Entrepreneurship is defined by the Business Directory as “The capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit.” Entrepreneurship is typically characterized by innovations or ideas that are turned into a business or venture to develop capital. Serial entrepreneurs that are often mentioned throughout the readings are people who found more than one company or venture, usually based on innovations that fall in the same or similar field of expertise.
Reading one: Entrepreneurs make science work. Mathew McCaffrety
“Scientific discoveries and technological advances do not in and of themselves improve the welfare of humankind.”
Universities don’t produce products that have value in the marketplace, lasting into the future. This is where entrepreneurs come in- spread scientific breakthroughs through the market, bring science to the general public.
EXAMPLE: The Internet, Government funded and greatly benefits society. Held as a the classic example alongside the GPS. What both of these and many other products have in common is that commercialization of the idea made them popular and useful in the public domain. Entrepreneurs have an incentive to spread knowledge into the public eye- profit and loss economy. Without this movement into th epublic would it have been so popular?
The role of government interference in the market can also limit scientific growth e.g. the high regulatory cost of drug development prevents drug development and research, IP prices prevent drugs going to market due to high cost of production etc. This can be combated by entrepreneurial competition.
“Scientific progress goes hand in hand with entrepreneurial progress”- this highlights the importance of scientists and entrepreneurs working together to benefit the public and get innovation into the public domain.
“A good start would be to eliminate regulatory requirements that drive up the cost of research and development, along with the intellectual property laws that prevent competition in ideas. Once the barriers between research and enterprise have been broken down, we can use markets to get the best of both worlds.”
Summary of this reading: The science that is done in the lab does not necessarily make it to the public domain. Entrepreneurs are a way to bridge the gap between science and public.
Reading two: Are you experienced or are you talented?: When does innate talent verses experience explain entrepreneurial performance.
Ideas behind this experiment investigate two explanations:
1. Learning from experience
2. Innate talent
This experiment explored the relationship between entrepreneurial performance and whether it is a result of innate talent or the accumulation of entrepreneurial experience over time.
“When the current market or technology is familiar, experience dominates. However, when the venture context is unfamiliar, talent is more important
1.(Well known) Observations of prior studies is that entrepreneurs with prior experience in the field achieve better eg founding companies, more success if had prior experience. Also if founding multiple businesses then have more likelihood of success as well as creating more economical impact. Serial entrepreneurs create a high number of jobs and increased economic growth. This is compared to novice company starters and is related to the acquiring of useful knowledge such as; how to develop business models, hiring techniques, and access financial resources. “Serial entrepreneurs are more likely to learn from their entrepreneurial experiences and are more likely to found higher-performing firms”
2.Talent: “talented individuals are more likely to succeed in early ventures because of their superior innate ability”. Success in early ventures can also lead to further successes when starting new businesses.
EXAMPLE: Steve Jobs. Initial success Apple, when on to found Pixar etc.
On the other side “less talented” entrepreneurs are less likely to succeed in their first business start ups which then leads on to being discouraged from starting up further ventures. This suggests initial talent is more important entrepreneurial success then learning from experience.
Serial entrepreneurs= an entrepreneur that continuously comes up with new ideas and starts new businesses. Compared to a typical entrepreneur who typically come up with a single business venture and then remain with the company. Serial entrepreneurs will often found the business/ venture and then pass the main responsibility on to someone else and move on to the next venture. Also more likely to found companies that have higher sales, attract better quality investors with more revenue leading to more successful ventures that generate more capital.
Learning: as a result of prior entrepreneurial experience, entrepreneurs are better equipped to start up new ventures that have greater success. They have prior knowledge of the tools are processes needed to start up a new, successful venture such as; business model, finances, employees, investors etc. Reuse of start up routines as well as already established connections and specific knowledge of the industry also can save time/resources which is a result of experience. Choosing better opportunities
“Learning by doing”
*Hypothesis1a: “Anentrepreneurwithmore venturefoundingexperienceismorelikelyto foundahigh-performingventure.”
EXAMPLE: If an entrepreneur has prior knowledge and experience of a particular product or industry they will already know competitors, market dynamics, customers/suppliers- experienced entrepreneur in a familiar domain.
