Chemistry Entrepreneurship

Javier García-Martínez is the founder of Rive Technology, Inc. in Boston, USA, a spin-off from MIT , and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and the director of the Molecular Nanotechnology Lab at the University of Alicante, Spain. Since 2011 he is a member of the Bureau of IUPAC and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. His work has been honored with the European Young Chemist Award in 2006, MIT's Technology Review Award (TR35) in 2007, and by the World Economic Forum, which selected him as a Young Global Leader in 2009. Professor García-Martínez has published extensively in the areas of nanomaterials, catalysis, and energy, and also has over 25 patents to his name. Kunhao Li is a Project Leader at Rive Technology, Inc. since 2008. He has been heavily involved in the improvement of Rive's core technology in zeolite mesostructuring processes, zeolites and catalysts characterization, testing, and evaluation, as well as extension of application areas of mesostructured zeolites to chemical separations and other catalytic processes. He obtained PhD in chemistry at The George Washington University and did postdoctoral research at Rutgers University. His research work has resulted in many publications in the form of original papers and reviews, book chapters, technical reports, patent applications, and patents.

• Foreword xvPreface xvii1 We Need An Entrepreneurial Culture in Chemistry: Do You Have What It Takes to be a Chemistry Entrepreneur? 1Frank L. Jaksch1.1 Introduction: Disruptive Innovation in Chemistry is in High Demand 11.2 Examples of Innovation in Chemistry Catching the Eye of the Mainstream Market 21.2.1 Food and Nutrition 21.2.1.1 Just (formerly Hampton Creek) 21.2.1.2 Impossible Foods 21.2.1.3 Perfect Day 21.2.1.4 Endless West (formerly Ava Winery) 31.2.2 Sustainable/Renewable Chemistry 31.2.2.1 Ginkgo Bioworks 31.2.2.2 Modern Meadow 31.2.2.3 Genomatica 31.2.2.4 Zymergen 31.2.3 Biotech/Pharma 31.2.3.1 Moderna Therapeutics 41.2.3.2 Unity Biotechnology 41.2.3.3 CRISPR Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics, and Editas Medicine 41.2.4 Diagnostics 41.2.4.1 23andme 51.2.4.2 Grail Diagnostics 51.2.4.3 Viome 51.2.5 Cautionary Tales 51.2.5.1 Theranos 51.2.5.2 Solazyme (TerraVia) 61.3 Unique Challenges for Chemistry Entrepreneurs 61.3.1 The Most Important Trait of Every Chemical Entrepreneur 71.3.2 Chemistry Accelerators, Incubators, and Academic Spin-offs 91.3.3 Do Something, do Anything, even if it is Wrong 101.3.3.1 Penicillin 101.3.3.2 Post-It 111.3.3.3 Saccharin 111.3.3.4 Teflon 111.3.3.5 Viagra 121.3.4 You have your Discovery; now you need a Patent 131.3.4.1 Provisional Patent 131.3.4.2 Patent Application 131.3.4.3 Patent Prosecution 131.3.4.4 Structure of the Patent Claims 131.3.4.5 Patent Search and Prior Art 131.3.4.6 Publishing Before Patenting 141.3.4.7 PCT International Patent 141.3.4.8 Protectable Patent Value 141.3.4.9 Selecting the Wrong Lawyer for the Job 141.4 Invention is Only the Beginning of Creating a Company 151.4.1 Know your Role: Founding CEO vs. Founder vs. Inventor 161.4.2 Raising Money: Acquiring the Right Money at the Right Time 171.4.2.1 Self-funding 181.4.2.2 Friends and Family 181.4.2.3 Angel Investors 181.4.2.4 Accelerators and Incubators 181.4.2.5 Debt 181.4.2.6 Strategic Investment 191.4.2.7 Private Equity 191.4.2.8 Venture Capital 191.4.2.9 Investment Banks 201.4.3 Can you get the idea for Commercialization? 