Kids who play with letter and number puzzles for fun grow up to start venture capital firms with alphanumeric names. At least, that was the case for Adele Oliva, partner of 1315 Capital LLC, which just closed a $200 million inaugural fund. The Philadelphia-based firm invests in commercial-stage companies in the medical technology, specialty pharmaceutical and health care services sectors.
Oliva, who led the fund along with co-founder Michael Koby, Oliva told Medical Device Daily that she was indeed a kid who enjoyed matching numbers to their corresponding letter (based on alphabetical position), a method that inspired the naming of 1315 Capital.
Choosing an alphanumeric name is a good strategy for a VC firm, she explained, because VC directories are often in alphabetical order, with numerical names at the top. And that's important because entrepreneurs tend to use those directories when they begin their search for capital.
As for how Oliva and Koby landed on the number 1315, she said it is derived from the numbers that correspond with each of their initials, beginning with 13 representing Koby's first initial, "M", followed by Oliva's last initial, represented by 15.
"It was just something unique, hopefully something very endearing, that will go beyond us, the founders," Oliva said.
While 1315 may be the new kid on the VC block, the partners have built an operating team of industry veterans with many of their resumes boasting of experience both on the investment and the company management side of med-tech and pharma.
Names of other investors that participated in the fund were not disclosed but 1315 Capital said it included endowments, foundations, state and corporate pension funds and family offices.
Oliva said consolidation in the health care industry has provided opportunities for innovation, particularly in niche markets. Those happen to be the markets that tend to fly under the radar of most larger strategic VC firms, which is why Oliva said 1315 wants to focus its resources on those smaller companies.
An example of that, she said, is the firm's med-tech company, Onkos Surgical, founded last year to act as 1315's commercial engine in the very niche space of ortho-oncology.
"We partnered with a larger 3-D printing company to innovate in that market, which is a very different market [from the traditional knees and hips ortho sector]," Oliva said, adding that a lot of the patients in need of oncology orthopedic devices are pediatric patients.
Onkos Surgical's products are designed to leverage 3-D printing technology, provided through its partnership with Microport, to make devices that mimic the weight and anatomy of the patient's bone.
More than a name
By so strategically (and numerically) representing Oliva and Koby's partnership, the name 1315 also hints at the firm's unique operating partner model. Teams of two executives, who have worked together at multiple companies, are engaged with the investment team and portfolio companies. The founders said they implemented that model with the intention of adding valuable human capital to the investment equation.
"Our unique operating partner model leverages not only the CEO, but also the Chairman, COO and CFO relationships, allowing us to provide a more complete set of skills to help navigate diligence, drive decisions and achieve premium exits," Koby said.
As an example, one of the firm's first three portfolio companies, JDS Therapeutics LLC, is led by a father-son team. Phillip Satow, the company's chairman, and his son Michael Satow, previously founded JDS Pharmaceuticals, which they sold to Noven Pharmaceuticals in 2007.
"We look for highly experienced commercial teams and products in markets where a realitively targeted sales force, usually 40 to 60 reps, can cover the vast majority of the country in a very capital efficient way," Oliva said.
JDS is a specialty pharmaceutical and nutrition company that develops drugs, supplements and food based on bioactive compounds.
Source: http://www.medicaldevicedaily.com
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