The bio space is very large, so the first step is to understand the different types of companies. The major groups are roughly: - biopharma / therapeutics: the

The bio space is very large, so the first step is to understand the different types of companies. The major groups are roughly: - biopharma / therapeutics: the largest and most lucrative sector, but also the most specialized (~$11B venture dollars invested in the US in 2017). Basically companies that develop FDA regulated medicines to treat disease. This has been one of the top performing sectors in all of venture the last few years. It's also the most "different" industry / steepest learning curve if you're coming from a tech background. I wrote a post on the opportunity in the space here: http://newbio.tech/blog/biopharma_opportunity.html http://newbio.tech/blog/biopharma_opportunity.html - med tech / diagnostics: accounting for just under $5B in 2017 US venture funding, these deal with medical devices (hip implants, surgical tools, coronary stents etc) as well as diagnostics (ranging from standard blood tests to AI-driven liquid biopsies to detect cancer). Investments here tend to be more doubles and triples than the biopharma homeruns. Reimbursement is a key concern here - bio-IT: this emerging space has received a lot of hype lately (a16z making a large play here, Verily is also in this category). It is a bit of an amorphous term but concerns opportunities at the intersection of biology, chemistry, software and data analytics. The big opportunity here is using tech to multiply the efficiency / productive of drug development and scientific research To start learning more, id focus on biopharma, as the opportunity here is massive and really understanding biopharma will help you understand bio-IT. Subscribe to the following news feeds: -endpoints news -fierce biotech -stat news When you read about an interesting company, dig deeper. Talk to anyone in your network familiar with the company. Read the scientific literature (and look up all the terms you don't know). Email the academic founders to ask about their work. Email founders of competing companies. Really try to understand the appeal of the investment and the rationale behind the science. It is a steep learning curve but enough reps can get you there Also, follow Bruce Booths blog at atlas ventures. He is one of the leading seed stage investors and also one of the few life sci VCs who blogs