I’ve spent over 15 years working in mammalian cell culture labs, so a few years ago, I was happy to transition away from the bench to a more management-oriented role.
Being a people manager is a huge responsibility; you inevitably have a massive impact on the lives and careers of your direct reports - for good or for bad. I also gained a lot of satisfaction from assembling the ideal team; one whose individuals’ strengths and weaknesses complimented each other, so they could achieve goals at maximum efficiency. And so, I wondered whether “returning to the bench” as I start my own company might feel monotonous compared to the new challenges around team management I had been enjoying. I shouldn’t have worried. Today, I get a bit of a thrill whenever I enter my lab; I built this lab and I own the IP I’m generating here! It still feels like this crazy dream I’m living and as a result, something as simple as passaging cells feels really cool. __________ Outside of the lab, here’s what I’m learning from building: 1️⃣ Get your webpage up. Someone told me “Get a landing page up early, even if it’s not the most gorgeous landing page, because you’ll learn a lot based on how people interact with it.” So true - and it has been really motivating to get emails from folks from around the world, keen to eliminate their use of FBS. 2️⃣ Build relationships early. I’ve been in the early-stage startup world for a while; it’s a world where research pivots really fast. Those pivots don’t happen so quickly in academic and other industry labs, so it’s been encouraging to realise that I can and should start conversations with collaborators early. 3️⃣ Old habits die hard. Awareness of the traps you’re predisposed to fall into and a team that holds you accountable is critical. Here are some areas I improved in after holding an executive role at a startup company: ➡️ Spending money as needed to reach research goals ➡️ Owning how capable I am ➡️ Saying no Here are the traps I’m continually reminding myself to avoid now that I’m building my own company: ➡️ Being too frugal ➡️ Hesitating to vocalize big goals to others because I feel insecure ➡️ Spreading myself too thin An embarrassing amount of overlap 🙃 Thankfully, being aware of the traps I’m predisposed to fall into means my community knows what to hold me accountable on. With their help, it won’t be those traps that get me!
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What's been happening?Sharing the Media City journey is important to us because we want to encourage the next generation of scientists to establish companies that will advance scientific research. Check back regularly for the "building in public" updates on what it looks like to establish a scientific company. Archives
September 2024
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