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Young researchers who left the academic path to transform their bright ideas into thriving
companies discuss their experiences, and how you can launch your own business.
By Dan Cossins | April 1, 2013
1 Comments

uilding a company from scratch based on nothing more than an ambitious idea is a daunting task
for a young life scientist, but it is also an alternative career path that can be exhilarating,
rewarding, and even lucrative.
Academia doesnt provide the ideal preparation for a foray into the ruthless world of commerce and
industry, and any scientific start-up will find the road to riches strewn with unseen obstacles and failures.
In academia, the path tends to be quite clear, says Caleb Bell, cofounder and CEO of Bell Biosystems, a
Palo Altobased biotech startup. In entrepreneurship, its the opposite. The path is not at all clear, he
says. So you need to be comfortable with uncertainty and not afraid of failure, and then youve just got
to jump in and get on with it.

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Eager to do exactly that, a number of recent PhDs and postdocs have decided that theyd rather try their
luck starting their own company than taking on the traditional tenure track. The Scientist spoke with
three young life scientists who left the world of institutionalized research to create or join start-up
companies and asked them for advice on how to make a successful transition from academia to
entrepreneurship.

Neuroscience Research Techniques

Genetic Research Techniques
Cell Culture Techniques
Microbiology and Immunology
Cancer Research and Technology

TODD HUFFMAN:
Cutting Edge Vision
EDUCATION: BS in neuroscience,
California State University, Long Beach;
MS in bioinformatics, Arizona State University
TITLE: Founder and CEO, 3Scan Inc.
(www.3scan.com)
AGE WHEN FOUNDED COMPANY: 30
Todd Huffman was fascinated by the structural
anatomy of the brain. While studying for a
masters in bioinformatics at Arizona State
University (ASU), Huffman worked on
algorithms for processing microscope-generated
imaging data. As part of his thesis project, he
TODD HUFFMAN
ST EVE 'PAY NIE' PAY NE
started working with Texas A&M Universitys
Bruce McCormick, who at the time was
developing the Knife Edge Scanning Microscope
(KESM)a 3-D scanning optical microscope with a novel, automated serial-sectioning technique for
imaging large-volume tissue samples.

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McCormick passed away in 2007. Later that year, Huffman dropped out of his PhD program at ASU and
traveled to Afghanistan to work as a freelance technology consultant, implementing communications
technologies in conflict zones. I love science and academia, but am more suited to high-stress
operational problems, says Huffman.
When he returned to the U.S. in 2010, Huffman decided that he wanted to continue what his mentor had
started. Bruces vision was an army of robots doing large-scale imaging, Huffman says, and
large-scale projects need the engineering and capital resources of the commercial markets. With money
hed saved in Afghanistan, Huffman licensed the KESM technology from Texas A&M and started his own
company, 3Scan Inc. He was able to negotiate a good deal on the technology because the big
microscopy companies had turned it down.
Huffman spent the rest of his savings on equipment and the salaries of the two engineers he employed
to help optimize the KESM. The team had to operate on a shoestring budget, and be patient, but they
3
3
were able to increase the machines maximum tissue-volume capacity from 1 cm to 125 cm enough to
scan a small primate brain. Then, in March 2012, the San Franciscobased company was awarded a
$350,000 Breakout Labs grant from the Thiel Foundation. That allowed the team to adapt the technology
for fluorescent imaging and expand the range of potential applications to 3-D reconstructions and stain
analyses of large tissue samples such as tumors. It also provided much-needed visibility and credibility,
Huffman says.
A year later, 3Scan has several paying clients and is helping a number of research groups develop
projects and apply for funding to pay for KESM imaging. Things are looking good now, Huffman says.
We have a machine with real capability.

