The rule was simple — present your entire Ph.D. work in 3 minutes. “That’s crazy”, I thought. But I love a challenge. A few weeks later I did it in 2 minutes and 47 seconds. I was surprised at how much I was able to communicate in less than 3 minutes. This was the annual ‘3 Minutes to Change the World’ competition held at McGill, and I was one of 12 graduate students selected to present.
This was my first time ‘pitching’ to non-scientists. Prior to that, most of my presentations were at scientific conferences where we all spoke the same lingo. The challenge for me was not only the time constraint, it was how to deliver scientific concepts in a simple manner while keeping the audience engaged. Since then, I have pitched countless times to investors, executives, industry leaders, academics, and government officials. …
The journey of a CEO and Co-founder
“You are paying a hefty price — why are you doing this?”
I sat at my new desk and I pondered how lucky I was to get this job. I had decided not to pursue a career in academia, and refused to under-sell myself for a low paying industry job. Not too long after completing my PhD, I landed my first ‘real’ job as a project manager and innovation lead at a renowned children’s hospital. I considered it a success by all measures.
Fast-forward 2 years, a latent entrepreneurial desire came back to life. I always felt a strong desire to start a company with a vision of building something massive. …
Thoughts on how the pandemic will shape work and education
I think many are over-exaggerating the permanent societal change that will take place post-Covid19. Many are predicting increased remote work and the death of the traditional office. Others are claiming online learning as the new pedagogical norm. While there is some truth to those predictions, the reality will most likely be a hybrid of how things were, and how things currently are under the lock-down.
The Future of Work
Almost everyone I speak to wants to go back to pre-Covid ‘normal’. This pandemic has revealed to us all the things we have been taking for granted; a non-eventful trip to the grocery store, a coffee with a friend or even blowing out the candles on your birthday cake before sharing it with friends and family! As humans we crave meaningful relationships and social interactions. While we have been more connected online, research has shown that virtual connection does not replace face to face social interactions. For example, social media has failed to make us feel more connected; in fact, studies have demonstrated a link between time spent on social media and increased mental health conditions. Video chats/Zoom parties are not any better. Psychologists have recently raised concerns over a phenomenon colloquially known as ‘Zoom Fatigue’. …
Entrepreneurial Wisdom from Kahlil Gibran
This is the beginning of a series, where I hope to uncover entrepreneurial wisdom from literary passages written by renowned authors.
Today, we dig for entrepreneurial wisdom in Kahlil Gibran’s parable ‘The Eye’ found in his book, The Madman.
“Said the Eye one day, “I see beyond these valleys a mountain veiled with blue mist. Is it not beautiful?” The Ear listened, and after listening intently awhile, said, “But where is any mountain? I do not hear.” Then the Hand spoke and said, “I am trying in vain to feel it or touch it, and I can find no mountain.” And the Nose said, “There is no mountain, I cannot smell it.” Then the Eye turned the other way, and they all began to talk together about the Eye’s strange delusion. …
Almost three years in the startup world, especially in the deep-tech space, has been quite the roller coaster ride. It has also been packed with valuable experiences. In this article I will share some lessons learned along the way, which I hope will be useful for prospective tech entrepreneurs.
Validation First
Entrepreneurs are dreamers. We dream of a future improved by our ideas, and we work hard to make them a reality. This desire to ‘disrupt’ the status quo and impart change is inherent in all entrepreneurs.
However, dreaming without an objective mindset could, more often than not, lead to tunnel vision, and ultimately failure. Even dreams need to be measured up against the cold reality of the market. Sometimes that means the market is not ready for the solution, or the need is not as pronounced as you thought, or the barriers to entry are high, etc… Did you know that the number 1 reason startups fail is because there is no real market need for the solution? …
Make an Informed Decision.
I don’t regret doing a PhD, but I do regret not having a clear sense of what I wanted to do next. I had vague ideas of ‘I will get an industry job after’, and ‘I will be graduating from a top ranking university, so I will be set’. I discovered later that I was not alone; many other PhD candidates were also unsure about their career paths, and even those who started with one conviction, ended up changing their mind. In one study it was shown that only 60% of new PhD graduates in STEM had a plan for post-graduation. …
What is the goal of scientific research? Simply put, it is either discovery, understanding or innovation. Basic scientists are concerned with the first two, discovery and understanding, while applied scientists are focused on innovation. What is innovation then? it is the development and implementation of new products, services or processes that add value to end-users and generate wealth for the organization. Based on that definition, it becomes clear that the mission of applied scientists is to identify real needs and create commercially viable solutions. Innovation = invention x commercialization as Bill Aulet, a professor of entrepreneurship at MIT, would say.
Sounds simple, yet this is not what currently happens in most Canadian universities. A recent report by AUTM showed that the total expenditure on scientific research in Canadian academic institutions was $5.7 billion in 2017. During the same year, Canadian academic institutions generated $75 million in gross income from licensing agreements. That is a mere 1.3% of the research expenditure! The USA is 3.5 times better than Canada in creating wealth from research expenditure at 4.5%. Moreover, Canada’s global ranking in innovation has been dropping! In 2018, Canada came 22nd in the Bloomberg innovation index ranking, and was one of two G7 countries that were not considered “top tier” in innovation. We have not been doing any better in the past either. …
A PhD is fertile grounds for a successful entrepreneur. Yes, yes, I hear you. You are not a “business person”. But wait a second, a lot of those business skills can be acquired. You might even have some of them already, hidden deep under that pile of publications. Ready to wiggle yourself out of academia and into entrepreneurship? Here are 5 traits that will be of tremendous help to you in this transition.
Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s alone. No data was collected from others, no regression analysis was done, no neural network was used, and no scientific references were made (apologies to fellow scientists). …
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