When it comes to life science recruitment during a very strong period for medical businesses in the UK, there are a lot of options for ambitious, hard-working graduates. These include large establishments, smaller specialist firms and a growing wave of startups.
Innovation, technology and disruptive thinking are at the core of startup businesses in general, but in the life sciences sector, this needs to be backed up by extensive research and a collaborative approach to your ideas and technology.
Here are some top tips when setting up or working for a startup in the life sciences sector, with examples of both successful and less successful firms.
The first step of nearly all startups, particularly those that use lean methodology is to identify needs in a particular sector that have not been met. This was the case with many famous startup successes such as Airbnb and Uber.
However, with questions as complex as those found in the healthcare world, it is also important to ask why these issues have not been solved yet, and do thorough research into currently used solutions for the problem that has been identified.
It may turn out that a solution is already in place and would thus require a demonstrably better product to disrupt the current market, or that there are current technological or knowledge gaps that make the proposed solution impossible to implement.
Take, for example, OrCam, a startup that uses smart camera technology to describe to people with visual impairments what they are unable to see, reading information and describing it through audio feedback.
One of the biggest mistakes made in the life science startup world is not necessarily a lack of understanding or knowledge of a business, but an unwillingness to learn, listen and have assumptions tested.
Curiosity is a huge virtue of startups and allows them to tailor their solutions for the needs of the healthcare market, as opposed to making assumptions of what people want.
This was one of the primary causes for the failure and subsequent criminal trial against the blood-testing firm Theranos.
Elizabeth Holmes, its CEO and founder attempted to treat MedTech with a similar approach Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook and Steve Jobs took to Apple, where ideas and ambition are more important than current feasibility.
This led to her making promises that could not be kept due to not understanding the technology involved, which in combination with a willingness to lie and defraud led to the company collapsing and Ms Holmes facing criminal charges.
Tech startups often operate with the principle of “move fast and break things”. This was Facebook’s former model until 2014 and whilst it can sometimes net early results in the technology and software sectors, life science works in a very different way.
For example, do not focus on marketing medical products to consumers. Not only can this break MHRA advertising guidelines for prescription medicines and devices, but misses that the majority of customers interact with healthcare through the NHS, private healthcare providers and healthcare insurance.
Instead, focus on the needs not only of patients but also of doctors, clinical commissioning groups and other stakeholders.