When Kevin Leland's boss donated $500,000 to research in immunotherapy for gastric cancer, Leland wondered how he could d...
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View companies raising nowIn 1938, FDR founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to find a cure for polio. The entire nation mobilized behind the effort and people went door-to-door collecting dimes. Those dimes funded the research of Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh where he ultimately discovered the polio vaccine.
Halo is a modern-day march for dimes.
Each campaign Halo raises money for a defined research project that can help advance a promising discovery into a life-changing medical treatment. Halo reaches donors through joint marketing campaigns with relevant disease foundations and by marketing directly to likely donors through social and digital channels.
The problem Halo is addressing is known as "the valley of death” - the funding gap between basic research funded by government and clinical research funded by pharmaceutical companies. There are thousands of promising discoveries stuck at this crossroads – too advanced to be developed at the university but not advanced enough for a pharmaceutical company to shepherd forward.
This funding gap in “translational research” is one reason only a handful of new treatments are approved each year. And while clinical research costs millions, translational research is far less costly. A key study, for example, can take just 6 months and cost a few hundred thousand dollars.
To cross the valley, Halo connects the $390 billion individuals donate each year in the United States alone with research projects most likely to develop into patient treatments.
FOR DONORS
BUSINESS MODEL
Platform Tips: Halo suggests a voluntary 8% tip on top of each donation, which has become standard industry practice on fundraising platforms. Traditionally around 80% of donors tip. Campaigns also raise more money when donors know their entire contribution supports the cause.
Cashed-in Equity: Halo receives an equity stake in each company that successfully fundraises on the platform, which generates revenue upon a liquidation event. The investment horizon for a liquidation event is 2 - 3 years and takes the form of a sub-licensing agreement or secondary sales of private stock.
LONG-TERM VISION
Halo’s long-term vision is to be more than a fundraising platform. A common strategy to solve the “chicken and egg” problem when building a professional network is known as “come for the tool, stay for the network.” Under this approach, users initially join to take advantage of a tool or feature, and then gradually discover and start interacting with other like-minded users on the network. Halo’s strategy can be described as “come for the funding, stay for the network.” Fundraising is a means to the end, but not the end itself.
The ultimate goal for Halo is to become a collaboration network for drug developers that addresses all three root causes of the valley of death - the funding gap, the knowledge gap and the talent gap. The knowledge gap is the skills-gap among academic scientists trained in basic research, but not translational research. The talent gap is the lack of business talent to lead early-stage biotech companies. We're starting with the funding gap, but Halo’s long-term vision is to unite academia and industry on a single platform.
Halo’s peer group consists of collaboration platforms and professional networks in healthcare and medicine.
Halo was created by a talented team of scientists, engineers, designers and marketers representing a diverse range of educational backgrounds and work experiences.
Hello, I'm Kevin Leland, CEO and Founder of Halo.
As a non-academic, I was generally familiar with how expensive and time-consuming it was to bring a new drug to market, but what I didn’t know was that the vast majority of these costs don’t come until late-stage clinical trials. Meanwhile, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of promising discoveries in a state of limbo – too advanced to be developed at the university but not advanced enough for a pharmaceutical company to shepherd forward.
This funding gap in “translational research” is what researchers refer to as "the valley of death" in drug development. What's more, translational research doesn't cost millions and take many years to complete like clinical research. A translational research project can can cost several hundred thousand dollars and take less than a year.
Join me and Halo in our mission to advance promising discoveries into effective treatments. With your support, we can create a sustainable model for research funding.
Thank you,
Kevin
$3,000,000
The maximum valuation at which your investment converts
into equity shares or cash.
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20%
If a trigger event for Halo occurs, the discount provision
gives investors equity shares (or equal value in cash) at a reduced price.
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$100K
Halo must achieve its minimum goal of $25K before the deadline. The maximum amount the offering can raise is $100K.
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Crowd SAFE
A SAFE allows an investor to make a cash investment in a company, with rights to receive certain company stock at a later date, in connection with a specific event.
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Halo vets each research project through an external selection committee with experience evaluating both the clinical and commercial potential of early-stage research.
Pharmaceutical companies have increasingly focused their efforts on investing in research that has advanced much further along. As a result, many promising discoveries that could ultimately develop into patient treatments are unable to secure funding to move forward, resulting in a classic Catch-22.
Halo has two revenue streams:
Platform Tips: Halo suggests a voluntary 8% tip on top of each donation, which has become standard industry practice on fundraising platforms. Traditionally around 80% of donors tip. Campaigns also raise more money when donors know their entire contribution supports the cause.
Cashed-in Equity: Halo receives an equity stake in each company that successfully fundraises on the platform, which generates revenue upon a liquidation event. The investment horizon for a liquidation event is 2 - 3 years and takes the form of a sub-licensing agreement or secondary sales of private stock.
If the fundraising goal is not met, the funds are still disbursed to the research project. While the fundraising goal is based on a detailed third-party assessment of costs, any amount of funding is helpful and can be deployed elsewhere to advance the research. However, donors can still request a full refund within 30 days of payment.
Halo is a curated fundraising platform that presents donors with promising research targeting specific medical conditions.
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