Beyond pre-accelerator helps inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs to develop products and services with global impact. Some of our top scientific startups are Kelvin Health, Amira Meditech (AskTheCP), TOM & SmartMicrobiome. Based on our collaboration with dozens of scientists, PhDs and professors for the last 5 years, we have decided to describe in the following article what makes the difference between successful science innovations and the rest. What are the biggest traps for science innovators?
Fear of sharing
Most science innovators worry about their intellectual property or copyright. That’s why they prefer not to share details about their research or invention when they present it to someone. This way, their presentations sound too abstract and unclear for non-experts and investors. As a result, no one is interested in collaboration or investments. Successful inventors pitch their work to everyone, and usually in detail. This way, they attract people and explore new opportunities for future collaborations.
R&D obsessed
It is normal that science innovators are more interested and focused on the research and development of the product, but actually, it is not enough to create a successful innovation. Even if they develop something valuable for people and society, it is highly possible not to reach the expected effect. That’s why science innovators should dedicate time to understand better the needs and problems of their potential customers, in order to deliver more meaningful, practical and useful inventions. The other aspect is business –without clear business logic, almost no one will invest money in R&D only. Investors, Business angels, Grants want sustainable science, which means inventions that make money and can operate on their own afterwards.
Solo players
To develop a startup business, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, scientists need to attract people with business skills to their teams. Each invention needs sales, marketing and IT people to grow, but not limited to these experts only. Usually, this point is a case for science innovators, because science is usually a lonely discipline. Even working with other scientists, these teams are small, closed groups which often communicate hard with the rest of the world. The statistics shows scientists that develop diverse teams have a 300% higher chance of success.
Fixed mindset
Scientists are smart people with a deep understanding of their field of research. But sometimes they trust only their own know-how, skills and area of research, so they can underestimate other perspectives on the development of their invention. Usually, this happens when the perspective/idea is shared by anon-scientific person. So, here again, people with an open mindset win and have bigger chances for success in the end, developing inventions that can be more reliable, efficient and cheaper.
Inconclusion, science innovators have a great chance to make the world a better place. But the one who will achieve it are those who are ready to cooperate and find business logic. In order to go through the traps of science innovators, you can join a pre-acceleration program to meet like-minded people, professionals with different skills and gain know-how about the startup innovation ecosystem from the spring.
