Business Encounters: Life Scientist

Role Dilemmas and Recognizing Skills

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The best way to found a company is to start with a group of people who work in a shared-decision model. Early emphasis on control and power is likely to choose the wrong leader and to disempower the other members of the team, such that this becomes a weak company lacking in sufficient resources to grow.

From the outset, the founders must decide how to transition from a collaborative-decision company to a more hierarchical company. The collaborative decision model will eventually fall apart because of various power struggles if it is delayed for too long. Plus, it is unlikely that outside funding is going to be interested in a non-hierarchical organization. The reality is that there are not a lot of examples of successful companies that work in a collaborative-decision model. A while ago RIM (Blackberry) was the poster child of this kind of collaborative team; we all know how that ended up.

Set up a transition date and ensure there is a mechanism in place to transition from collaborative-decision to hierarchical structure. Make sure the initial collaborative team is in agreement that someone will be in charge of the CEO position. Other founders will have domains in which they can exercise control. However, their control will not be in the role of the decision-maker for the startup.

There is a good reason why business folks emphasize sports teams. What better example is there of a team of individuals with different skills who work in a hierarchical structure to accomplish a goal?

Who should take on the various roles of this corporation? Don’t assume that the “idea person” should be the CEO. The CEO must be a leader. The CEO must speak for and present the company to others. When the pitch is made, it won’t be the CTO standing in front of the venture capitalists.

Similarly, match the other roles to the skills of the person.

  • CTO – Does the person have the technical expertise to advance your technology?
  • COO – Should be an organized person who gets things done on time and on budget. How are they with details?
  • CFO – If no founder is very good with money then perhaps you need to look outside for a CFO.
  • CMO – Filling the CMO is tricky. You need to have a marketing plan and then find the person who can implement that plan. So perhaps you need a marketing advisor to help develop the plan. And that advisor is not necessarily going to be hired to lead the marketing effort. In the digital era, marketing is changing rapidly, don’t get too focused on past success. Look for vision and passion in marketing products.
  • Sales Lead – Find someone who loves to sell things. The first thing they should be able to sell is themselves. Let them sell you that they are the perfect person for the job. If their personal sales job is weak, keep looking.
  • CIO – Crucial role in the age of cybersecurity and privacy. Solid system admin skills and awareness of the need for tight security and adherence to standards are essential. Here, a little paranoia isn’t such a bad thing.
  • HR – If you have a Chief Human Resources Officer or just the head of HR, this is a critical position and tricky to fill. You need experience, but you need someone who understands today’s young workers. They enjoy the experience, they want to feel wanted, they want to be appreciated. Your company (and thus the person) must reflect a corporate culture that entices them to join you and convinces them they made the right decision.

Once you have a team in place, be flexible. Perhaps your technological needs change, and your CTO no longer has the experience to handle the new requirements. Can you actually wait for that person take a course or slog through endless tutorials on Google? Some things can be taught, but most cannot be learned quickly. Make the change now before you embark on development that takes you the wrong direction. Who is going to do that? The CEO. That is why you chose a hierarchical model.

Further Reading

  1. Wasserman Noam. The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Princeton University Press. March 25, 2012, ch 5.
  2. Herrenkohl Eric. How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team- Even If You Don’t Have a Recruiting Department. Vol 1 edition. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. April 12, 2010, ch 6.

Photo Credits: Wikipedia user Vectortoons under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license and Airman 1st Class Curt Beach 160414-F-IP109-036.JPG US Military.

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Angel Funding: Supporting (Part 6 of 7)

As a life scientist-entrepreneur, you are well aware of the value of mentors. In the process of education and early training, a life scientist engages with the number of mentors who provide support from the emotional to coaching to specific skills development.

In the life of the company, there are multiple areas that require ongoing support. For example:

  • determining a valuation of the enterprise
  • developing a marketing strategy
  • determining when to seek out guidance and from experts such as accountants and lawyers

At crucial points in career development, scientists receive key input. One framework when evaluating the need for entrepreneurial support is to consider the concept of a value event. In scientific training, one can imagine such an event would be an adviser who recommended classes to take as an undergraduate or a Ph.D. program or MD program which would meet professional and personal needs. In career development of the life scientist, a large number of individuals have guided the life scientist regarding scientific research at various key points. In fact, the decision to pursue an entrepreneurial path is such an event.

The concept of a value event applies equally well to the life scientist embarking on a business career. In business, there are similar milestones including:

  • determination of a need for additional funding and the amount of funding to request
  • the timing of various funding rounds and the type of investor to seek
  • reassessment of team members and the need to alter or enhance the team to meet business goals

Life scientists additionally have value events related to the production of a pharmaceutical or device. These are clearly marked through various stages of clinical trials. The success or failure at these stages will dramatically affect the potential value of the startup venture. It is essential that the investor also understands the implications of such value events. A medical product with negative impact or no demonstrated value cannot ethically be sold. Investors must realize that one cannot market such products even if it is in high demand.

