ACCORDING to Chris Evans, a British biotech entrepreneur and venture capitalist who has started some 40 science-based companies, there are three basic elements to being a successful scientist-entrepreneur. First, you should have a sound scientific background, as it helps you to assess which businesses will work and which won鈥檛. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to spend time running around in a white coat,鈥� he says.
Second, you need business sense. 鈥淚 think scientists are better at picking this up than a lot of people,鈥� says Evans. 鈥淲e鈥檙e used to formulae and statistics.鈥� Still, there are some great business courses out there, he says. 鈥淭hey cut the corners for you.鈥�
The third element, he says, is personality. You鈥檝e got to be resourceful, charismatic, shrewd and determined. And you鈥檝e got to be able to inspire others.
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Not everyone agrees with his final requirement, though. Zbynek Sagner, who trained as a computer engineer in the former Czechoslovakia, agrees that his education helped to launch him into business and that he learned the ropes of commerce quite quickly, but says there was 鈥渘othing special鈥� about his personality. 鈥淚 wonder all the time why so few people go into business,鈥� he says.
Sagner adds another important factor: being able to seize the moment. In his case, this was pivotal. The velvet revolution, which overthrew his country鈥檚 Communist government, took place during his final year at uni. When, after graduation, a colleague approached him to go into business selling office equipment, he jumped. 鈥淭he timing for me was almost perfect,鈥� he says, referring to the opportunity to launch a business during a period of positive change in the country. His real break came 18 months later, when he won a contract to network the Czech National Bank, the equivalent of the Bank of England.
Mike Lazaridis, founder of Research in Motion and creator of the BlackBerry, says he is glad he found a course that combined study with work experience. 鈥淕oing back and forth between work and university gives you a whole different view on what you鈥檙e learning, and how it gets applied,鈥� he says.
But while business can bring great wealth, you have to be in it for the long term, warns Evans. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 make a quick buck.鈥� In some ways, he wishes he had known how hard it would be, but he doubts it would have changed much. 鈥淢aking money for yourself and investors while saving lives?鈥� he says. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 get any better than that.鈥�
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