Science start-ups and career opportunities for scientists
Dr. Syed Mudasir Andrabi
The bloom of start-up wave in India is a somewhat new phenomenon. India is currently experiencing a profound transformation, with innovation and entrepreneurship serving as the main engines for creating jobs and finding solutions to common issues. There were very few start-ups a decade ago, such as Naukari.com and MakeMyTrip.com. But now with the success of companies like Flipkart, Quicker, Practo, Zomato, and Inmboi, the Indian start-up ecosystem has undoubtedly changed.
In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that Start-up India is a ground-breaking initiative designed to assist those who aspire to launch their own businesses. The government will assist those with ideas and abilities so they may grow and put their ideas into action. If this plan is successful, India will eventually become a stronger country with a better economy.
With rocket speed, India has emerged as the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world with almost fifty thousand registered start-ups and annual growth of 12-15%. The start-up ecosystem boasts of a vast network of institutional investors, accelerators, and incubators. Close to 500 start-ups in the fields of medical technology, engineering, life sciences, agriculture and biotechnology, etc. have emerged out of scientific research.
Start-ups are nothing other than concepts turned into profitable ventures. Research is where some of the greatest start-up company ideas come from. Universities are now becoming a fertile breeding ground for inventions, game-changing ideas, and novel approaches for tackling some of the challenging problems. Being an academician is tough nowadays. Between the tiny number of permanent positions and over competition in jobs, students are looking for a way out. Research scholars and even mentors are asking themselves: should I join a start-up? Should I make my own start-up? It sounds appealing to develop products and make money.
Keep doing innovative research, you can be a job provider and not a job seeker. You may have heard about good “research-labs”- that don’t have any visible products but doing great. This sets a really bad precedent for students and scholars. Launching a start-up company is one of the many ways to take your research discovery or innovation and expand it, improve it, and ensure it reaches a broader audience.
“Creating a start-up requires a lot of effort, knowledge, and attention, and academic institutions are not historically designed for this purpose. However, by providing a platform for start-ups and supporting innovations, universities can open double doors for job opportunities. One among the top Institutions, SKUAST-K, is home to about 25 start-ups”.
Researchers are usually skeptical about choosing their careers in start-ups. If you’re a subject domain expert, you know more about the technology being developed and its market risks, it makes sense to jump in. It is advisable to integrate your prior technical expertise with market knowledge, which is readily obtained. By doing this, you can avoid magical thinking and focus your time and efforts on what you truly think will succeed. Understanding the hypothesis underlying what a start-up is makes more sense.
Going to a start-up is also a risk, therefore the rewards must be weighed before making the decision. Indeed, start-ups are notorious for their high rate of failures, just 10% of companies actually go on to achieve long-term success. For science start-ups that have extra ethical and legal issues to deal with, the reality might be even worse. It is important to associate with the people who have walked the walk and climbed the mountain of challenges. Remember, dead men tell no tales.
What aspects need to be taken into account before switching to a start-up?
The best course of action for researchers who wish to get into business is to commercialize something they have developed in the lab, primarily through their own hard work. Before jumping into the start-up, the following suggestions should be taken into consideration.
Some blunders made early in this journey can be lethal and are difficult to fix. Therefore, a founder must consider a wide range of factors in order to minimize potential pitfalls. As an academic, do you know the business aspects, and are you aware of the start-up culture? You ought to be aware of legal business structures, capital raising vs. stock dilution, etc.
In reality, breaking new research ground is extremely difficult. Like a research proposal, writing a business plan is a great exercise for founders. A robust and thorough strategy requires survey and analysis because the number of moving components in a company plan is far bigger than in a research proposal.
Most businesses fail because they run out of money rather than their ideas are flawed. Recognize dependencies, set priorities, and have a ballpark estimate of the resources required to be looked into.
While start-ups may not offer the same job security as established firms. Nevertheless, start-ups are desirable workplaces due to their flat organizational structures, improved employee visibility, and employee recognition. To turn your idea into a profitable product, you need a highly productive staff.
Great talent is critical for start-up growth. Hiring the right talent is key to the success of any company. In a start-up setting, you simply don’t have enough time to work with the wrong talent. You can fail even with a great business idea.
Seek assistance and consult an experienced person; doing so can help you avoid mistakes. The quality of a mentor can change your life forever. In fact, the selection of the right incubator can be a way finder.
Since the focus at start-ups is centered on the results, you must always pitch for funding to remain productive.
It may be necessary for you to work longer hours and harder. The work will likely be challenging and time-consuming. So, be ready for it.
Conclusive remarks
Start-up India is a Government flagship initiative to build start-ups and nurture innovations. The start-up ecosystem in India is increasingly watching growth in scientific entrepreneurs and promoting the use of the benefits of science and technology to solve real-world problems and develop businesses. The notion “Publish or Perish” has now been changed to “Sell-out or Get-out”. Scientists need to come out of their cozy environments and think of something innovative and productive. For commercialising research, the government has opened what we call “Science Mandis”. Besides private angel funders, a plethora of government funding agencies are available to buy your idea. A few top funding agencies for innovative research include- Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and JK DST. Despite the fact, that separate funding recourses are available for women entrepreneurs, only 15% of Start-ups are owned by females. The government of India launched ‘Stand-up India’ in 2015 aimed at promoting entrepreneurship among women and helping their start-ups with bank funding. In the end, we should believe that innovation is the most powerful force for change in the world.
Dr. Syed Mudasir Andrabi, Prof. & Head Animal Biotechnology FVSc & AH, SKUAST-K
