by Rukia Henry The Science and Career Symposium was held on the weekend of October 19th-20th at New York University, Langone Health Center. It showcased a vast array of professionals who engaged in sessions detailing the careers they pursued in fields outside of academia. Panel sessions focused on various career paths from public health and medical communications to science consulting. The second panel session that I attended detailed the experiences of PhD graduates who decided to pursue careers in business and entrepreneurship. More specifically, these graduates founded their own startup companies.
Day One, Part 2 - Entrepreneurs: From Science to Startup
One of the most profound observations that I made while attending the career symposium was that every business and company present at the event had one thing in common: they were founded by entrepreneurial enthusiasts. Businesses that offer science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) services most frequently include scientists with a sound background on the product being made for consumers.
Whether it be data or biomedical services, scientists are important for understanding and crafting the products. The panellists for this session included Dr Michal Yanai, Associate Director of the Biomedical Entrepreneurship at NYU Langone Health, Dr Maria Luisa Pineda, Co-Founder and CEO of Envisagenics, and Dr Colin Malone, Co-Founder and Head of Biology at VNV NewCo. The session was moderated by Dr Anita Kishore, Founder of Access to Opportunity Consulting (A2OC). At the core of being a scientist is the ability to generate new information and create knowledge. This often transcends into the creation of innovative discoveries that have widespread benefits to the general population. So how can individuals make an impact with their innovations, and market their product to a targeted consumer base? This boils down to entrepreneurship, and the panellists shared how they were able to do so, as detailed below. Where to Start All innovations and scientific discoveries first started with an idea. Entrepreneurs have an innate curiosity that is unquenchable, and with the possible discovery of a valuable product or service, they must first gauge their passion and decide if the investment is worthwhile. Once having recognized the value that the product holds, one should consider working for a similar startup company. Most scientists aren’t trained in the area of business and entrepreneurship, and it may be difficult to make a complete 180° transition from doing scientific research to founding a startup company. By first working for a company in the startup stage, you are able to gain valuable experience in this field that can be beneficial for a scientist interested in entrepreneurship. You should aim to work smarter, not harder, and gaining experience in the startup industry will allow you to learn from the accomplishments and mistakes of others, before becoming a founder yourself. Sources of Funding Most of the panellists, including Dr Pineda and Dr Malone, noted that the primary source of funding for their startups came from venture capital. Venture capital, as explained by Dr Pineda, is money that comes from private equity or investment funds that are primarily used to invest in small companies with the potential to gain a profit of investment in return. Most venture capitalists hold primary shares in the companies in which they invest. However, with venture capital investment, there is a period of time that venture capitalists are most concerned with, and that was described as ‘the valley of death.’ This is usually the first critical stage of a startup where companies must thrive with just their initial investments. The equity that was invested from their initial shareholders is burned through in developing the product, and the startup must be able to get through this period successfully. However, before getting to the “valley of death”, how do you prove to venture capitalists that your startup is worth investing in and can survive that period? Dr Pineda noted that most investors look for advanced assets, so creating your road map or curve and providing a plausible scenario to get through that period is important. Dr Malone shared that you should also be able to prove that your service is one of a kind or different than what’s on the market. Venture capitalists love when your service is in a field that is wide open. For example, Dr Malone’s discovery that proteins can act as viruses was something interesting and unexplored with a large therapeutic benefit, so it was an investment trusted by investors. Other sources of funding that the panellists shared included funding from universities that might be interested in developing and commercializing a product you created. Further, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) is a US Government grant program designed to help fund small businesses and firms that may conduct and develop research. Another investment group Dr Malone noted was Angel Investors: a group of primarily affluent individuals who have spare wealth to invest in startups. 
Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash Do you need Post-Doctoral Training? While not a necessary requirement, the panellists agreed that it can be beneficial to obtain post-doctoral training. One important point Dr Yanai noted was that venture capital can be hard to obtain if your innovation is in the biological science field. However, you can use this period of post-doctoral training to better develop your product. In addition, if the type of product or service you created is in the field of translational research, publishing the data can be important. However, should you make some kind of groundbreaking discovery that you have an intention of developing further, it is imperative that you patent your research before you decide to publish or present your data, mostly in the form of a provisional patent. What is exciting about working in Startup? All of the panellists noted that the most exciting thing about working in the startup world is being able to provide a service that can be of great value to the general public. It’s even better when you get investments and funding to continue commercializing your innovation. It is important to love what you do because it can be daunting if you don’t receive funding or investments, but your love and passion will be key in helping to drive your company to the next level. This article was edited by Brianna Alexander and Helena Mello