211.4.4 When you are Ready to Commercialize, which path do you take? 221.4.4.1 Licensing Deal 221.4.4.2 Business-to-Business (B2B) 231.4.4.3 Business-to-Consumer (B2C) 231.5 Do you have the Traits of an Entrepreneur? 241.6 Summary: Do You Have What It Takes? 28Recommended Readings and References 30Author Biography 302 Taking Ideas Out of the Lab: Why and When to Start a Company in the Biomedical Field 33Miguel Jimenez, Jason Fuller, Paulina Hill, and Robert Langer2.1 Introduction 332.2 Company Case Studies: Interviews with the Founding Scientists 342.2.1 Advanced Inhalation Research: Interview with David Edwards 342.2.1.1 Core Technology 342.2.1.2 What was the Key Problem and Initial Idea that Sparked the Work? 342.2.1.3 Why was it Important to Start Advanced Inhalation Research? 352.2.1.4 When was the Technology Ready to Start Advanced Inhalation Research? 352.2.1.5 What Lessons Did You Learn Through This Process? 352.2.1.6 Current Status 352.2.2 Kala Pharmaceuticals: Interview with Justin Hanes 362.2.2.1 Core Technology 362.2.2.2 What was the Key Problem and Initial Idea that Sparked the Work? 362.2.2.3 Why was it Important to Start Kala Pharmaceuticals? 362.2.2.4 When was the Technology Ready to Start Kala Pharmaceuticals? 362.2.2.5 What Lessons Did You Learn Through This Process? 372.2.2.6 Current Status 372.2.3 Moderna: Interview with Derrick Rossi 372.2.3.1 Core Technology 372.2.3.2 What was the Key Problem and Initial Idea that Sparked the Work? 372.2.3.3 Why was it Important to Start Moderna? 382.2.3.4 When was the Technology Ready to Start Moderna? 382.2.3.5 What Lessons Did You Learn Through This Process? 382.2.3.6 Current Status 382.2.4 Sigilon Therapeutics: Interview with Arturo Vegas 382.2.4.1 Core Technology 392.2.4.2 What was the Key Problem and Initial Idea that Sparked the Work? 392.2.4.3 Why was it Important to Start Sigilon? 392.2.4.4 When was the Technology Ready to Start Sigilon? 392.2.4.5 What Lessons Did You Learn Through This Process? 402.2.4.6 Current Status 402.2.5 Suono Bio: Interview with Carl Schoellhammer 402.2.5.1 Core Technology 402.2.5.2 What was the Key Problem and Initial Idea that Sparked the Work? 402.2.5.3 Why was it Important to Start Suono Bio? 402.2.5.4 When was the Technology Ready to Start Suono Bio? 412.2.5.5 What Lessons Did You Learn Through This Process? 412.2.5.6 Current Status 412.2.6 Vivtex: Interview with Thomas von Erlach 412.2.6.1 Core Technology 412.2.6.2 What was the Key Problem and Initial Idea that Sparked the Work? 412.2.6.3 Why was it Important to Start Vivtex? 422.2.6.4 When was the Technology Ready to Vivtex? 422.2.6.5 What Lessons Did You Learn Through This Process? 422.2.6.6 Current Status 422.3 Why Start a Company? 432.3.1 To Have the Largest Impact on Patients 432.3.2 To Introduce a New Platform Technology 442.3.3 Is Licensing an Alternative? 452.3.3.1 Licensing to Existing Companies 462.3.3.2 Corporate-sponsored Academic Research 462.4 When to Start a Company? 472.4.1 Is There Enough In Vivo Validation? 472.4.2 Was a Patent Filed? 482.4.3 Was a Paper Published? 492.5 The Secret Ingredient: Who and What? 512.5.1 Who Will Start the Company? 