On the other hand, experienced entrepreneurs might be susceptible to overconfidence which can then lead to them being ineffective and less successful in unfamiliar situations/venture.
Stick to what you know- already equipped with industry knowledge- more likely to choose “promising opportunity”
Talent is also a factor in success: “theabilitytogetgreaterentrepreneurialearningsoutofagivenamountofcapital invested”
“Superiorabilitytoconsistentlyseeviableentrepreneurial opportunitiesandeffectivelyactuponthemtogenerategreaterventureperformance.”- initial success leads to motivation to found more firms= serial entrepreneurs.
Serial entrepreneurs= more talented than normal entrepreneurs (?)
*Hypothesis 2a:
“An entrepreneur with more innate talentismorelikelytofoundahigh-performing venture.”
Talent only really useful in new situations, not similar ones that are well known. These situations are less about talent and are more related to applying prior experience knowledge gained to the situation.
Innatetalent may lead to entrepreneurs finding iteasiertoapplytheirtalent towardthinking through new, novelsituationsin which priorexperiencemaynotbe applicable. Also only experienced entrepreneurs that do not have the innate talent, may misapply prior knowledge/ not know what is relevant in the new context- disadvantage.
Correlation between innate talent and learning from prior experience ie entrepreneurs who have both are the most successful- complement each other.
“Talentmayprovidebetterinsight intowhattodo,suchaswhichopportunitiesto pursue,whileexperienceprovidesbetterguidancein howtoproceedinthepursuitofanopportunity. Fewer errors, learning from failure, experience is more valuable than less talented entrepreneurs, learn more lessons from failure/success
Overall Hypothesis:
“There will be a positive interaction betweentalentandexperience:anentrepreneur higherinbothtalentandentrepreneurialexperienceisespeciallymorelikelytofoundahigh performingventure.”
Findings:
*Hypothesis 1A: Findings confirmed this hypothesis. Therefore we can say from these resuts that entrepreneurial experience is likely to improve venture performance.
*Hypothesis 1B: Findings also confirmed this hypothesis. Therefore it is fair to say that prior venture experience in a familiar context does lead to increased performance.
*Hypothesis 2A: Confirmed- talent is also linked to entrepreneurial success.
*Hypothesis 2B: Supported- talent IS less important when the industry the new business venture is based in, is familiar to the entrepreneur.
Overall there is moderate support for talent and entrepreneurial success in the overall hypothesis. Whenthe current ventureislessfamiliar to the entrepreneur then we can prove that talentplaysalargerrole in success. However it is also noted that experiencecanleadtolowerperformancein somecases althoughwhenthecurrentventureis
Combining both experience and talent leads to overall greater success.
Summary: This reading looked at the combination of prior experience and talent and how these interact to lead to success in new business ventures. The overall findings show a combination of talent and experience lead to ultimate success.
Reading three: How to start a Biotech company- Science startups
“If universities are the engine for discovery, then startups are the vehicle for innovation. The creativity and drive of young researchers has the potential to explore novel or underserved applications and revolutionize industries.”
*First biotech startup Genentech, founded by biochemist and professor Herb Boyer and venture capitalist/entrepreneur Bob Swanson in 1976. This gave rise to the entire biotech industry- founder of the biotech industry. “As the founders of the biotechnology industry, our goal is to use the power of genetic engineering and advanced technologies to make medicines that address unmet medical needs, and help millions of people worldwide.”
EXAMPLE: Spider silk protein secreted by Salmonella. The company Refactored Materials 2009
Incredibly strong and durable (stronger than Kevlar) however extraction process sis very labor intensive, difficult and slow- move to synthetic biology to create spider silk in the lab from engineered microbes. Currently in used for medical device and ballistic armor applications but in the future could be used for clothing.
“Many of the discoveries that have improved our society by increasing efficiency, adding capabilities, and bettering health have come from basic research done in universities.”
Universities, however are not capable of fully translating the technologies from the lab into the market. This is where startups are needed, to bridge the gap and get research developed in the lab out to the market. In this process, goals must be set and achieved, research and experiments are directed at answering go/no-go questions, research output needs to be of high quality for both publication and worthy of the investors time and money put into the startup.