In the life sciences, because of the need for vast capital and marketing expertise, a startup venture will rarely succeed as an independent body. Identify individuals who can assist with the most important event to investors, the sale of the company when the proper time comes. No doubt, the investors will be very interested in participating at this point. However, the entrepreneur must look out for both personal and business interest since the sale of the company may require ongoing effort as an employee or removal from the enterprise altogether. These are dramatic changes that will impact the scientific career of the life scientist-entrepreneur. Picking up a new biomedical path is not the same of as creating a new piece of software.

Television DTC Ads from Pharma (Part 2 of 5)

I agree with the AMA’s proposed Ban on DTC Ads of Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices. To me, the logic of the ban is that the only other country in the world that allows direct-to-consumer drug ads is New Zealand. My goal in this blog is not to repeat the various pros and cons cited for DTC ads1. Although, for the record, my interpretation is that the cons far outweigh any perceived pros.

My goal instead is to shed light on how these ads work and what makes DTC pharma ads effective advertising. I selected what are considered the best DTC pharma ads per Rand Marketing (Mar 27, 2016).

Zoloft

  • Issue highlighted: Product corrects a chemical imbalance in the brain that leads to depression in the target market of individuals with sadness.
  • Value proposition: The ability to relieve sadness. It engages the user via “cuteness” that is taking a fairly depressing (sorry) topic and making it seem kid like and cute – and potentially beatable.
  • Call to action: Viewers are urged to talk to one’s doctor about Zoloft (not depression). They also highlight an ad in a magazine (Shape) and a phone number to call. Taking this action is expected to yield benefit to the viewer in terms of relieving depression.
  • Objective Measurable? The ad is highlighted as one of the most effective DTC ads ever. I feel the objective was measurable since data related to prescriptions is readily available and the company could measure changes in prescriptions in the markets where the ad was shown. I also feel the effect of ad was quite attainable at the time it was aired. It provided a clear call to action and doctors were likely to follow up by prescribing the drug that the patient requested.
  • Other notes: At the time there were only 2 SSRIs, and sertraline (Zoloft) had a better profile than fluoxetine (Prozac). Furthermore, depression as a medical condition was relatively unknown yet had been introduced already by the success of fluoxetine (Prozac).

AstraZeneca

  • Issue highlighted: A brand that cares about healthy eating. The target market here is people who eat sugar and unhealthy food.
  • Value proposition: This company can give you advice on how to lower triglycerides and eat more healthy food. It engages the user via pictures of appetizing food (bacon sizzling), people gorging on food, and most importantly humor via the two talking fish.
  • Call to action: The ad does not have an explicit call to action. The only benefit is that one is now aware that a drug company cares about health eating. When the listener runs across marketing by the company they may see it in a more positive light rather than a manipulative ploy to highlight their drug (which relates to diabetes). I think the ad is really funny, and the objective of putting a positive spin on the company’s brand should be easy to attain and measure via surveys and activity on social media (something they highlight in the ad).

Lipitor

  • Issue highlighted: the ability of the product to lower cholesterol to the target market of people with measured high cholesterol or people who are worried that they may have high cholesterol.
  • Value proposition: Lipitor will decrease heart disease (although the ad only mentions data that shows value in folks with existing heart disease, the ad implies value for anyone with high cholesterol). It engages the viewer via a healthy nature scene, someone rowing, and calm peaceful music to instill a sense of calm and vitality.
  • Call to action: The ad’s call to action is “ask your doctor if Lipitor is right for you,” and visit the website. That action is expected to yield a prescription and secondary benefit of lower cholesterol and decreased risk of heart disease.
  • Objective measurable? Yes, because prescribing habits are obtainable on a pharmacy level. The outcome was also attainable because people are always anxious about heart disease and cancer and cholesterol is a familiar and simple number that they can understand in terms of risk (a fact that is very much in dispute).

Rozerem

  • Issue highlighted: The ad highlights the ability of the drug to help you sleep better to a target market of folks with occasional insomnia (pretty much everyone).
  • Value proposition: The apparent value proposition is that this drug can help the person sleep but is not addictive and can be taken when needed. It engages the user via compassion for the person who can’t sleep [he looks awful], humor with honest Abe Lincoln, and an animal chatting.
  • Call to action: Ad says to “talk to your doctor” but doesn’t mention the specific drug to request that is expected to yield improved sleep to the viewer who receives the prescription.
  • Objective measurable? I feel the objective was measurable because prescribing habits are obtainable on a pharmacy level. The outcome (increased prescribing) was also attainable mostly because at that time most other sleep aids had been labeled as dangerous so the product was unique in the marketplace. This is perhaps why they don’t mention the specific drug for which to ask.

