Financial Skills for Scientists
Are you interested in or preparing for a career in business or finance? Considering consulting, equity research, venture capital, investment banking, or similar pathways? Join this mini-course to develop specific financial skills to help you succeed in any of these careers! You’ll learn and hone skills and tools around financial modeling, market analysis, evaluating a business, customer discovery, and writing an investment thesis.
When: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM, Tuesday June 13, Thursday June 15, Wednesday June 21, Thursday June 22, Tuesday June 27
Where: Virtual (Zoom)
Sessions
Sessions 1 and 2: How to Build a Financial Model – Laura Chico (6/13 and 6/15)
Part 1 – Excel for Financial Modeling. Equity research analysts use Excel daily – it’s an essential tool in the toolbox. Gaining familiarity with this critical piece of software is the first step to learning how to generate financial models. In this first session, we will introduce basic functionality and essential shortcuts in Excel. We will also discuss how the financial statements tie together in Excel and basic financial modeling concepts such as calculating cash flows and time value of money.
Part 2 – Building the Model. Fire up the laptops and time to put the learnings from Part 1 to use! In this session, we will assemble a three-statement financial model for a target company using data from SEC filings, and prepare a discounted cash flow (DCF) model. You will derive a potential valuation for the company and begin to address how does the valuation compare to the stock’s current price?
Session 3: Customer Discovery Interviews – Ellen Zatkowski (6/21)
Just as your financial model will be built on key assumptions, it is also critical to test your assumptions on how a technology will make the transition from the lab to the market. The best way to validate these assumptions, and develop a well-rounded understanding of any market or industry, requires speaking directly with people who are engaged in that sector every day. In this session, we will discuss best practices for speaking with industry stakeholders through a process called customer discovery. You’ll also have a chance to put this interview methodology into practice.
Session 4: Market Analysis – Tiffany Marchell (6/22)
Performing thorough market analysis is a key step towards understanding how a particular company or program fits into the treatment/ development landscape, providing important context to estimating its potential. We will discuss questions and considerations for diligence as well as helpful tools and resources to aid you in your information-gathering process. While market analysis is never a one-size-fits-all process, the skills involved are broadly applicable across numerous roles in investing, business development, equity research, consulting, or banking!
Session 5: Written reports/investment thesis – Tiffany Marchell (6/27)
In this session we’ll discuss best practices, considerations, and steps to putting together a cohesive report or investment thesis on a given company, therapeutic, or development landscape. Various types of written reports can be used to offer different types of insights or provide a comprehensive overview and key components of each will be highlighted. We will cover how to put together a stock pitch, an investment thesis, or a landscape overview of a sub-sector within healthcare or biotechnology space. We’ll also discuss real-world examples of how these deliverables might show up during an interview process or on the job.
Workshop Instructors
Laura Chico
Sr. Vice President, Wedbush Securities
Laura Chico brings more than a decade of experience in the biotechnology and drug discovery industry, as well as thirteen years in Equity Research. During her career, Laura has served as Vice President Equity Research at Raymond James, and as a biotech analyst in the Robert W. Baird Equity Research Healthcare group. Before entering equity research, Laura held scientific roles in both industry and academic settings with focus in central nervous system (“CNS”) diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Laura received her B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her M.S. in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology, from Northwestern University.
Ellen Zatkowski, ME
Senior Associate Director for Science Programs and Student Engagement, Polsky Center
Ellen serves as senior associate director for science programs and student engagement at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She leads the Polsky I-Corps program where she supports faculty, researchers, and students as they explore the commercial potential for early-stage technologies and ideas. Ellen also oversees all student programming and engagement in Polsky’s Deep Tech Ventures group, including the Innovation Fund Associates and Collaboratorium. Prior to joining Polsky, Ellen managed the college success program for a Chicago non-profit serving low-income students. In that role, she managed a team that supported and advised students as they navigated higher education. She got her start in entrepreneurship education at Babson College where she worked in the undergraduate admissions office. Ellen earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan and a BA in history from Boston College.
Tiffany Marchell, PhD
Biotechnology Equity Research Associate, William Blair
Tiffany Marchell, Ph.D., a research associate for biotechnology analyst Myles Minter, Ph.D., joined William Blair in November 2020. She follows and analyzes biotech companies across oncology, neurology, and rare disease spaces developing genetic medicines, cell therapies, RNA-targeted therapies, small molecules, and biologics. Dr. Marchell has a B.A. in biochemistry from Vassar College and a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Chicago with a focus on immunoengineering. She previously worked as a Gene Therapy GMP technician at Weill Cornell Medical College and as an intern at Aspire Capital.