Jeremy Kaplan
Many people believe that there’s no more room for new businesses in the field of science. They think that it’s not that vast a business world. But they’d be wrong. Science is an industry, just like most everything else. And as an industry, there always seems to be room for another business. As long as it’s profitable, of course!
The problem is that getting a biotechnology business started up can seem much more complex that setting up a different sort of business. And it’s true that you may have to work a little harder to justify your existence. But it’s not true that starting one up is basically impossible.
How scientific are you?
One of the reasons people have these sorts of images about this arena is because of the supposed complexity of biotechnology. When people think “science”, their mind often boggles. They think immediately of people much smarter than they. And yet most of us are fascinated by it. Some are fascinated enough to start a business in the field. Well, while a science degree will definitely help that entrepreneur, it’s not actually a necessity.
Considering science and business
This article is based on the starting of a biotechnology business. Biotechnology business, as one term. But you need to remember that that one term is made up of two fields. Biotechnology and business. Learn to separate them if you want to succeed in this area! One can’t expect to go very far without thinking about both of these things in great detail. Often, a science business can be started with two people; one with the business brains, and one with the science brains.
What exactly do you want to do?
We’re all fascinated by term biotechnology, but it’s not really enough to want to start a biotechnology business. You need to decide what it is your biotechnology business is going to do. You may want to invent new biotech that will help disabled people move more freely again. You may want to start a research institute that provides biological data for other companies.
The right equipment
A lot of the time, it’s the necessary equipment that really scares people off. But you needn’t spend millions on an industrial lab in order to start a biotechnology business. If you have an idea and some people willing to help, you could potentially start with high school level lab equipment! Of course, once you expand you would need to look into more items. What you need will depend largely on what you do. But there are basic items that most pursuits will require. For example, you’ll probably be dealing with biological elements, so cleanroom apparel is a must!
Funding
And here’s where the similarities between biotech businesses and other businesses become apparent. At the end of the day, a science startup will need to go through a funding process in much the same way as other startups. It will be argued by some that this could be a more difficult process in the field of biotechnology. And that could be true. But remember that even science startups can take to Kickstarter if they need to! If you have a biotech invention that will help the lives of others, then you’re more likely to find success in crowdfunding.
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