Scientists and entrepreneurs may have more in common than normally assumed. They are often highly passionate about what they do, both need to defend their ideas in order to sustain funding and consequently their jobs, and both categories are constantly delving into the unknown. Creativity, commitment and diversity are unmistakably cornerstones of entrepreneurship. At CERN, these are core values of the Organization - and this article has previously discussed how CERN may be an ideal place for entrepreneurship.
While scientists often are not assumed to be good at business, mastering the scientific method is in fact key to test hypotheses about the market, the value proposition and the business model of any new venture. Moreover, many people have a lot to learn from the way scientists treat failure. When a scientist runs an experiment, there are all sorts of results - in which each result is a data point that can ultimately lead to an answer. And failures are simply data points taking you one step closer to this answer.
Yet, scientists are rarely those making money of the many creations around us deriving from science. If it is true that scientists and entrepreneurs has so much in common, why is this the case? What does it take to bridge this gap? Or should we even do so? Maybe the scientists should stay in the labs after all?
These questions will be discussed by a panel of scientists and entrepreneurs during our next CERN Entrepreneurship Meet-Up - also being part of the programme of the Global Entrepreneurship Week Geneva 2018.
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Our Panel:
Dr. Anais Rassat - Communication & Marketing Officer in the CERN Knowledge Transfer group
Christian Frampton - Partner at Genii Capital & CEO at Providenzia Capital Group
Dr. James Miners - Senior Advisor at Fongit & expert at InnoSuisse
Dr. Laure-Emmanuelle Perret-Aebi - Senior Expert in photovoltaics at CSEM & Founder of Compás.
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Get ready for an engaging debate!