20 Apr 2022
#20: Yaron Daniely - aMoon Alpha
Yaron Daniely is a Partner & Head of aMoon Alpha and an investment leader at aMoon Velocity, an early stage investment fund that pursues dis-ruptive, cutting-edge technologies with the potential to accelerate cure. This is a fast-paced, high energy discussion from someone who has seen all sides of the ecosystem, from PhD researcher and post-doc, to entrepreneur and public company CEO, to the world of tech transfer at a top university, and who is now bridging all of the gaps in between as an investor at a fund with more than $1B AUM.
We get into how he developed an interest in translational research, taking that to industry, developing curricula for scientists to learn about business, and how he helped to transform the tech transfer industry, including filling the proof of concept funding gap. He goes into how to identify what technologies and investigators have the highest chance of creating commercial success, how to incentivize tech transfer employees and increase the volume of licensing deals they do, and how to attract high-caliber entrepreneurs to join commercialization spinouts.
This conversation is beyond worthwhile for anyone interested in translational research, entrepreneurship, or working in the field of technology transfer. Enjoy!
More about Yaron
Born in Israel and raised in Florida, Yaron was fascinated by science, medicine and tech-nology from a young age. Driven by a passion for discovering and creating novel solu-tions, and a persistent quest for challenging the status quo wherever he went, Yaron spent much of his career leading innovative health tech companies. He brings to aMoon a wealth of hands-on experience as a business leader in both the private and public sec-tors. In return, aMoon fulfills his craving for cutting-edge science and strategic thinking, applied to the creation and mentorship of young companies focused on impacting people’s health.
Prior to aMoon, Yaron was the President and CEO of Yissum, Hebrew University’s ac-claimed Technology Transfer Company, and Co-Chairperson of the Israel Technology Transfer Network (ITTN), where he converted academic research into practical prod-ucts and technologies. Before leading Yissum, he spent 14 years as a senior executive - and 10 years as CEO - of private and NASDAQ-traded Biopharma and Biotech compa-nies. He also co-founded and served for ten years as the director of Israel's first and leading MBA program for professionals of the local Biomedical industry at the College of Management Academic Studies.
Yaron earned his PhD from the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at the NYU School of Medicine. Following his doctoral program, he served as a Visiting Fel-low at the NIH, and as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow in the Depart-ment of Molecular Cell Biology at The Weizmann Institute for Science in Israel. He also holds an MBA from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
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