Toby Reid, Managing Director – BioCity Group: “How entrepreneurs can accelerate their projects: lessons learned, insights, tools, main mistakes.”
- 1. MOEBIO GRADUATION Toby Reid, BioCity Group
- 2. ● BioCity Nottingham ● MediCity Nottingham ● BioCity Glasgow ● MediCity Scotland ● Biohub INCUBATOR – ACCELERATOR – INVESTOR 40,000m2 250 companies 1,000+ employees 90 companies through Accelerator Programme 91% survival rate at BCN 50+% occupied by companies supported since start BioCity Group
- 3. Can you manufacture successful businesses?Challenge
- 5. Statistic Brain – Startup Business Failure Rate (2017) Top 20 reasons startups fail (2016) Success v Failure Startup Genome Report (2011)
- 6. • Founders with general and domain-specific business knowledge • Develop the right mentoring relationships • Willingness to observe, listen and learn • Balance of technical and business knowledge • Commitment to stay the course and stick with a chosen path • Willingness to adjust, but not constantly adjusting • Implementing “Lean Startup” principles • Raising just enough money in a funding round to hit the next set of key milestones • Lack of focus • Lack of motivation, commitment and passion • Too much pride and arrogance • Lacking good mentorship • Lack of general and domain-specific business knowledge • Raising too much too soon Success Failure
- 7. Top 20 reasons startups fail (2016) Success v Failure
- 8. Product Market Fit Business Model Management Team Top 20 reasons startups fail (2016) Success v Failure
- 9. Management Team Business Model • Product Market Fit 1 2 Success v Failure Success depends on…
- 11. UK University Spin Outs • 72.5% first-time entrepreneurs • 6% serial entrepreneurs; having previously founded 3 or more USOs Enterprise Research Centre, 2015 Study Technology Transfer Offices: • Universities prefer experienced founders/executive leadership • However difficult to recruit talented/experienced entrepreneurs • Lack ability/bandwidth to assess market/investor readiness of technologies BioCity Group, 2017 interviews Management Team Value of Experience
- 12. No Evidence Nuanced Inconclusive Management Team Value of Experience
- 13. Problems • Drawing on experience with only one reference point makes it difficult to extrapolate to other contexts • Serial entrepreneurs can act based on “superstitious comfort” • Serial entrepreneurs are overly-optimistic which may be a barrier to learning • Entrepreneurs with multiple reference points may learn better – especially if they have experienced failure Ucbasaran et al. 2010; 2011 Toft-Kehler, 2010 Management Team Value of Experience
- 14. Ucbasaran et al. 2010; 2011 Toft-Kehler, 2010 The strongest predictor of future success resides in ability of entrepreneur to learn from experience – i.e. Derive insight from knowledge Management Team Value of Experience “ “ Industry experience helps build a network (customers, mentors) that increase likelihood of success “ “
- 15. What does improve the chances of success for the Management Team? • Balanced Founding Team • Participate in an Accelerator (Lean Start-up) • Access to a relevant and connected network • Build entrepreneurial EXPERTISE Based on interviews with BioCity companies 2017 Management Team
- 16. Business Model / Product Market Fit 2
- 17. Business Model Product Market Fit Design ExperimentInsight Test Hypothesis
- 18. WHO? WHY? HOW? Business Model Product Market Fit Value Proposition: Relationships: Key Resources: Key Activities:Strategic Partners: Channels: Revenue Streams:Costs: Customer Segments:
- 19. Business Model Business Model Innovation
- 20. Business Model Business Model Innovation
- 21. What does an investor want to see? Business Model Securing Investment
- 24. Most startups jump from Stage 0 to 2 and then slide backwards …. Startup Growth Phases
- 25. • Balanced Founding Team • Participate in an Accelerator • Access to a relevant and connected network • Experienced advisory board and/or connected Chairman • Maintain flexibility to pivot to larger market need • Recruit top talent • Engage early with potential acquirers • Conduct Customer Discovery • Test ideas and be prepared to pivot • Launch with a Beachhead customer – early revenue generation How do you improve chances of success? Based on interviews with BioCity companies 2017
- 26. Get a balanced team Learn how to listen - Really listen! Get connected Be scientific & cynical Be prepared to run through brick walls Get supported Overvalue experience DO’s: Believe your own hype Test ideas Launch early Get early revenues Be prepared to pivotTrust facts over opinions Confuse raising investment with success BUT DON’T: How do you improve chances of success?
- 27. “Get connected and find true validated product market fit and everything else will get a lot easier”