Life science ‘start-up’ – bootstrapped to funding

In the world of ‘start-ups’ especially in the life science domain, there are various factors that make it attractive or unattractive. For a start up, initial years is all about product development, team building and then followed by massive marketing. A good product if not marketed well is as good as an unknown commodity and hence no one would show interest in it. And then it needs very good ‘differentiators’ to ward off competition not only from the established players but also from ‘me too’ type companies.

To efficiently execute all the above activities might become difficult for a ‘bootstrapped’ start-up. So investors who understand the domain need to step up and support at this stage of the start-up. A flourishing company might be more attractive for an investor but to see a ‘promising’ company reach a higher pedestal with proper strategic and financial investment surely is more gratifying.

Many experts have commented on what investors should look at before investing in a start-up; 1) Team 2) domain 3) Technology etc. Individually, all the above play an important role in the final decision making but there is no simple formula to it. After all, it boils down to the risk taking appetite of the investor. There is another important aspect of the ‘life science’ domain which makes it tricky, which is the possibility of a long gestation period required to turn the business profitable. Having said that; now with the advent of genomics and the newer ‘art’ of data science sprinkled onto it, the 'business of biology' looks far more interesting and predictable with possibly lesser gestation period in this domain. However, there are probably no guarantees in life. A sunshine sector in months or years can become a non-starter and vice versa. Founders are overtly optimistic and investors are overly skeptical, which they should be. It is a question of matching the expectation of the founders and the investors which would lead to a fruitful partnership and a long journey of success!

The road ahead for Life Science PhDs – the industry options

Getting a PhD is always a very big achievement more so if one has received that degree from a prestigious Institution. Many who are interested in pursuing a PhD do so mainly because of love for “science”. There is no better happiness but to see or find something novel during the course of various experiments that one undertakes during this journey. Of course, out of 100 experiments may be 90 would fail but that teaches tremendous level of perseverance and patience. What is not taught in most institutions is the career path that a budding scientist can take!

                                          Image courtesy - itimes.com

Most PhDs go for post doctoral research which is a kind of bridge between getting an academic/industry position and PhD training. Although, it could be the most productive phase of one’s career, many a times that may not be true. Also, being a post doctoral researcher for long not only dents the individual’s morale but also reduces chance of getting a meaningful employment later. So what are the options?

Not everyone can pursue an academic dream so for the rest industry does provide an alternative if one is receptive enough. There are many options a PhD can look at:-

·         Consultancy jobs – Pharma consultancy jobs require good analytical skills and PhDs generally fit the bill perfectly, however, this is a completely different domain and requires new skill sets which many would possess but may not realize till they start working for such organizations.



·         Industry R&D – Here, I think many PhDs would feel comfortable. However, industry research is completely different from the academic one. Stricter timelines and deadlines are the norm. So one has to quickly adjust to the new environment.

 ·         Business Development – This is a domain for those who like presenting or networking with people. Not all PhDs are comfortable in this and therefore before getting into this one has to be clear about the road map. This generally also requires lot of travelling. One has to always achieve and sometimes surpass the ‘targets’ set by the organizations so that becomes a challenge. However, with good support and skills one can achieve the same. Many PhDs who have transitioned into this domain have become very successful.

 ·         Application Scientists – This is also a good domain for people who are technically good and like travelling but are averse to chasing ‘numbers’. Many big organizations like ThermoFisher, Illumina etc. have an army of application scientists. Initially one has to be in the field but slowly one climbs up the ladder and is required to manage the team of scientists.


·         Scientific writing/Editing – For many PhDs who are technically good and love reading /writing and have a good command over English can look at this option. Many companies in India like Cactus communications advertize for editors/sub editors in various fields of life science.



·         Recruitment – Although, this is probably the least favorite among the PhDs but it does provide another job alternative. Many recruitment agencies hire PhDs to scan and analyze multiple CVs they get so that the right person is shortlisted for the right job interviews.



·         IP/Technology Transfer – This is another exciting domain. Although, this requires some experience and few additional courses/skill sets but can be very rewarding both financially and professionally.

There might be other alternatives available to the PhDs. My aim here was not to provide an exhaustive list but to give a glimpse of the avenues present. All of the above options carry their respective pros and cons. So, it is imperative, that an individual first assesses himself before selecting one of the paths. Good luck to all present and budding PhDs

Funding the Indian Life Science start-ups – a perspective

The new ‘start-up’ culture developing in India is a good sign. Investors are getting more interested in this space; however, the investors also need to look beyond the e-commerce space. Many life science based organizations can be a good bet for middle to long run outlook. Life science offers a big arena to potential investors. From drug discovery companies to Bioinformatics organizations looking to disruptive technologies to cater to the ever increasing healthcare needs.  Although life science domain requires a considerably longer gestation period yet there are companies or technologies that can give a quicker return on investment. Investment from a well meaning ‘patient’ investor(s) can be a force multiplier. The idea of an ‘ideal’ investor is not very difficult to fathom. Good investment can really turn around a company faster as compared to, let’ say, if the start-up wanted to scale up through only internal accruals. 

Life Science organizations require highly skilled manpower. The technology used is ever evolving hence there is a big scope for right investment in the right organizations. The chance of ‘fly-by night’ operators in this domain is slim or negligible. With newer breakthroughs in hardware and better understanding of the human genome, smarter drugs, accurate diagnosis-prognosis are all in the realm of reality. Personalized/Precision medicine is the new buzz word which includes not only advances in medicine but also diagnostics, bio-IT, genomics, proteomics etc. Start-up organizations working in all the above mentioned mini-domains ultimately would cater to the ocean of better healthcare. Therefore the success of many of these organizations would depend on how the investor community looks at this space and helps it grow more thereby not only creating jobs but also giving India  the ‘knowledge-edge’ that many of the intellectuals talk about as our strength.

I believe that the start-up revolution in the bioscience space in India has not even started but if nurtured well it has the potential to turn around and give India its next ‘Life Science Google/Alphabet’

Are you only worth your last drawn salary?

What is talent? How do you judge it? Shouldn’t qualification, experience, useful contribution in the past etc. be the yardstick to measure potential in an individual? There is also something called as an ‘inherent’ potential which might not come across directly in the CVs but to a trained talent hunter it becomes pretty apparent, if not in the CV, then surely during the interview! But many a times when one approaches a new job the one thing that is commonly asked is about the person’s last drawn salary. And unfortunately, on this basis, an individual’s pay is decided in the next organization.

Consider this; a salary drawn can be dependent on factors such as the company one works for (start-up or an established company), the role entrusted in previous organization etc. Some companies offer better non-salary perks and higher bonuses, ESOPs etc. which might have a bearing on one’s final payslip. Secondly, in today’s uncertain job market, many people take a plunge and work for start-ups and in many cases sacrifice salary in the expectation that the start-up would one day bloom but as we know many of these companies do not see the end of the day and then the person sometimes become ‘persona non grata’  in the job market.  In today’s uncertain job scenario, people learn, unlearn and relearn various tricks of the trade to become relevant. They take risks and also fail or become unemployed. Should an individual who is unemployed for a while because of volatile job market or the risks that he or she might have taken, make him vulnerable to lesser pay in future organizations? 

Salary should commensurate with knowledge, experience, ability and the sincerity of purpose and not by a dip in one’s career due to the above mentioned points. Good companies do not compromise on talent and give due worth and recognition because as they say ‘You don't build a business --you build people-- and then people build the business”.