Entrepreneurship

Abstract

High-tech businesses are the driving force behind global knowledge-based economies. Academic institutions have positioned themselves to serve the high-tech industry through consulting, licensing, and university spinoffs. The awareness of commercialization strategies and building an entrepreneurial culture can help academics to efficiently transfer their inventions to the market to achieve the maximum value. Here, the concept of high-tech entrepreneurship is discussed from lab to market in technology-intensive sectors such as nanotechnology, photonics, and biotechnology, specifically in the context of lab-on-a-chip devices. This article provides strategies for choosing a commercialization approach, financing a startup, marketing a product, and planning an exit. Common reasons for startup company failures are discussed and guidelines to overcome these challenges are suggested. The discussion is supplemented with case studies of successful and failed companies. Identifying a market need, assembling a motivated management team, managing resources, and obtaining experienced mentors lead to a successful exit.

Additional Information

© 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Received 26th May 2015, Accepted 22nd July 2015, First published online 06 Aug 2015. Author contributions: A. K. Y. designed the project and wrote the manuscript. L. R. V. contributed to Commercialization Strategies, Marketing and Sales, Reasons for Startup Failure, and A. F. C. contributed to Financing and Funding Sources. S. H. Y, L. R. V., and A. K. made intellectual contributions and edited the manuscript. We thank Mark Gilligan, Holger Becker, David Erickson, S. Roopom Banerjee, Richard McCullough, and Lita L. Nelsen for discussions.

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Published - Yetisen_2015p3638.pdf

Supplemental Material - c5lc00577a1_si.pdf

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