1) How and when did you learn about Medicon Valley in the first place?
In early November 2016, I was at a nightclub in Odense with my friend, the legendary Swedish/Danish venture capitalist Peter Benson, when we ran into and found ourselves dancing with MØ who introduced us to her good friend, the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark at the time, Rufus Gifford. Rufus who, it turns out had made early investments with Peter into CryptoKitty company Dapper Labs Inc., told me that both he and Peter were scheduled to keynote at the Medicon Valley Alliance Annual Meeting on November 8, 2016, the day of the U.S. elections. Not wanting to return to the U.S. in case Donald Trump was elected President, I asked if I could join them and at the Meeting used the opportunity to showcase both my juggling skills and deep knowledge of the life sciences sector and U.S. venture and capital market ecosystems. My talk was well received, although in front of over 300 attendees, I did confidently proclaim Hillary was certain to win the election that day. I regret that statement to this day.
2) Why has Goodwin Law as a US based company decided to join Medicon Valley Alliance?
After Queen Margrethe II awarded my law firm Goodwin the Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog for “meritorious service to the Kingdom of Denmark, I was tasked by Goodwin to build roots in the country, especially since my 23andMe profile had informed me that I had a 13% genetic match to the region. Originally born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, I was also attracted to the much more temperate Danish climate, where I was certain that my mobile law practice would thrive bringing strategic and legal guidance and advice to early-stage Danish and other Nordic life sciences companies seeking to expand their product offerings to the U.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t also note I was attracted by the free expresso shots and midday smørrebrød offerings at the MVA cafeteria.
3) What are in your view the key do’s and don’t for Medicon Valley based companies who want to succeed in the US?
To succeed in the US, Medicon Valley based companies, and particularly their founders, should start all conversations by telling their US counterparts that prior to starting their company they had a small role in the big screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Americans are always impressed by actors and, beyond associating their acting skills with tremendous business acumen (e.g., Ryan Reynold’s recent $1.3 billion sale of his company Mint to T-Mobile) continuously seem to vote them into their highest political offices, starting with Ronald Reagan, accelerating with Arnold Schwarzenegger and then really reaching a crescendo when Donald Trump was elected (twice, maybe?) President. In addition, being able to describe at the proteomic level the mechanism of action of your novel drug offering, and throwing out names like Karolinska Institute and that your beach house is next to that of Alfred Nobel’s grandson will guarantee you get funded by a US venture capitalist and perhaps even fast tracked by the FDA for your drug’s approval.