🌉 Building Bridges: How to Approach Labs for Potential Partnerships
It sounds a lot harder than it really is
Collaborating with a research lab can give your startup, current or future, a competitive edge over time and access to precious lab resources that would otherwise be difficult to get. You get access to cutting-edge research, specialized knowledge, and potentially, unique technologies that can set your business apart. It's not just about the technology; it's about building relationships with experts who can guide you through the complexities of bringing a novel idea to the market.
Steps to Approaching a Lab
Identify Your Interest: Hone in on one or two problem spaces that you’re interested in and look for the top research labs in those fields. You can use Google Scholar and tools like Research Rabbit here.
Initial Outreach: Once you’ve identified the lab and discovered some interesting IP that they own. Craft a brief, personalized email to the lab. Introduce yourself, mention your interest in their research, and express your intention to explore startup possibilities. You can also do this via the commercialization office at the university, note that not all universities have offices like this and sometimes they can be quite unresponsive.
Understand Their Research: Before engaging in discussions, familiarize yourself with their work. You don’t want to sound like a total beginner in the first meeting, understand the competing technologies and the problem space. This demonstrates your seriousness and helps in aligning their research with your business goals.
Expectation Setting: Remember, these discussions are exploratory. They are an opportunity to understand the feasibility of transforming research into a business idea, not a commitment from either side.
Follow-Up and Build Relations: Post-meeting, send a thank you message and express interest in keeping the conversation going. This could be the start of a valuable long-term collaboration.
In future guides, I’ll dive deeper into how to value the IP and approach the licensing discussion itself.
Few Examples To Inspire You
Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a life science company specializing in DNA and RNA sequencing, was founded in 2005 based on the work of Professor Hagan Bayley from the University of Oxford. It went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 for £3.4 billion, one of the largest ever UK university exits.
Exscientia, an AI drug discovery company, spun out from the University of Dundee in 2012. It went public on the NASDAQ in 2021 in a £2.2 billion IPO, one of the largest ever UK university exits.
Inivata, a cancer genomics company, also spun out from the University of Cambridge. It was acquired by oncology testing company NeoGenomics for $390 million in 20211.
🎨 About the artist
Bob Pepper, An American artist known for his work in science fiction and fantasy genres.