FreeMind Group has been leading the field of non-dilutive funding consultancy for the life sciences since it was founded in 1999. Today, FreeMind is the largest, most experienced and most successful consulting firm, specializing in life science R&D non-dilutive funding. Indeed, we are happy to say that with over $1B awarded to our clients to date, FreeMind has played an important role in turning non-dilutive funding into a strategic source of funding for our clients and for the life science industry at large.
FreeMind employs 25 top scientific research analysts, process managers and scientific writing experts assisting hundreds of companies, universities and research institutions every year to secure grants and contracts from non-dilutive sources. Our main focus goes to where the money lays and so most of our attention is directed towards NIH and DOD and the many funding opportunities they present annually. Nevertheless, we also work with our clients to secure funding from other non-dilutive sources, both Federal and non-Federal, including CDC, FDA, NSF, NIST, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Komen Foundation and many others.
We strongly believe in a systematic, methodological and scientific process by which we are able to lead our clients to a significantly enhanced success rate. Our process is initiated with a strategic assessment of the research objectives and portfolio of research projects on which our clients focus, and compares our clients' interests to those of the many funding organizations and mechanisms to identify the specific matching funding opportunity. As the number of different mechanisms and opportunities available is great, and includes, to a large degree, unsolicited funding opportunities, this process aims to maximize our clients' potential. Looking at all available mechanisms, from large opportunities of $20M per project and more, through standard research awards, clinical awards and all the way to very exploratory basic research awards, we present to our clients the entire scope of available opportunities for their specific needs and business strategy.
Through a detailed strategic discussion we assist our clients in designing their research objectives and setting the conceptual framework of the application. Next comes the long and detail oriented process of jointly writing the application and its many sections and different angles, culminating in a thorough review process that leads to submission.
Of course, putting together a single project application for $500,000 is very different from leading a $50,000,000 clinical multi-site application. Nevertheless, our years of experience and great scientific, managerial, financial and writing skills enable FreeMind's team to lead all projects to a successful conclusion with the highest quality, by the deadline.
We are proud to be able to increase our clients' chances for success, and in fact, on average, we triple our clients’ success rates.
The FreeMind team combines extraordinary scientific understanding, innovative business and financial expertise, and creative writing and presentation skills. FreeMind's team caters to the specific and unique needs of academic and research institutions as well as the life science industry.
Executives
The FreeMind team combines extraordinary scientific understanding, innovative business and financial expertise, and creative writing and presentation skills. FreeMind's team caters to the specific and unique needs of academic and research institutions as well as the life science industry.
Executives
- Eyal Schmidt - President
Mr. Schmidt has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance. Mr. Schmidt has led FreeMind Group to become a leading consulting firm in the area of non-dilutive funding for hi-tech and life sciences companies. Mr. Schmidt has managed the business activities of FreeMind Group since its launch in 1999 and is a senior partner at his accounting firm. Mr. Schmidt holds a CPA certification and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- Ram May-Ron – Managing Partner, Vice President
For the past 8 years Ram May-Ron has been a leading figure within FreeMind. Initially leading FreeMind's Professional Services Department and later becoming a partner and part owner of FreeMind and taking upon himself the full responsibilities of both FreeMind's marketing and business development efforts, as well as the overall management of FreeMind's professional services activities. Mr. May-Ron has more than 15 years of experience as a leading strategic analyst, both in the business and political sectors. He has led a strategic consulting firm and has served as a top strategy advisor to several international organizations and elected political officials. Mr. May-Ron serves on the board of directors for several companies and has a wide range of experience in marketing and business development. Mr. May-Ron holds an MEI (Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International Business Management) fromAustralia’s Swinburne University of Technology. He also holds a Masters degree in International Relations, focusing on strategic decision making processes from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, winning the International Relations Department’s academic excellence scholarship.