Often founded by students or postdocs who have more time to invest/attune to the market. Addressing real-life needs, and retain the passion/enthusiasm etc.
Tips:
1. Identify the unmet need that your technology addresses- identify goal. being passionate is important but there also needs to be an identifiable/large enough market to service the product.
2. Build a high-quality, well-rounded team- cant start a company alone, find one or more cofounders with similar backgrounds, skillsets and/or interests. ” Having a cofounder has multiple benefits, from expanding the company’s skillset, to having a sounding board and accountability partner, to showing investors that you can work with others.” Also helpful to pair eith an entreprenuer or venture capitalist. Experience is also important.
3. Understand incentives, and use them to drive your company to success- incentives/ joint part in company as you will not initially have enough money to pay them more than their existing jobs (usually)
4. Get quality legal advice- key advisor with experience in your field of interest. Protection of Ip of your company is also key.
5. Money, money, money—search under every rock- many different sources available; governement/research grants, crowdfunding, friends/family, investors, angel investors, venture capitilism
6. Respect your investors- research your investors and ask for advice, they know more about the market than you do initially.
7. Be unfocused at the beginning, but learn to identify opportunities- platform technologies (technologies with more than one application). Direct market path that leads to capital, larger markets are a harder target so try smaller ones first.
8. Identify your white-hot risk, and use your time wisely- higher risks= harder to get money/investors due to uncertainty. Research them and devise ways to mitigate them.
9. Test and build your business model—no, you do not need a business person—yes, you can use a scientific approach, too- “Get out of the building!”
10. Be lean- Use money wisely. Budget/prioritize
11. Tell a story without giving away your secrets- nonconfidential discussion. Avoid asking for a nondisclosure agreement in an introductry discussion with a partner or VC.
12. Inform yourself- talk to other successful (or not successful) entrepreneurs.
13. Do not give up, and get ready for the best roller coaster ride!
Development of a business process.
Reading four: The art of entrepreneurship- a brief interview
*This reading was an interview with entrepreneur Robert S. Langer. He holds more than 1000 patents and has helped found more than two dozen biotech companies.
*Went from scientist (chemical engineer and biotechnologist) to entrepreneur.
*Started a company because of his frustration that his research didn’t make it to the public on its own- needed a link between the science and the market.
“Do great science. Don’t sacrifice publishing good science to be secretive. Then go to the next step and patent it—and do licensing and start companies. “
Summary from reading: Highlighted the importance of companies and the link to science. Good example of an entrepreneur who is also a successful scientist.
Further reading: He has over 1000 patents and articles and numerous awards as a result of his research.
Reading five: The disposition to become an entrepreneur and the jacks-of-all-trades in social and human capital
* This reading explored the differences in occupation and personality type and how this was related to the instance of becoming an entrepreneur vs not becoming one. They began by stating that individuals that are more balanced and well rounded are more likely to become entrepreneurs compared to individuals who are only specialist in one area- these people prefer to be employees than entrepreneurs- don’t even consider starting their own business in the first place. The focus is on young students turned entrepreneur.
*”Jack-of-all-trades theory of entrepreneurship”-
Balance of more than one skill/area of expertise at high or low levels- correspond to success or company (?). “Entrepreneurs choose mixed and more balanced educational paths, whereas employees choose pure and more specialized educational paths.” Level of skill combined with area(s) of expertise are both important.
*Human and social capital links, traditional vs new view- ie more highly qualified individuals are more likely to become entrepreneurs (this is not always the case eg increased levels of university schooling/education level risen over recent yeas does not also have a corresponding trend in the increase of entrepreneurship levels that should be associated with this trend if it were the case). Social capital is important for success of a new start up business.
Hypotheses being tested:
Hypothesis 1: The more balanced an individual’s investment in his or her skills, the higher his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur.
Hypothesis 2: The broader an individual’s skills portfolio is, the higher his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur.
Hypothesis 3: The more balanced an individual’s social contacts are, the higher his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur.
Hypothesis 4: The broader an individual’s portfolios of social contact are, the higher his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur. Hypothesis 5:The more balanced an individual’s (overall) portfolio of human and social capital, the higher his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur.z Hypothesis 6: The broader an individual’s overall portfolio, the higher his or her disposition to become an entrepreneur.
