Entrepreneurship

Naresh
Sunkara

Transition from a Scientist to an Entrepreneur

My street credentials: I’ve been a graduate student, a PhD in Organic chemistry from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, a postdoc from the University of California, Berkeley, and transitioned into a fulltime entrepreneur for over a year now. I have also founded the Berkeley Postdoc En...


Ian
Street

On Being Entrepreneurial to Find Your New Career

There are many paths out of academia, and finding one can be surprisingly difficult. There are a few things I might suggest can do to speed the process, things I wish I’d done earlier.


Renda
Hawwa

Starting out in a Startup

Two words that can evoke either feelings of pure excitement or pure fear: Startup Company. Startups are common in the biotechnology world, as there are many brilliant scientists and business savvy people with innovative ideas and plans of how to implement them.


Tom
Ruginis

Six lessons learned while I quit grad school to become an entrepreneur

Life changing decisions do not happen often. They are difficult and will require you to dig deeper into your brain, gut, and soul to find the best path towards your happiness. I was 28 years old in 2008 when I decided that a PhD and a life as a scientist, wasn’t a good fit for Tom Ruginis.It ...


Tom
Ruginis

My parents hate me. Now what?

A continuing blog series of life as an entrepreneur after leaving academia.5 years ago I dropped out of a PhD program in Pharmacology. It was a difficult decision but a smart one. Once the decision was made, outgoing messages began: “Hey, just thought I’d let you know, I’m dropping out of...


Tom
Ruginis

I Will Not Hire You If.....

As a CEO at HappiLabs, I have to manage the growth of the company, which includes hiring. We are only a 5-person company, but we’re growing and, currently, I receive about one resume or inquiry per day. Each resume is guaranteed about 5 seconds of my time, as I do a quick glance to evaluate the...


Hamilton
Lenox

Transitioning to Business Development

While my background is as a chemist, and my first role in industry was as a bench chemist, for the past 13 years, I’ve been handling business development, sales and marketing for a number of different organizations. I am often asked what I think the most difficult part of the transition from th...


Tom
Ruginis

The path to quitting my PhD

It was summer of 2005, the beginning of a PhD program at the University of IL-Chicago. I was grateful for my Student Mentor, Aaron Place, as he taught me the ropes. I was comfortable. Then classes started and I couldn’t stay awake. A dark auditorium and 8am classes?! Doubts began. Will I surviv...


Hamilton
Lenox

Scientist or Businessperson??

My name is Hamilton Lenox, and welcome to my first blog on Bio Careers.  When I was first approached and asked to contribute to the site, I readily agreed, in the hopes that I could potentially offer some insights that will help others who are just starting their careers, or those looking for a...


Judy
Lytle

A Career in Business Development

“Business Development” can mean different things, depending on the position you find yourself in, the company or agency that hires you, the size and mission of the organization, and any number of other factors. As the Director of Business Development for a small non-profit research institute, I ...