get the report

Book a 20-minute call

Let's talk about what you're building.

You'll speak with Vadim Shepel

Founder and Principal, Bench2Bio

01
Where you are
Your stage, your science and what is coming next: a raise, a partner conversation or a decision.
02
What investors or partners will test
An honest read on the gaps that will matter most, even if we never work together.
03
Whether and how we can help
A recommended starting point, or a referral if someone else is a better fit.

Prefer email? vadim@bench2bio.com

Choose a timeOpen in Calendly

Founders ask for a deck. Investors buy a business case.

Tell us where you are. We will show you where we would start.

The deck is the tip. Investors diligence what sits underneath.

Four ways we strengthen your investment case.

Fundraising strategy and materials

Financial models and valuation

BD and pharma licensing

Commercial strategy

What this looks like in practice.

Putting the strongest evidence first

Platform or lead program?

Projections investors can believe

What the deliverables look like.

From headline value to risk-adjusted value

Slide titles that carry the argument

A tiered list, not a long list

Senior judgment on every engagement.

Read how we think before you call.

Could Mexico help you build your biotech?

China is changing biotech. Where do you compete?

Build something scientists will actually use

Let's talk about what you're building.