Non-dilutive funding and equity capital are two key reasons why life sciences companies pursue strategic partnerships. In fact alliances are also strong contributors to successful “exits”, whether Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) (~ 40% of partnerships ultimately resulted in acquisition by the partner) or stand-alone market entry (80% of approved biopharmaceutical products from 2000-2010 had a commercial partner on board)1. In the current environment, strategic alliances and funding can come from many sources, including the traditional “large pharma” universe – but the question remains: How best for a small management team to gain access to and maximize success with these sources? The focus of this article is to describe how entrepreneurs can leverage external expertise, intermediaries to achieve their near term and longer-term objectives.