512.5.1.1 Seasoned Mentors as Co-founders 522.5.1.2 Finding a Great CEO 522.5.2 What Will the Company Actually Sell? 532.6 Summary: Lessons Learned 542.6.1 Lesson 1: Work on a High-impact, Platform Technology 542.6.2 Lesson 2: Patent Early and Broadly 542.6.3 Lesson 3: Keep the Tech in the Lab as Long as Possible 552.6.4 Lesson 4: Must have in vivo Efficacy and Safety 552.6.5 Lesson 5: Publish in Top Scientific Journals 552.6.6 Lesson 6: Partner with Seasoned Entrepreneurs 55Further Reading 57Author Biographies 583 In Pursuit of New Product Opportunities: Transferring Technology from Lab to Market 61Alex Duchak3.1 Introduction 613.1.1 Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer 613.1.2 Pursuing Commercial Product/Service Opportunities via Technology Transfer 633.1.3 A Model for Entrepreneurship via Technology Transfer 653.1.4 Extracting Technologies from Research Institutions 683.2 Technology Discovery and Development 693.2.1 Origins of Technology 693.2.2 Technology Transfer Communication Models 703.2.3 Transitioning Technologies into Products 703.2.4 Timing Technology with Industry Acceptance 733.3 Customer Discovery and Development 763.3.1 Origins of Market Demand and Unmet Needs 763.3.2 Identifying a Technology’s Uses 773.3.3 The Value Chain for Target Applications 773.3.4 Identifying Stakeholders in the Value Chain 783.3.5 Designing Product Experiments 823.3.6 Customer Discovery and Validation Model 833.3.6.1 Customer Routines Analysis 853.4 Case Study: The Naval Research Laboratory’s Self-Decontaminating Material 893.4.1 The Challenge 903.4.2 The Scientist 903.4.3 The Problem 903.4.4 The Solution 903.4.5 The Future of the Technology and Future Applications 913.4.6 Technology Background and Advantages 913.4.7 Benefits 923.4.8 Problem 923.4.9 Technical Approach 933.4.10 Solution 933.4.11 Industrial Safety and Hygiene 963.4.12 Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals 973.4.13 First Response 98Suggested Reading and Resources 101Author Biography 1014 Financing and Business Development for Hard Tech Startups 103Bernard Lupien and Andrew Dougherty4.1 Introduction 1034.2 Challenges in Financing Hard Tech Startups 1044.2.1 Balancing Ambition with Reality 1044.2.2 Hard Tech Sure Is Not Software 1044.2.3 Hard Tech Investors Are a Skeptical Bunch 1054.2.4 What Do You Mean I Will Not Exit for $1B? 1054.2.5 Hard Tech Fundraising Dissonance 1064.3 Fundraising the Right Way 1084.3.1 What Kind of Investors Should You Raise from? 1084.3.1.1 Friends and Family 1094.3.1.2 Angels 1094.3.1.3 Early-Stage Institutional Venture Capitalists 1104.3.1.4 Late-Stage Institutional Venture Capitalists 1104.3.1.5 Corporate Venture Capital 1114.3.2 Venture Capital Uncovered 1124.3.2.1 Fund Life 1124.3.2.2 Return the Fund 1124.3.2.3 The Mythical 10× and Why It Is Important to You 1134.3.3 How to Generate Interest from Investors? 1144.3.3.1 Team 1154.3.3.2 Differentiated Technology and Customer Value Proposition 1154.3.3.3 Large Target Market 1154.3.3.4 Compelling Plan to Build a Business 1164.4 The Case for Early-Stage Business Development 1194.4.1.1 Playbook for Early-Stage Business Development 1214.4.1.2 Getting Started 1214.4.1.3 Getting to the Finish Line 1224.4.1.4 Avoiding Common Pitfalls 1234.5 Summary 125Suggested Reading 128Author Biographies 1285 Battery Entrepreneurship: Gameboard from Lab to Market 129Elena V. Timofeeva, John P. Katsoudas, Carlo U. Segre, Alex Duchak, and Thomas Day5.1 Introduction 1295.2 Finding a Market Fit for Your Technology 1315.3 Energy Storage Markets 1335.3.1 Portable Electronics, Drones, and Medical Devices 1345.3.2 Grid Energy Storage and Renewable Energy 1345.3.3 Industrial Batteries and Back-up Power 1365.3.4 Home Energy Storage 1365.3.5 Electric Vehicles 1375.3.5.1 Passenger Cars 1375.3.5.2 Light Electric Utility Vehicles 1375.3.5.3 Heavy-duty Utility Vehicles, Trucks, and Buses 1385.3.6 Other Nascent Energy Storage Markets 1385.3.7 Airplanes 1385.3.8 Ships and Boats 1395.4 Battery Startup Case Studies 1395.4.1 Boston Power 1405.4.2 A123 Systems 1415.4.3 Aquion Energy 1435.4.4 Tesla 1445.4.5 