The same kinds of business accelerator and incubator programs that have supported the dynamic biotech industry for years are helping blockchain startups.
The ICX Station, launched by the ICON Foundation on Aug. 17, is one of the latest blockchain accelerators. It joins the likes of Blue Hill, Block Chain Space and Deutsche Bank’s Blockchain Business Solution Accelerator (aimed at financial technology).
Many of the benefits accelerators offer can be gleaned from the greater blockchain community.
ICX Station will have hubs, called launchpads, in major cities around the world, with the first in San Francisco. In the works are launchpads in Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.
Blockchain and Biotech Similarities
Biotech accelerators and incubators have created plenty of successes. Just one example: Rubius Therapeutics, which was launched and incubated by Flagship Ventures, this year conducted a successful initial public offering that raised $241 million.
There’s a case to be made for business accelerators in both blockchain and biotech industries, according to experts.
“The similarities between biotech and blockchain startups are pretty strong,” Chris McClure, a board member of the Icelandic Blockchain Foundation and chief marketing officer for Svandis, a cryptocurrency data and trading tool company, tells ThirtyK.
McClure knows firsthand. With a Ph.D. in epidemiology and a master’s in public health, McClure worked with more than a dozen biotech startups, venture funds and accelerators before transitioning to blockchain technology.
“Biotech companies often are founded by scientists, and blockchain companies by technologists,” he says. “Neither have much business experience. Accelerators offer their experience in things like how to build a blockchain company, run a token sale and attract investors – vital elements that are outside the experience of many technologists.”
Building an Ecosystem
The ICX Station provides some of those elements. Most notably, it offers grants of up to $100,000 and supports efforts to raise additional capital through token offerings, along with insights gained from ICON’s own experience.
The ICX Station launchpads won’t be interested in grooming rank novices, however. They want companies that venture capitalists would consider late-stage investments, with a strong understanding of blockchain’s capabilities, a viable token economics model and, ideally, a “minimum viable product” – that’s “proof of concept” in biotech lingo – that can become more robust in future iterations.