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GINGER ROTHROCK:
Nanoparticle Pioneer
EDUCATION: BS in chemistry,
Furman University; PhD in chemistry,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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TITLE:
Cofounder and senior scientist,
Liquidia Technologies (200511)
(www.liquidia.com)
AGE WHEN COFOUNDED COMPANY: 26
My dad started several companies, so I was
brought up with that you-make-it-happen
attitude, says Ginger Rothrock, and I knew I
didnt want a traditional academic career. So
when she completed her undergraduate degree
in chemistry at South Carolinas Furman
University, Rothrock deliberately sought a PhD
program with a focus on commercial
applications. In 2001, she moved to the
University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill,
where she studied polymer chemistry and
nanofabrication techniques under Joseph
DeSimone, a professor of chemistry with a track
record of entrepreneurship.
DeSimone wanted to start a new company
based on his groups proprietary PRINT (Particle
Replication In Non-wetting Templates)
GINGER ROTHROCK
technologya lithographic nano-molding
technique that fabricates nanoparticles with
precise control over shape, size, chemical composition, and surface functionality. When he asked for
volunteers, Rothrock was the first to raise her hand. Together with several colleagues, they cofounded
Liquidia Technologies in 2004. Rothrock spent the next year finishing her thesis and tackling the myriad
tasks that face a start-up. I didnt sleep much, she says, because at night I was doing market
research, competitive intelligence, business plans, and helping to set up a new lab.
Liquidia quickly secured multimillion-dollar investments and gradually came to focus on the design and
production of precisely engineered micro- and nanoparticles for use in vaccines and other therapies. In
late 2010, the company began its first Phase 1 clinical trial for an experimental flu vaccine developed
in-house. In 2011, it began collaborating with PATH, an international nonprofit health organization, to
help develop the next generation of malaria and pneumococcus vaccines. And last June, Liquidia
announced a licensing deal with GlaxoSmithKline that allows the pharma giant to use the PRINT platform
in conjunction with its own compounds to develop vaccines and inhaled drugs for respiratory diseases.
During her time at Liquidia, Rothrocks responsibilities ran the full gamut, from R&D and project
management to financial strategy, customer relations, and recruitment. I had to learn a whole new set
of skills, she says. In 2011, after almost 7 years with the company, Rothrock left to join RTI
International, a nonprofit R&D organization, where she manages the development of nanotech-enabled
energy and environment projects.

CALEB BELL:
Next-Gen Cell Surveillance
EDUCATION: BS in biochemistry,
Penn State University; PhD in biophysical
chemistry, Stanford University
TITLE: Cofounder and CEO, Bell Biosystems
(www.bellbiosystems.com)
AGE WHEN COFOUNDED COMPANY: 32
Straight out of high school in his native
Philadelphia, Caleb Bell opened a jazz nightclub,
and a deli. The business failed in 1999, and Bell
went to study finance at Penn State University.
But he soon decided to take on something more
interesting: biochemistry. It just grabbed my
brain, he says.
In 2004 Bell joined Ed Solomons lab at Stanford
University to study the structure and function of
iron enzymes. Then, on New Years Eve 2008,
CALEB BELL
Bell came up with an idea, which he hastily
LEI V. LIU/ST ANFORD UNIVERSIT Y
scribbled down on a scrap of paper: What if he
could create a synthetic organelle to serve as a
heritable magnetic tag in cells? Such a tag
would be remotely detectable with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and would therefore allow
scientists to monitor transplanted therapeutic cells, such as stem cells, in vivo. With a technique called
magnetically induced hyperthermia, in which pulsed fields raise the temperature of the magnetic
nanoparticles, researchers could also selectively destroy therapeutic cells if they go awry. I was hooked
on the idea, says Bell, who in 2009 cofounded Bell Biosystems with his younger brother Dan, an
experienced businessman, now the companys chief financial officer.
Bell graduated with a PhD in early 2011 and with just $55,000 set about trying to prove his idea had
legs. We had to be scrappy, says Bell, who lived on food stamps and crashed at friends houses in the
Bay Area as he did experiments in their basements. After just 6 months, however, Bell and his small,
unsalaried team had created a heritable magnetic signature in cells without any genomic manipulation.
By inserting a synthetic organelle, which he calls the magnelle, containing self-assembling magnetic
nanoparticles, the team enabled a cell to be easily tracked via MRI. Its lab grown, but its pretty much a
real-deal organelle, says Bell. We were lucky to get some very positive preliminary data.
In late 2011, the Palo Altobased company received help from StartX, Stanfords start-up incubator,
which provided free office space, advice, and introductions. The following March, Bell Biosystems won a
Thiel Foundation Breakout Labs grant, and late last year the company secured $1.5 million from angel
investors. We have a long, hard road ahead, says Bell. But if all goes according to plan, his company
could take cell therapies from bench curiosity to clinical reality.

