BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JULY 10, 2000 ISSUE
FRONTIER -- FEATURES This Raven Really Flies After 29 years researching cell biology, Jennie Mather had her finger on the pulse of the biotechnology industry. That's why she was surprised to see investors go pale when she approached them with her business plan in October, 1998. It was not because a woman was rattling the cup. ''The pundits were saying that biotech was over,'' recalls Mather, the 52-year-old founder of Raven Biotechnologies Inc. ''I didn't believe that. I think biotechnology is just entering its second phase.'' She was right. By December, the biotech market had turned around again. Unlike many women entrepreneurs, Mather--who became biotech giant Genentech's first female staff scientist in 1988--already had a powerful business network to tap. Within six weeks, she persuaded former colleagues to contribute $1.2 million, and venture capitalists $1.25 million more. (It didn't hurt that she was offering to work for free for a year.) The individual investors included some pretty heavy hitters: the late Robert A. Swanson, founder of Genentech and her former boss; William Young, chief executive of Virologics and former Genentech president; and Eugene Kleiner, retired co-founder of Silicon Valley investment powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. ''I had some reservations about the money she raised,'' recalls Kleiner. ''I thought it was insufficient.'' But the venture capital money persuaded him to make ''a relatively small investment.'' Now, 18-month-old Raven is approaching its next round of funding, and Mather is predicting profitability in the next four to five years. But the 12-employee research company has bigger challenges--among them finding more productive therapies for severe diseases, including cancer. Given her track record, the long-term prognosis looks good. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Nothing Ventured TABLE: You've Come a Long Way, Maybe CHART: Gender Gap CHART: Who's Calling the Shots Give `em Hell, Jane Wayne This Raven Really Flies Resources: For Women Only INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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