The event opened with an introduction to Science Creates ↗, SCVC, and the only UK-wide equity-free accelerator program dedicated to Engineering Biology, delivered in partnership with UKRI. It is an incredibly interesting opportunity for UK-based aspiring entrepreneurs, as the fully funded program offers support at all stages of the founder's journey.

The support includes guidance on:

• How to advance your tech,
• Team building, on how to create a well-functioning company ecosystem,
• Leadership, on elevating your capabilities as a founder with psychology experts.
• Investment. provided by a network of experienced entrepreneurs, venture builders, and internationally renowned VC partners.
• Grant funding, on identifying and successfully applying for grants.

This was followed by the Imperial College London “Founder’s Choice” program representative, who presented another for aspiring founders. The program offered by Imperial welcomes researchers interested in commercializing their ideas from both inside and outside of Imperial College. Some of the highlights of the “Founder’s Choice” program include transparent and easily accessible agreements and licenses, which fuel the streamlining process of the startup setup across a cross-section of business ventures. If you would like to know more about Imperial’s “Founder’s Choice” program, please visit their website ↗.

The event also featured a panel discussion with Dr Alicia Graham (CEO and Co-Founder of MadeSweetly), Jia Lin Yong (Investor, Giant Ventures), Dr Tom Turner (Partner, Abel & Imray) and Julia Hawkins (General Partner, LocalGlobe & Latitude).

Some of the most impactful questions and answers included:

What would be your advice for someone in the early stages of thinking of setting up the company ?

“Think about what is your edge; Why am I thinking about this? What is this field that I am proposing to work on? Why this? Why here? Why now? If you can answer those questions it will put you in a great position to articulate your idea to back yourself” – Julia Hawkins

“You will never learn everything on your own – join a community and learn from others by joining accelerators and other opportunities so you can have the community to make more informed decisions” – Alicia Graham

“Think about what IP you have and who owns it – make sure its straightened out in the early stage. Make sure you document your discoveries well” – Tom Turner

“Surround yourself with other founders who are already further in their company set up stages” – Jia Lin Yong

What are the traits that make a strong founder ?

“Someone open to new ideas, criticism, change, and who has the ability to adapt and learn constantly.” – Alicia Graham

“Speed is everything; you can't always be perfect. You have to be resilient – possess the ability to push through adversities.” – Jia Lin Yong

“Ability to delegate well and know when to and how to.” – Tom Turner

“Ability to learn well at speed and how able are you to translate what you learned into the real world – you will not know the answers to all the questions when it comes to company building.” – Julia Hawkins

When is the right time to start a company ?

“When you have a burning feeling that makes you feel like if you don’t do this you will be making a mistake of not living your life to the fullest. If you don’t have that feeling – don’t bother.” – Julia Hawkins

“There is never a perfect time, so if you wanna do it – do it. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Just go for it.” – Alicia Graham

Why should you do it, and what's good about failing ?

“I was terrified. And that’s why I waited longer than I should have. However, I realised that the cost of not doing it was higher than not trying. You will not fail 100% when you don’t achieve 100% of what you expected yourself to. Trying will always either help you or others in some way.” – Alicia Graham

What gets you up in the morning ?

“Being a founder or an investor is hard. The reason why you do it is because you're obsessed with making an impact and creating a future you want to support. That’s why I love this job. To be frank, it's not even a job for me – it’s a privilege to help young founders to succeed, and there’s no better way for me to get the energy out of it than to believe in the mission of the founders that I am backing. If you want to make a lot of money, there are better professions. You have to have a greater reason why you do this work.” – Julia Hawkins

How important is the IP in the eng bio startup ?

“Being a founder or an investor is hard. The reason why you do it is because you're obsessed with making an impact and creating a future you want to support. That’s why I love this job. To be frank, it's not even a job for me – it’s a privilege to help young founders to succeed, and there’s no better way for me to get the energy out of it than to believe in the mission of the founders that I am backing. If you want to make a lot of money, there are better professions. You have to have a greater reason why you do this work” – Julia Hawkins

“Very important. Are you able to market your base in a way that will keep competitors out? IP gives you an asset and makes you more attractive to others. That’s why it’s important to get it right to be prepared for anything that might happen in the future.” – Tom Turner

It is notable to highlight that Dr Alicia Graham, the founder of MadeSweetly, is the iGEM 2017 alumnus who is still involved in the community as a judge. When asked if she thinks iGEM had any impact on her career and if so how, she enthusiastically replied:

“Yes of course! iGEM is where it all started for me. I don’t think I would be as confident with myself and my journey as a founder without it. Funnily enough, the presentation at the Grand Jamboree is still the scariest one I have given to this day! If you can survive that and the Wiki Freeze, you will survive anything! It’s a great pleasure to be still involved in the community and to see so many bright young minds and incredible ideas coming to light through iGEM. Take advantage of being in the community, and if you have an idea you believe in or a burning desire to be a founder, just keep your eyes open on the opportunities and take advantage of them”.

Marta Marcheluk, iGEM Ambassador to Europe

“To close this inspiring report from this unique event, I would like to leave you with a quote from Julia Hawkins that may push you to go out there and try your chances at setting up your own venture: “Deep tech company vs. soft tech company… Soft is easier to build, faster to get into revenues and ship a product. Speed is faster. However, over the next 20 years in Europe, we believe it will be the deep tech companies that will become the impactful spinoffs. Currently, those companies are mainly spinning off in the USA due to the greater support. If I can tell you one most important thing about setting up your own company it would be not to focus just on the underlying technology but focus holistically on developing a company and all of the funding sources, you can get. Be very creative about funding those companies. Those companies take longer to set up”.

To find more information about the iGEM Ambassadors & Promoters for Europe and regional synbio activities visit our Europe webpage. Learn more about the Ambassador Program here.

If you’re an iGEMer and are looking for avenues to help kickstart your entrepreneurial journey or take it to the next step, check out the iGEM Startups program. The program is dedicated to supporting BioFounders around the world.

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