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Pick the right PhD or postdoc

If you have entrepreneurial ambitions, deliberately seek out PhD programs and postdoc positions
that encourage commercial applications, or look for academic mentors with a track record of
spinning out companies from their research, says Ginger Rothrock. Researchers usually list
commercial projects or industry ties on their academic Web pages. Ive also had great luck
chatting with technology-transfer offices, says Rothrock. They are often happy to help identify
[entrepreneurially] prolific professors.
Think hard about dropping out
Some of the most famous tech moguls dropped out of higher education to build their companies
and make their fortunes, but that doesnt mean you should. In Silicon Valley, you hear this drop
out mantra all the time, and thats fine in high tech, says Caleb Bell. But in biotech its different.
When I walk into a room of potential investors or scientific collaborators, my PhD gives me an air
of credibility I wouldnt have if Id dropped out.
Bone up on business lingo
Take classes at your universitys business school, says Todd Huffman. Some institutions even run
courses tailored for scientists. Just understanding the jargon and concepts of the business world
can be very useful, says Huffman, who also took several law classes to better understand
intellectual property and patents. It will also put you in contact with MBA students and others
who may want to start a business, connections that can prove useful further down the line.
Place a premium on relationships
One of the most important skills is the ability to create and maintain relationships over a long
period of time, says Huffman. That person you met at a conference in 2008 could end up
becoming a collaborator, or providing some key advice that helps you move forward. At the first
meeting, says Huffman, quickly figure out what they do and how your work could relate to theirs,
now or in the future, then immediately follow up with an e-mail, noting potential opportunities for
collaboration. Putting it into an e-mail means the conversation is saved, says Huffman. Weeks,
months, even years down the line, you can always refer back to that thread, and follow up again.
Polish up your presentation skills
Its vital that you develop the ability to pitch your idea to venture capitalists and other
nonscientists. Its very different from presenting research at an academic conference, says
Rothrock. You want to try to create questions, rather than answer them, says Bell, who learned
about pitching at Stanfords start-up incubator. When I get up in front of a group of investors, my
goal is to leave them with a burning desire to meet me afterwards. To do that, I have to create a
question they cant walk away from.
Consult the critics
Its extremely helpful to build a collection of expert advisors to critique your ideas and help you
avoid making bad decisions. You should take advisors very seriously, says Huffman. If theyve
been through similar situations, they can save you a lot of heartache and extra work. And the
relationships dont have to be formal. Just taking someone for a $3 coffee can be a great
investment, says Rothrock.
Share the load
Surround yourself with smart people as soon as you can, says Rothrock, including partners,
employees, and advisors. In grad school its all about the individual, but in business, and
especially in start-ups, you rely on teams. Looking back, Bell says his business would have grown
more quickly if he had gotten key people onboard faster. We tried to forge ahead alone and
preserve our equity, he says, but every partner we took has positively altered our course.

Correction (April 1): When Caleb Bell graduated with a PhD in early 2011 he had $55,000 to prove his
idea had legs, not $50,000, as previously stated. Also, Bell's comment about his synthetic organelle
should have read, "It's lab grown but it's pretty much a real-deal organelle." On both counts, the text
has been changed for accuracy. The Scientist regrets the errors.
Correction (April 1): 3Scan's Knife Edge Scanning Microscope (KESM) is a 3-D scanning optical
microscope, not a 3-D scanning electron microscope, as previously stated. The text has been changed to
reflect this. The Scientist regrets the error.

synthetic biology, R&D, pharma, nanoparticle, MRI scanning, MRI, imaging, entrepreneurs, electron
microscopy, careers, biotech and alternative careers
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April 9, 2013

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Start It Up | The Scientist Magazine

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Because few scientists will ever make it to that golden academic position,
and because many large companies are no longer hiring for the
development of internal R&D but are acquiring it, start-ups have evolved
as the new generators of the majority of future R&D. So Students, any
potential stigma generated by your faculty "mentors" of a person wasting
his or her life by heading in that direction is immediately countered by the
current job situation. Young and old alike need to take a long, sober look
at what the start-up world has to offer. Everyone needs to wake up to the
new normal regarding career options. It's academia that is the real
"alternative" now.

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Posts: 57

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