In this episode of BioTalk with Rich Bendis, Sara Dauber, Vice President, Startup Banking for J.P. Morgan's Innovation Economy team, joins the conversation to discuss how early-stage life science and healthcare companies can think more strategically about banking, financing readiness, and long-term growth.
Sara shares how her career moved from life science operating companies to NIH and now to J.P. Morgan, where she works with early-stage life science and healthcare ventures across the DMV and surrounding regions. Drawing on her experience inside startups, supporting SBIR-funded companies, and advising founders from the business side, Sara brings a practical perspective on what early-stage teams need as they begin raising institutional capital and building the systems behind a company.
The conversation explores how J.P. Morgan supports companies across the full lifecycle, from inception through IPO and beyond. Sara also discusses the importance of secure banking infrastructure, investor readiness, cap table management, startup-focused resources, and relationship-building in a market where founders are often asked to do more with limited time and capital.
Rich and Sara also revisit her time at NIH, her work with BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, and the value of the BioHealth Capital Region ecosystem in helping entrepreneurs connect with the right advisors, funders, and partners.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.
Sara Dauber is Vice President, J.P. Morgan's Startup Banking team, where she works with early-stage life science and healthcare companies in the DMV and broader Mid Atlantic. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Sara spent more than 14 years in life science operating companies, often working with early-stage startups across finance, program management, corporate development, business development, and operations. She later worked with NINDS at NIH, supporting SBIR-funded companies with business support. Today, she brings that experience to her work with founders as they build, finance, and scale life science and healthcare companies.
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