Virtual Lunch & Learn: Formation and Licensing: What Founders Need to Know

Launching a life sciences company requires more than a breakthrough idea—it demands building the right corporate foundation from day one. In this Virtual Lunch & Learn session, aspiring founders will gain practical, actionable insight into two core pillars of early‑stage biotech company formation. First, we will cover why corporate formation matters and what founders need to get right early on: choosing the appropriate corporate structure, properly issuing founder equity, creating and maintaining a clean cap table, establishing a functional board of directors, and preparing for future financing. These elements are essential for attracting investors, protecting founder ownership, and avoiding preventable legal and operational pitfalls.

Second, attendees will learn what to expect when in‑licensing foundational intellectual property from a university, academic medical center, or research institution—the critical step that often enables company formation in life sciences. We will demystify the tech transfer process, discuss typical economic and diligence terms, and highlight common negotiation and operational considerations so founders understand both the opportunities and obligations that come with licensing core IP. Whether you are preparing to launch your first venture or exploring commercial pathways for your science, this session will provide clarity, context, and confidence as you take the next steps on your entrepreneurial journey.

Speaker: Tali Tuchin and Sebastian Lucier

Tali is a partner at the law firm of Mintz, and she is based in their San Diego office. She has over 25 years of experience providing strategic counsel to clients in the life sciences, medical device and pharma industry on licensing, collaborations, strategic alliances, and similar technology-based transactions. Prior to Mintz she was corporate counsel at Invitrogen/Life Technologies, which helped shape her pragmatic and efficient approach to counseling clients. She feels privileged to work innovators, researchers, founders, and future founders—people who are shaping the next era of biotech, and grateful to work at Mintz, a leader in the life sciences ecosystem for more than two decades. Tali is a San Diego native, earning her BA at UC San Diego and her JD at UC Davis.

Sebastian is a highly technical attorney who fully understands legal nuances and how to use the law to advance a company’s strategic plan. He has deep ties to San Diego’s start-up community and significant experience relating to financing, corporate formation and governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Sebastian is very active at his alma mater, the University of San Diego School of Law, where he teaches young lawyers to support entrepreneurs and the start-up community as an adjunct professor. Sebastian is also actively involved in the MintzEdge website, an online resource for entrepreneurs.

This program was organized by Oregon Bioscience Incubator. http://www.otradi.org