Commercialisation of Science
Ian Wilding and Simon Fischel
22nd March 2007
Clinical imperative can be a key driver in relation to commercialisation. Scientists often feel the need to take their research on to the next stage and want to see their work extended beyond academic circles in terms of providing direct benefit to people. An "I told you so" mentality can also be a key driver.
Surrounding yourself with "good people" is key to success. Do a psychometric test and determine whether you have entrepreneurial abilities and abilities. If not recruit someone who has! Bring the right people in and invest in their development and growth. Look for individuals with the spark to grow with the company
Investors often have little understanding of the science underpinning a business concept. You and your management team need to be credible to them. Investors invest in people. If you’ve done it before they will back you. You need to convince them that you have the right people around you with the right balance of skills. Investors want fast returns and are not in it for the long term.
At the beginning it is possible to see the business opportunity but rare to see where the journey might lead in the long term. Business people need to focus on the next stage of a businesses’ growth. However very few people have the ability to stand back and be objective enough to see the long term potential of their business.
Many successful entrepreneurs assume they can transfer their business acumen to businesses in other sectors and end up failing. You must have a feel for the business and the sector it operates in
Simon quoted that there are three eras of industrial development and we are now in the third phase:
- Knowledge
- Technology
- Image
Scientific businesses are often bad at PR. Image has to have substance to be credible but presentation is vitally important. An ability to package what you do and present it in different ways, to different stakeholders, at different times is fundamental to success. You need to get yourself noticed. A personal belief in a product is not enough. What you do must appear "sexy" to customers and investors. Your people need the ability to present complicated ideas in simple ways.
The term "Entrepreneurial Scientist" is an oxymoron. The culture of universities works against those who are entrepreneurial. We shouldn’t focus on university spin outs; rather the emphasis should be on the private sector reaching in to universities to access and harness intellectual property. It’s important not to forget that the primary objective of universities is research and teaching, not business development.
The quality of science is often not the issue rather it is the potential for its commercialisation. It’s rare for academics to have a feel for the extent to which their work can be exploited in a business context. Due diligence is needed early on to assess the extent to which the IPR is secured or otherwise. (At Harvard academics are told not to publish until their scientific advisors have reviewed the IPR implications).
In the USA accessing venture capital has been traditionally easier although this is beginning to change. In the UK it is difficult to access proof of concept funding and other pre-venture capital finance. The culture is beginning to change in the UK although we still have a culture of suspicion towards "science" and "business" in the UK.