Catching Up with Mike Wilson from Drugbank

Hello friends! Looking back over 2021, in putting together our Annual Report, we realized—holy shit—we’ve met and funded a lot of really cool companies! 

So we wanted to take a second and go back and talk to some of our Summit winners. 

I got the chance to catch up with Mike Wilson, CEO of Drugbank, who won our first ever Investment Summit! 

TNT: So Mike! How’s life been since winning the Summit? 

MW: It’s kinda crazy to look back… that was our first fundraising round. We won the Summit, completed the round, and brought up a bunch of great investors. We were also in CDL at the same time as the Summit, and we ended up graduating their program right after the Summit. And well, then before you know it, COVID hit.  

TNT: Ah yes, COVID. Seriously, how can 2020 seem so far away, and yet only 2 years have passed? 

Anyway, moving onto happier thoughts. Let’s talk about the major goals/milestones that Drugbank has accomplished in the past 2 years! 

MW: Yeah, it’s been a whirlwind. We’ve scaled up the team a lot in the past couple of years, and we’re still hiring. We brought on more than 40 people. We ramped up all areas of the company—we launched several new product modules, launched drug lists for 8 new regions, have more than half of the top 20 pharma companies as customers, hit our growth milestones with revenue, and more. 

And also, with COVID, we put together a research database which was then utilized and quoted by hundreds of publications. 

TNT: Pivoting and turning the pandemic into an opportunity. Love it. So when we talk about raising capital, we know it can be a big learning curve for founders. What are some lessons you learned that you’d like to pass on to other founders? 

MW: I mean, it was definitely interesting to be raising capital during COVID. It really emphasized the lesson that while you want to have a solid plan for your business, you also need to be able to pivot and adjust. 

When you’re fundraising, you need to be fully prepared… or as prepared as you can be. You need to really understand your plans and projections. To get prepared, you should get feedback from experienced investors and founders who have already raised capital. These are the people who can help you and give you the harsh feedback you need, to improve BEFORE you do your fundraising round. Having really good advisors and mentors will make your pitch and your business stronger. 

I also think that you have to make sure you have the right mentality. You don’t want to be thinking that your goal is to raise money. Your mentality should be to focus on growing the business, and focus on your business goals. Fundraising is just the way you can achieve those goals. 

TNT: That’s a great point about mentality. So in your opinion, what makes a good pitch? 

MW: I think that to make a really good pitch, you have to look at the weaknesses of your business, and the potential questions that investors might have, and the areas they’ll poke holes in. Like I said, preparation is key. There’s no magic number of slides that will make your pitch successful. It’s going to come down to being prepared and being able to communicate your ideas clearly, and hooking the audience. 

Investors need to understand the problem, understand your solution, and most importantly, WHY they should care. You need to give investors a hook and part of a story that they can relate to; the rest of the story will be describing different parts of your business. Don’t get too hung up on the details that won’t matter as much, like overly complicated tech terms. 

TNT: 100%. Always gotta have that hook. What do you think people need to know about the startup community in Edmonton? 

MW: One of the unique things about Edmonton is the U of A. It’s a top 5 Canadian university, and we actually spun out of it. The computing science and AI programs are exceptional, which means that the talent coming from the university into the workforce is exceptional. 

And in general, we have a great active community, with lots of grassroots events, like TNT’s Happy Hour, groups like A100, and other resources. There’s a general sense of everyone supporting each other - we share advice, insights, and just generally cheer each other on. 

TNT: Agreed—our startup communities are the best. Alright, last but certainly not least, what are the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a founder? 

MW: I think the most important lesson is to understand and get to know your customers really really well. When you’re building a product, you have to make sure that it’s what the customers want. To do that, you have to talk to them, which can be uncomfortable, but it’s key. As a founder, it’s easy to shut the door and code or develop the product, but before you do that, and potentially waste your time, make sure it’s something that people want. When you think you have enough customer feedback, think again… get about 5 times more! 

Also, I think you have to find a tricky balance as a founder. You  have to be equal parts optimistic and pessimistic. You need to believe in the company, and believe in the hype, at least enough so you think you’ll get the capital you’re trying to raise, lol, but you need to be pessimistic enough to highlight all the issues and come up with a plan to right those wrongs. 

TNT: Great advice. Thanks so much for the chat, Mike! 

MW: Anytime.