- Ariel Shatz - Vice President
Mr. Shatz has over 15 years of consulting experience in marketing, sales and business development. He is the focal point of a networking team that specializes in accompanying technology companies that wish to penetrate and expand into new markets. Mr. Shatz has vast experience in identifying opportunities and creating collaborations between companies, research institutes, service providers and other entities in the areas of hi-tech and life sciences. Mr. Shatz holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- Ron Ben-Tsvi - Vice President
Mr. Ben-Tsvi has a wide range of experience in business consultancy and in developing financing strategies for high growth companies. He has led hundreds of companies to successful grant applications, allowing them to significantly expand their R&D activities, obtaining funding from the NIH, the Israeli Chief Scientist’s Office (CSO) and various bi-national funds. Mr. Ben-Tsvi has over 15 years of experience in the areas of finance, hi-tech and life sciences, working with both companies and academic institutions. Mr. Ben-Tsvi holds a CPA certification and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Ayal Ronen, M.Sc., MBA - Vice President
For the past few years Mr. Ayal Ronen has been a leading figure in FreeMind's professional department, managing complex projects for many of FMG's clients and in diverse scientific fields. Through his extraordinary work Mr. Ronen has led efforts on the client management front and was a key contributor to FMG's impressive retention rate with existing clients. During this time he was personally involved in submitting numerous grants utilizing the full spectrum of NIH mechanisms, thus gaining valuable non-dilutive funding expertise, both from a strategic vantage point and a hands-on approach. Mr. Ronen was named Vice President of Marketing and Sales for FreeMind. He holds a M.Sc. in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he was awarded the Dean’s prize for excellence based on scientific and academic merit.
Professional & Strategic Leadership
- Guy Harchen, M.Sc., MBA – Chief Analyst
As Chief Analyst and Manager of the Analysts Department, Guy leads a team of analysts that conduct the strategic assessment for FreeMind's clients. Guy aims is to identify, assess and recommend to our clients all relevant non-dilutive funding opportunities in the entire spectrum of the life sciences from pharmaceuticals to medical devices, basic to translational and clinical research. This process includes an in-depth investigation of our clients' research and development activities, restructuring these activities into fundable projects, and identifying relevant funding opportunities. This process is designed not only to assist our clients to fund their R&D work, but also to characterize their long term strategic plans and maximize possible funding opportunities
- Merav Geva, Ph.D., Senior Analyst:
Dr. Geva has been with FreeMind since 2006 and was involved directly in the writing of hundreds of applications to the NIH, NSF, DOD and other government and private funding agencies. As Senior Analyst, Dr. Geva identifies funding opportunities for a wide range of clients, academic and industrial alike, and defines funding strategies and priorities, vis-à-vis institute and agency requirements. Her responsibilities also include reviewing projects and applications for scientific and technical components, as well as networking and communicating with agency personnel. Dr. Geva received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Dr. Geva was a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Prof. Ron Wetzel at the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, researching amyloid and neurodegenerative disease. She is the recipient of many awards and honors and has authored and co-authored 11 publications.
- Sigal Katz, Ph.D., Senior Analyst:
Dr. Katz received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, focusing her research on signal transduction pathways involved in breast cancer. Dr. Katz was a Postdoctoral research associate at Prof. Penn's lab from University of Toronto, located at the Ontario Cancer Institute. Dr. Katz's research focused on regulation and function of c-myc and the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. Dr. Katz served as an equity analyst for one of the leading financial institutes in Israel, specializing in life-science companies in general and oncology and medical device companies in particular. Prior to her work in the financial industry, Dr. Katz served as a marketing manager in Patho-Lab Diagnostics, Israel's largest provider of clinical laboratory services for Histopathology and Cytopathology.Dr. Katz is the recipient of many awards and honors and has authored and co-authored numerous publications.
- Joel Knopf, M.Sc., MBA – Manager and Senior Consultant
For over seven years Mr. Joel Knopf has been a prominent figure on FreeMind Group's consulting team, managing complex projects for many of FreeMind's clients and in diverse scientific fields. In this capacity, Joel headed several of FreeMind's biggest projects, including a $67M vaccine development contract and a $35M structural genomics contract, as well as several multi-million dollar grants. Through these efforts, Mr. Knopf has sharpened his client management expertise and has been key to FreeMind's remarkable retention rate with existing clients. During his years as consultant he has gained valuable non-dilutive funding expertise, both strategically in terms of plotting out future plans with companies as well as ample hands-on experience. Mr. Knopf was recently named Manager of Consulting Services at FreeMind. Joel holds a MSc. with exceeding excellence in Biochemistry and Molecular biology, and an MBA with excellence. He has three scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and several abstracts presented in scientific conferences.
Senior Project Managers
- Ron Littman, MSc.
- Danny Foltyn, MSc.
- Noa Laroche, MSc.
- Tobi Levin, MSc.
- Alon Nardi, MSc.
- Eli Shmueli, MSc.
- Ilana Milo, MSc.
- Elinor Elmaliach, MSc.
