Frequently Asked Questions
What clients ask before working with JB Strategy Partners
Straight answers on fractional corporate development, reverse mergers, PIPE financing, and how a JBSP engagement works — for clinical-stage and small-cap biopharma companies.
What is fractional corporate development?
Fractional corporate development is a model where a company engages a senior corporate development professional part-time or on a flexible basis, rather than hiring a full-time executive. It gives clinical-stage and small-cap biopharma companies access to senior-level capital markets, partnering, and strategic execution without the fixed cost of a full-time hire.
What does JB Strategy Partners do?
JB Strategy Partners (JBSP) is a fractional corporate development and strategic finance advisory firm serving clinical-stage and small-cap biopharma companies. JBSP covers capital raising, partnering and licensing, investor relations, and company-building strategy, led by founder Connor Bernstein, who brings 15+ years of life sciences investment banking and operating experience.
Who does JBSP work with?
JBSP works with clinical-stage and small-cap public or private biopharma companies that need senior capital markets or corporate development execution but don't yet need — or can't yet justify — a full-time hire in that role. This includes companies preparing for a financing round, evaluating a reverse merger, or building investor relations infrastructure from scratch.
What is a reverse merger in biopharma, and why do companies pursue one?
A reverse merger is a transaction where a private company merges into an existing public shell company to become publicly traded, without going through a traditional IPO. Biopharma companies pursue reverse mergers to access public capital markets faster and with more deal certainty than an IPO, particularly in periods when the IPO window is difficult to access.
What is a PIPE financing?
A PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) is a transaction where investors purchase newly issued shares of a public company directly, outside the public market. PIPEs are commonly paired with reverse mergers and Nasdaq listings to provide the company with committed capital at the time it becomes publicly traded.
What's the difference between an investment bank and a fractional corporate development advisor?
An investment bank is typically transaction-focused and compensated primarily on deal completion, which can create pressure to close a specific deal. A fractional corporate development advisor like JBSP works as an embedded team member across the full strategic and execution lifecycle — including work that doesn't culminate in an immediate transaction — with incentives aligned to the company's broader strategic outcomes, not just deal close.
What therapeutic areas or company stages does JBSP focus on?
JBSP works primarily with clinical-stage and small-cap biopharma companies, with particular depth in CNS and neuropsychiatry, though engagements are not limited to this area. JBSP supports companies from early clinical stage through public company operations.
How is a JBSP engagement structured?
JBSP engagements are structured around a company's near-term priorities rather than a fixed retainer. Support intensity adjusts over time — more hands-on during an active financing or partnership process, lighter during periods between major inflection points — so companies pay for senior execution when they need it most.
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