I’ve written and talked about the cultural differences between entrepreneurs and career researchers. Lately I’ve discovered a new one:
Scientists: Are afraid of making bad decisions. As a result, they are slow to make difficult decisions.
Entrepreneurs: Optimize around fast, not perfect, decision making with constant iteration.
Loyal readers know that I work with professors and career scientists and help them commercialize their work, often through the formation of a startup company. The professor’s role is as a founder of the startup, usually with an experienced entrepreneur or business person as a co-founder. Professor-founders should ensure there is a good alignment of incentives between themselves and the business people running the company and cede the business decisions to the business people. When professors insert themselves into operational decisions, they often find themselves completely out of their element.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Impedance Mismatch | Belief Without Evidence
