1. NanoString: From Research to Start-Up Amber Ratcliffe Co-founder of NanoString Technologies October 23 rd, 2008

2. Presentation Overview Genesis of the Basic Idea Seed Funding the Proof of Principle Decision to Start the Company The Start Up Process: Nuts and Bolts Current Status of NanoString Today A Few Things to Think About

3. The Backstory Krassen Dimitrov and Amber Ratcliffe meet in Lee Hood’s Lab Krassen & Amber build ISB’s microarray lab Out of frustration with arrays idea of individual molecular tagging born 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

4. Molecular Barcode Idea Target Specific Capture & Reporter Probes are created to bind to the mRNA transcript Target Specific Capture Probe Target Specific Reporter Probe

5. nCounter Assay Image Surface

6. nCounter Assay CodeGeneCount x3 y1 z2 Codes are counted and tabulated

7. Research Seed Funding 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Pitch idea to the Institute for Systems Biology Seed Funding for Basic Research ISB Seed Funds Research IP Licensing Rights for Founders Shares & Royalties ISB Files First Patent Amber Starts MBA at UW

8. Dwayne gets hired and comes up with idea for stretching molecules Preliminary data generation Amber starts writing business plan Early Proof of Principle Data 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Dwayne Dunaway

9. Writing the Business Plan Identify the Application for the Technology Calculate the Market Opportunity Analyze the Competitive Landscape Identify the Business Model Create an Operational Plan Generate Financials Determine How Much Money You Will Need Focus on the Business, not the Technology!

10. NanoString competes in business plan competitions Jungle International Business Plan Competition Purdue National Life Sciences Business Plan Competition UW Regional Business Plan Competition Gives access to community members Seed money Good press Validation of idea Business Plan Competitions 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

11. Decision to Start the Company Large Market Opportunity Clear Business Model Affiliations with Top Notch Scientists Investor Interest Access to Intellectual Property Personal Passion for the Technology and Market Desire to Experience the Process Ability to Take the Risk

12. Company officially founded in June Get corporate identity ready and infrastructure in place Pitch to VCs - Kleiner Perkins, Paul Allen, Fraiser, Versant, Arch, Flagship, etc Select Sonya Erickson for counsel Meet Perry Fell Perry introduces us to Chad Waite OVP gives us term sheet = blood in the water Forming a Company 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

13. January 2004 – DFJ starts due diligence May 2004 – Angel round, start operations Execute agreement with investors Start leasing space at ISB Hire first official employees (half pay) Find an accountant Set up IT infrastructure Continue technology development July 2004– Close $4.3M First Tranche Series A Starting Up Operations 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

14. First “4 spotter” November - Move in to 4300 sqft of lab/office space CEO, COO, CSO, Office manager, 3 PhDs, 2 Research Associates Barcode development, instrument development, image processing software development Filing patents Product Development 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

15. Manufacturing scale up Milestones: January – make 25 reporters May - make 100 reporters August - make 532 reporters File software patent Start work on Nature Biotech Paper Start Instrument OEM discussions Product Development 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

16. Start offering fee for service Commercial group formed Chief Commercial Officer Marketing Sales Business development Open commercial office in CA Prepare for commercial launch Refresh corporate image Messaging Collateral generation Formulations Packaging, etc Forming Commercial Team 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

17. US Commercial Launch Made Red Herring Top 200 Most Innovative Companies Nature Biotech paper! Raised $17M to date Multiple System placements Launching in Europe January 2009 We currently have 43 employees Today 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

18. Realistic Timeframes Time from idea to incorporation – 3 years From incorporation: Time Amber worked with no pay – 11 months Time to raise VC $$ - 13 months Time to produce fully functional prototype – 4 years Time to get to commercial launch – 5 years Time to get rich quick – 8 years and counting…

19. Take Aways Be very clear about the opportunity Market Application Freedom to operate (IP) Do it for the passion and process Understand your role now and going forward Find experienced management & service providers Know your tolerance for risk Network, network, network – but be careful Commit fully