Summary: Balancing skills more important than the level of skills. This combined with social contacts = more likely to become an entrepreneur. More balanced= more likely to be entrepreneur due to increased likelihood of success in the start-up and the removal of the security of success merely being employed gives to those with specific skills/qualifications. Therefore the jack-of-all-trades analogy is perfect summary of this reading and is also highlighted in the case studies of successful entrepreneurs, most/all are successful in multiple areas/ have a broad range of skills and talents.
Entrepreneur in the Biotechnology field: Leroy E. Hood MD Ph.D
Leroy E. Hood (Lee Hood) is a serial entrepreneur in the biotechnology field having founded or co-founded 15 biotechnology companies, some of these including Integrated Diagnostic, Applied Biosystems, Amgen, Arivale, Rosetta, Darwin and Indi Molecular.
He has degrees from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the California Institute of Technology as well as a Ph.D in Biochemistry with research focusing on genetics, molecular immunology and biotechnology.
He began his career through developing not only a DNA sequencer and synthesizer but also a protein sequencer and synthesizer through the California Institute of technology. These played a crucial role in the sequencing of the human genome through the Human Genome Project, which he went on to write a book about alongside Daniel J. Kevies, called ‘The code of codes: Scientific and social issues in the human genome project’. His work in genomics and technology helped sequence sections of chromosomes 14 and 15 Lee has also also published over 700 peer reviewed articles and has 15 degrees.
He is a highly successful entrepreneur, and his success could be linked back to the study above on people with multiple skills (he has more than one degree) being related to success in a start up setting. As well as this his companies all fall in the same field- over time he would have gained a large understanding of how the biotechnology industry works as well as investor and client bases and how to correctly and efficiently target the market.
Volume 47, December 2013, Pages 55–72;, The disposition to become an entrepreneur and the jacks-of-all-trades in social and human capital, Backes-Gellner U and Moog P, Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/science/article/pii/S1053535713001236
2. Entrepreneurs make science work, Mccaferty M, Noveber 2014, Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/docview/1622625599/fulltextPDF/B85DFD44C5C94BE9PQ/1?accountid=14782, Retrieved on: 2/08/2016
3.Strategic Entrepreneurship journal, AREYOUEXPERIENCEDORAREYOUTALENTED?: WHENDOESINNATETALENTversusEXPERIENCE EXPLAINENTREPRENEURIALPERFORMANCE, Eelsey C E and Roberts E B, Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/doi/10.1002/sej.1141/epdf, Retrieved on: 3/08/2016
4. The American Society for cell biology, How to start a Biotech Company, Tajonar A, 9/09/2014, Retrieved from: http://www.molbiolcell.org/content/25/21/3280, Retrieved by: 4/08/2016
5. The art of entrepreneurship- a brief interview, Gura T, 27/11/2014, Science 346 (6213), 1146. [doi: 10.1126/science.346.6213.1146], Retrieved from: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/346/6213/1146.full.pdf, Retrieved on: 4/08/2016
*Genetech, Our Leadership, Retrieved from: http://www.gene.com/about-us/leadership, Retrieved on: 2/08/2016
*Genetic engineering and Biotechnology News, Top 17 serial Bio entrepreneurs, A. Philippids, 15/12/2014, Retrieved from: http://www.genengnews.com/insight-and-intelligence/top-17-serial-bio-entrepreneurs/77900338/
*Institute for Systems Biology, Leroy Hood MD, PhD, Retrieved from: https://www.systemsbiology.org/bio/leroy-hood/, Retrieved on: 6/08/2016
*Arivale, Retrieved from: https://www.arivale.com/, Retrieved on: 6/08/2016
*National Academy of Science, QnAs with Leroy E. Hood,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 108, No. 23, (June 7, 2011), p. 932, Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/stable/25831226?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents, Retrieved on: 5/08/2016
*Koch institute for integrative cancer research at MIT, Robert S. Langer, Retrieved from: https://ki.mit.edu/people/faculty/langer, Retrieved on: 6/08/2016
*Business News Daily, What is Entrepreneurship?, Fernandes P, 21/03/2016, Retrieved from: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2642-entrepreneurship.html, Retrieved on: 4/08/2016
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Science 