Vytorin

  • Issue highlighted: The cholesterol lowering feature of the product to a target market of individuals with high cholesterol.
  • Value proposition: This drug will be more effective at lowering cholesterol than its competitors because it lowers absorption of cholesterol and production of cholesterol. It engages the viewer by presenting picture of attractives food and people with funny poses and expressions.
  • Call to action: “Ask your doctor about adding Vytorin.” They also provide a phone number to call. Such action is expected to yield the benefit of lower cholesterol to the viewer.
  • Objective measurable? I feel the objective was measurable because prescribing habits are obtainable on a pharmacy level. The outcome was also attainable because cholesterol is perceived as a marker of health danger, so the public sees lowering cholesterol as a worthwhile goal in of itself.

Overall the ads use a variety of techniques and a fairly simple “talk to your doctor” call to action. They focus on areas of challenge or frustration and offer a simple and targeted solution. When a drug is mentioned the possible downside is read by the voice-over but not visually displayed, thereby implying that the advertised product would be a simple solution to their problem.

References

  1. Ventola C Lee. Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising. P T. 2011;36(10):669-684.

Picture Credit: Wikipedia user Royeligio

Role Dilemmas and Recognizing Skills

The best way to found a company is to start with a group of people who work in a shared-decision model. Early emphasis on control and power is likely to choose the wrong leader and to disempower the other members of the team, such that this becomes a weak company lacking in sufficient resources to grow.

From the outset, the founders must decide how to transition from a collaborative-decision company to a more hierarchical company. The collaborative decision model will eventually fall apart because of various power struggles if it is delayed for too long. Plus, it is unlikely that outside funding is going to be interested in a non-hierarchical organization. The reality is that there are not a lot of examples of successful companies that work in a collaborative-decision model. A while ago RIM (Blackberry) was the poster child of this kind of collaborative team; we all know how that ended up.

Set up a transition date and ensure there is a mechanism in place to transition from collaborative-decision to hierarchical structure. Make sure the initial collaborative team is in agreement that someone will be in charge of the CEO position. Other founders will have domains in which they can exercise control. However, their control will not be in the role of the decision-maker for the startup.

There is a good reason why business folks emphasize sports teams. What better example is there of a team of individuals with different skills who work in a hierarchical structure to accomplish a goal?

Who should take on the various roles of this corporation? Don’t assume that the “idea person” should be the CEO. The CEO must be a leader. The CEO must speak for and present the company to others. When the pitch is made, it won’t be the CTO standing in front of the venture capitalists.

Similarly, match the other roles to the skills of the person.

  • CTO – Does the person have the technical expertise to advance your technology?
  • COO – Should be an organized person who gets things done on time and on budget. How are they with details?
  • CFO – If no founder is very good with money then perhaps you need to look outside for a CFO.
  • CMO – Filling the CMO is tricky. You need to have a marketing plan and then find the person who can implement that plan. So perhaps you need a marketing advisor to help develop the plan. And that advisor is not necessarily going to be hired to lead the marketing effort. In the digital era, marketing is changing rapidly, don’t get too focused on past success. Look for vision and passion in marketing products.
  • Sales Lead – Find someone who loves to sell things. The first thing they should be able to sell is themselves. Let them sell you that they are the perfect person for the job. If their personal sales job is weak, keep looking.
  • CIO – Crucial role in the age of cybersecurity and privacy. Solid system admin skills and awareness of the need for tight security and adherence to standards are essential. Here, a little paranoia isn’t such a bad thing.
  • HR – If you have a Chief Human Resources Officer or just the head of HR, this is a critical position and tricky to fill. You need experience, but you need someone who understands today’s young workers. They enjoy the experience, they want to feel wanted, they want to be appreciated. Your company (and thus the person) must reflect a corporate culture that entices them to join you and convinces them they made the right decision.

Once you have a team in place, be flexible. Perhaps your technological needs change, and your CTO no longer has the experience to handle the new requirements. Can you actually wait for that person take a course or slog through endless tutorials on Google? Some things can be taught, but most cannot be learned quickly. Make the change now before you embark on development that takes you the wrong direction. Who is going to do that? The CEO. That is why you chose a hierarchical model.

Further Reading

  1. Wasserman Noam. The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Princeton University Press. March 25, 2012, ch 5.
  2. Herrenkohl Eric. How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team- Even If You Don’t Have a Recruiting Department. Vol 1 edition. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. April 12, 2010, ch 6.

Photo Credits: Wikipedia user Vectortoons under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license and Airman 1st Class Curt Beach 160414-F-IP109-036.JPG US Military.

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