The Biotech IPO: What Bankers See That Founders Miss

Guest: Mark Dempster In this episode of Boba & Biotech, Armon sits down with Mark Dempster, Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Stifel, to pull back the curtain on what biotech bankers actually do and why it matters more than most founders realize. They cover the public vs. private financing divide, why the stigma around banks helping with private rounds exists and whether it still makes sense, and what founders consistently get wrong when they go public for the first time. Mark also shares his honest take on why generalist investors stay skittish about biotech, what the FDA environment means for the ecosystem right now, and why data ultimately trumps everything else when it comes to predicting who succeeds. Mark Dempster is Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Stifel, where he has focused on biotechnology and specialty pharma for over 25 years. He has held roles at JP Morgan and Bank of America Securities, and has been with Stifel since 2010. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Finance from Bradley University. Links Armon’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/   Mark’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-dempster-22816b/  Credits Hosted by Armon Sharei, PhD Research by Julie Kim, MBA Produced by Arielle Nisseblatt of Pinwheel, Andressa Carroll, Portal Edited and mixed by David Woje