Founder – ‘It was nerve-wracking… but you build confidence in yourself'

FA Bio aims to protect and rebuild natural ecosystems

Scientists turned company founders have shared their insights on the transition to entrepreneurship.

Speaking to an audience of scientists and aspiring entrepreneurs, some of Imperial’s top company founders joined a panel last month at the Imperial Founders Forum, where they talked about their journeys from academia to entrepreneurship. Here are five of our top takeaways:

It’s a tough transition

“To be frank, it was nerve-wracking at times. The transition from academia and technical development to pitching to world leading healthcare organisations and investors was a big change,” said Dr Toby Basey-Fisher (Bioengineering), founder and CEO of Entia, an Imperial spinout using unique at-home blood monitoring to prevent high-cost and life-threatening complications of cancer therapy. “Moving outside of your comfort zone can be tough and I frequently had to tell myself to ‘just do it’. As a result I often found myself attending events, conferences and pitches knowing no one. However, I was able to slowly start building valuable relationships which in turn built confidence in myself and the impact our product could have.”

It’s about people

In academia, our preference is for analytical thinking – but you should invest in your emotional intelligence

“My background is physics. I was fascinated by the stars,” said Dr Maria Leiloglou, co-founder of EnAcuity, an Imperial and UCL spinout that is developing AI-powered hyperspectral imaging technology to assist keyhole surgery. “I couldn’t continue my studies around the stars, because I felt astronomy was too distant from what I can actually help with on Earth. So I started my Master’s in bioengineering and that was followed by a PhD.” Dr Leiloglou says that business requires a different skillset. “It has to be about people – in academia, our preference is for analytical thinking – but you should invest in your emotional intelligence, because how do you say to your people, ‘we are running out of money’ and so on?” 

You need to build the right culture

It’s like elite athletics – you can’t do it non-stop for decades, you have to take time off.

Dr Angela de Manzanos Guinot (Chemical Biology) launched FA Bio to develop bioproducts based on soil microbes as a sustainable alternative to the chemicals used in agriculture. One of the biggest challenges she faced was building the right team. “You onboard and develop the talent that you have, especially when you are bootstrapping and have people who are very enthusiastic. As you grow, some people are not the right fit anymore … Firing people is hard but sometimes is needed – that has been one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced,” she said. Another challenge was building a positive culture. “You need to take care of yourself. As a founder, you don’t disconnect, and that can take a toll. It’s like elite athletics – you can’t do it non-stop for decades, you have to take time off. And you have to create a culture that your team wants to work for. When you need to push hard, you need a motivated team.”

The road to riches can be long

Scientists don’t always turn to entrepreneurship to become wealthy, but it was a consideration for Alex Bond (Chemistry), CEO and co-founder of FreshCheck. “One of the big motivating factors for us was money – we weren’t well off or from rich backgrounds.” The founders, he explained, aimed to devise a product that would help society as well as generate a return, and now supplies its hygiene-verification device to caterers around the world, with a new product soon to launch. But they learned that highly innovative IP-driven startups often face a long and winding path to profitability. “Ten years down the line, I’m not any better off!,” said Mr Bond.

Look for the right place and time

Dr Ruben Doyle (Mechanical Engineering) launched his first surgical device company, Additive Instruments, to create an instrument called an impactor – “a power tool like a hammer,” as he describes it – that helps surgeons perform hip replacements. Dr Doyle and his co-founders used consultancy income and grants to develop the device without giving equity away to investors, then sold the company outright to a major equipment manufacturer. “Because we knew what the customer wanted, it was easy to just put our heads down,” said Dr Doyle. “There was a lot of right place, right time there. That caused the exit to happen at the time it did – we knew someone wanted to buy it.” 

Making the leap

While entrepreneurship is not an easy ride, Imperial founders are not alone.

“While entrepreneurship is not an easy ride, Imperial founders are not alone – forums for sharing experiences peer-to-peer is an important component of the support provide to founders,” said Dr Marika Reay, Imperial’s Cross-Faculty Director of Commercialisation.

“The university backs this community with a wealth of mentoring, training, and expert guidance, available to staff members spinning out their research and students alike, and a sector-leading set of founder-friendly spinout terms.” 

Imperial researchers who are interested in forming a spinout company can learn more about the process and the support available on the Imperial Enterprise staff pages.