You found something new in the lab. Maybe it’s a new cell therapy target, a bio manufacturing process that could drastically reduce the price of a life saving medicine, or a battery material that could completely change how we store electricity. You have the results, the science checks out, and your PI says the paper is ready to submit.

But here’s what nobody told you in grad school: A discovery isn’t a business.

That gap between a discovery and a business? That’s called the Valley of Death in biotech—and it claims way more science than bad peer review.

What Is the Biotech Valley of Death (and Why Should You Care)?

The Valley of Death is the gap between basic research and a commercialized product. Ideas die in this gap—not because the research was bad, but because the founders run out of money, bench space, or time to produce enough data to raise a VC check.

According to a recent report on biotech funding trends, 38% of seed stage biotechs say that they need nondilutive funding to survive, but NIH SBIR grants are only up to $275k and only 42% of grantees say the award covered 10% or less of their project costs, according to the National Academies.

It doesn’t add up. Biotech R&D is expensive. It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital expenditure just to set up a lab suite and buy all the instruments (flow cytometer, biosafety cabinet, PCR system, CO2 incubator, etc.) let alone consumables, reagents, regulatory consultants, etc. And then there’s time.

The Scientist to Founder Journey: Where Founders Get Stuck

The vast majority of biotech founders come from a science background. The discipline it takes to do a good experiment and interpret the data with care is very different from the skills needed to create a pitch deck, negotiate a term sheet, or prepare for a regulatory meeting.

This is where most founders get stuck:

• Lab Access Issues: When you leave academia, you might lose access to the instruments that allowed you to make your discovery in the first place.
• Instrumentation Cost: The cost of establishing a wet lab is anywhere from $500K to $2M, and most pre-seed biotechs raise between $250K and $1M.
• Data Gap: Investors want data, but you can’t get data without funding, and you can’t get funding without data.
• Regulatory Ignorance: How do I make this in good laboratory practice (GLP) / good manufacturing practice (GMP)?
• Commercialization: Even if you have the best science, is there a commercial opportunity?

Dr. David Kiewlich, a 6x biotech serial founder with a Ph.D. from UC Davis and from Harvard, took 18 months to find lab space before he started his first company. This became the birth trauma for BADASS Labs.

How BADASS Labs Crosses the Valley of Death

The Valley of Death doesn’t have to exist. It’s an infrastructure problem, not a funding problem.

1. World-Class Infrastructure From Day One

From day one, founders have full-time, 24/7, unlimited access to wet lab infrastructure including flow cytometers, biosafety cabinets, CO2 incubators, centrifuges, PCR, and cell culture. Badges are provided for all spaces. No capex for equipment or lab space. You bring the science; we bring the bench.

2. Zero Equity, Zero IP

BADASS Labs takes zero equity and claims zero IP. As a 501(c)(3), our incentives are structured differently. We don’t make money from your company; we make money when you succeed. Preserved equity also helps founders negotiate better terms in future funding rounds.

3. Flat-Fee Pricing Includes Everything

No metered equipment usage, no surprise after-hours usage charges, no à la carte pricing for things like basic technical support. You pay a flat fee for lab space, equipment access, and support services. Minimum 3-month commitment; no hard deadline on graduation.

4. The Community That Helps You Commercialize

Founders work alongside other innovators who face the same commercialization challenges. This gives founders access to shared regulatory knowledge, investor connections, and peer-to-peer support from founders who’ve been through the same process. Our community has raised over $900 million. Companies that graduate from BADASS Labs see an 89–95% success rate versus the industry norm of about 10%.

As Dr. Kiewlich likes to say, “Succeed or learn, there is no fail.”

What It’s Really Like to Cross the Valley

Without BADASS Labs: Raise $500K. Spend $300K building a lab. Do your first experiments in month six. Hit a regulatory wall in month nine. Run out of cash in month 12.

With BADASS Labs: Raise $500K. Move in week one. Do your first experiments on day two. Get regulatory help in month one. Have data ready to go at month three. Raise more money with better data and a lot of saved equity.

The science is the same. The infrastructure, time, and community are very different.

Climate Tech: Another Valley of Its Own

It’s not just biotech that faces the Valley of Death. Climate tech startups working on battery materials, biofuels, carbon capture, and sustainable bio-manufacturing face even more daunting barriers. These businesses require massive amounts of capital and are subject to longer-than-usual R&D timelines, regulatory scrutiny, and specialized infrastructure.

BADASS Labs has recently expanded its focus areas to include climate tech. We’ve designed our wet lab infrastructure to accommodate materials research alongside biology, which will enable cross-pollination of research between climate and life sciences.

Who Should Care

If you are a scientist with promising results and want to know if they can become a company, a postdoc whose discoveries are collecting dust in a drawer, or an early-stage founder spending your runway on rent and utilities rather than experiments – pay attention. Investors should, too. Great Series A companies are born out of places where founders have the ability to generate great data, and BADASS Labs is one such place.

Succeed or Learn: The Reframe That Changes Everything

The Valley of Death exists because of fear. Fear of failure. Fear of running out of money. Fear of discovering a breakthrough and then losing it. BADASS Labs is changing this narrative by removing these fears with infrastructure, community and a culture of success.

Take away the barrier of expensive lab access and founders can focus on the science. Take away the requirement of extracting equity and founders can take risks. Put them in a community of like-minded peers and together they have raised over $900 million. Now, the Valley of Death looks a little less like a death valley and a lot more like a bridge.

This is not a guarantee. Biotech is hard. Science is unpredictable. Regulations are complex. Markets change. But if we give bio-innovators what they need, without taking their company or IP, there is a better chance that good science becomes real-world impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biotech Valley of Death?

The Valley of Death refers to the gap in funding and development that exists between early-stage biotech innovation and commercialization. Many promising discoveries fail to reach the market because they lack the necessary infrastructure, data, and resources to transition from academic research to a viable business.

How does BADASS Labs help startups cross the Valley of Death?

BADASS Labs offers 24/7 wet lab infrastructure for a flat fee. We do not take equity in any of our companies and make no claims on any intellectual property. This allows founders to conserve capital and move quickly to get investors excited about their product.

What kinds of biotech startups benefit most from shared lab space?

Early-stage companies working in areas such as cell therapy, gene therapy, AAV manufacturing, oncology, diagnostics and climate tech. They may need specialized lab equipment or clean rooms that would be cost-prohibitive for a young startup to purchase on its own.

How long can I stay at BADASS Labs?

There is a 3-month minimum for the lab space program, but there is no forced graduation. You will stay as long as you need to.

Does BADASS Labs take equity in startups or claim intellectual property?

No. BADASS Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We take no equity in any of the companies we work with and make no claims on any intellectual property.

Ready to Cross the Valley?

If you’re a founder sitting on promising science and feeling the pressure of the Valley of Death, you don’t have to navigate it alone. BADASS Labs has already crossed it, and we’ve built the bridge so you can follow our lead. The infrastructure is here. The community is here.

Schedule a tour of our Alameda lab space, connect with our community of fearless innovators or apply for our lab space program today. Your science deserves more than a footnote. Let’s build something that matters.

Succeed or learn, there is no fail.