Fluidic Energy 1455.4.6 Envia Systems 1465.4.7 Alevo 1475.4.8 SiNode/Nanograf 1485.4.9 Sakti3 1495.4.10 Cadenza Innovation 1505.4.11 24M Technologies 1515.5 Lessons Learned from the Case Studies 1525.5.1 Market Challenges 1525.5.2 Technical Challenges 1535.5.3 Financial Challenges 1545.5.4 Team Challenges 1545.6 Strategies for Startups and Academic Inventors 1545.6.1 Funding Strategy 1555.6.2 Strategic Partnerships 1585.6.3 Intellectual Property (IP) Management Strategy 1595.6.4 Technology Licensing 1625.6.5 Press Relations (PR) and Marketing Strategies 1625.7 Summary 163Further Reading 165Author Biographies 1656 Growing a Business in the Chemical Industry 169Michael Lefenfeld6.1 Introduction 1696.2 Strategic Market Segmentation 1726.2.1 Do I Have a Solution to an Existing Problem or a Solution Looking for a Problem? 1736.2.2 A Solution Looking for a Problem 1746.2.3 A Problem Looking for a Solution 1756.2.4 The Opportunity Matrix: A Roadmap for Scaling a Chemical Business 1776.2.5 Find the Right Niche 1806.2.6 Sometimes a Pivot Strategy Can Work 1826.2.7 Select the Best Path to Market 1836.2.8 Licensing vs. Manufacturing 1846.2.9 Strategic Market Assessment 1866.3 Building Economies of Scale 1896.3.1 Gaining Customer Traction 1906.3.2 Customer Testimonials 1916.3.3 Pricing Models 1916.3.4 Market Entry and Initial Sales 1926.3.5 Focus on Measured Growth 1936.3.6 Direct Sales vs. Distributors 1936.3.7 Testing and Pivoting 1946.4 Growing to Commercial Scale 1966.4.1 Best Practices 1966.4.2 Financing 1976.4.3 Growth Constraints 1996.4.4 Primary and Secondary Markets 1996.4.5 Insource vs. Outsource 2006.4.6 Growing Too Fast 2016.4.7 Hidden Landmines 2036.4.8 Overcoming Competitive Threats 2036.4.9 Case Study 2056.4.9.1 ActiveEOR for the CHOPS Oil Sector 2056.4.9.2 New Market Strategy 2066.4.9.3 Introducing a New Chemical to the Oil Market 2066.4.9.4 Proof of Concept 2076.5 Summary 208Suggested Reading 211Author Biography 2117 New Models to Foster Big Pharma and Chemistry Entrepreneurship 213Antonio Gómez7.1 Introduction 2137.2 Setting the Stage 2147.3 Big Pharma and the Open Innovation Model 2167.3.1 Universities/Research Institutions 2187.3.2 Biotech Companies 2197.3.3 Venture Capital 2197.3.4 Patient Associations and Charities 2207.3.5 Public Administrations 2217.3.6 Contract Research Organizations (CROs) 2217.4 Considerations for Would-Be Entrepreneurs 2227.4.1 General Reflections on Collaborations with Big Pharma (the How) 2227.4.2 Areas of Collaboration Between Chemical Companies and Big Pharma (the What) 2257.4.2.1 Compound Providers: Custom Synthesis 2257.4.2.2 Medicinal Chemistry-Based Biotechs 2287.4.2.3 Cheminformatics-Based Startups 2287.4.2.4 Getting Information from X-ray Diffraction Studies 2297.4.2.5 Other Areas 2307.4.3 Getting in Touch (the Where) 2317.5 Novel Business Models 2327.6 Case Study: JJI and the I2D2 Initiative 2357.7 Summary 237Author Biography 2408 The Economic Need for Chemically Based Start-Up Companies 241Daniel Daly8.1 Introduction 2418.2 Promising Programs 2448.2.1 NSF’s I-Corps (Innovation Corps) Program 2448.2.2 I-Corps Teams or National Cohorts 2468.2.3 I-Corps Sites 2498.2.4 I-Corps Nodes 2498.2.5 Case Study 2498.2.6 Non-dilutive Funding Opportunities 2508.2.7 Angel Funding: Dilutive Funding 2528.2.8 Accelerators 2528.3 Other Potential Programs 2538.3.1 Case Studies 2568.3.1.1 Evotec 2568.3.1.2 CatSci 2568.3.2 Agile Innovation Teams 2578.3.3 Case Studies 2578.3.3.1 525 Solutions, Inc. 2578.3.3.2 ThruPore Technologies 2598.4 Summary 260Recommended Reading 262Author Biography 262Index 263