🧬 Parag Shah - Part 2 | Scaling a Multi-Billion Dollar Life Sciences Fund | Culture, Capital & Entrepreneurship | The K2 HealthVentures Story

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Part 2 of 2: Our guest today is Parag Shah, CEO and Founding Managing Director of K2 HealthVentures. K2 HealthVentures is an alternative investment firm that provides flexible, long-term financing solutions to innovative private and public companies in the life sciences and healthcare industries. Committed to making a broader impact, K2 also donates a percentage of its profits to support underserved areas in healthcare.

Before founding K2, Parag was Senior Managing Director & Group Head of the Life Sciences practice at Hercules Capital, where he led the fund’s public offering and managed over $2 billion in investments. His deep expertise in life science and healthcare financing was further shaped through key leadership roles at Comerica, Imperial Bank, and BankBoston.Parag’s academic background includes a Masters in Environmental Policy & Planning and a Bachelors in Molecular Biology from MIT, where he conducted research at the Whitehead Institute. 

With 25+ years of experience at the intersection of science and finance, Parag brings invaluable insights for first-time founders, investors, scientists, and industry leaders navigating the complexities of biotech funding.

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/ 

K2 HealthVentures: https://www.k2healthventures.com/

Hercules Capital: https://www.htgc.com/

Cooley LLP: https://www.cooley.com/

Life Science Cares: https://lifesciencecares.org/

Debt vs. Equity Financing for Biotech Startups: https://www.excedr.com/resources/debt-equity-options-funding-startup

Biotech Startup Fundraising: https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-startup-funding-options

Biotech Startup Support: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support

Roy Liu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roy-liu-36a35/

Anup Arora: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anup-arora-368ba81/

Meghan FitzGerald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanmfitzgerald/

John Hale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hale-770158b/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:54 Early days at Hercules and the challenge of biotech debt

06:14 Scaling Hercules, taking it public, and leadership lessons

11:34 Public vs. private investment funds: Key trade-offs and pressures

19:18 Leaving Hercules, taking a break, and redefining priorities

25:35 Avoiding burnout: Balancing work, family, and entrepreneurship

29:04 How time and capital constraints drive better decision-making

33:52 Founding K2 HealthVentures and reshaping biotech venture debt

39:01 Evergreen investment structure and why it benefits startups

46:59 The importance of co-founders, team culture, and shared vision

53:32 Scaling K2, launching a foundation, and investing with purpose

01:02:24 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.