A recent study suggests that many German scientists struggle to commercialize their work because they lack the soft skills to build the teams and cope with the rigors of startup life. New research from Columbia Business School suggests time spent in a corporate R&D facility might help.
The research suggests that exposure to a corporate research lab provides hugely valuable insight to people about what it takes to commercialize and scale research and innovation. The paper shows that when scientists leave a big firm, they often do so in order to either join a startup or build their own business.
The researchers monitored US census data from between 1990 and 2008 alongside data on employee job changes to monitor the career paths of those in R&D-based roles. The data showed that there appeared to be a link between investment in R&D and startup activity from former employees. Indeed, for every 100% increase in R&D activity, there was an 8.4% increase in the rate in which employees left to participate in their own entrepreneurial activities.
Chances of success
The researchers then examined whether these entrepreneurial ventures were successful or not. They used the investment the new firms received as a proxy for success, and the data suggests that these startups were indeed successful (if only in attracting venture finance).
While this apparent trend is interesting on a macro level, there are obvious concerns about big firms letting such evident talent move elsewhere. When exploring the motivation to leave, the researchers hypothesize that in many instances, this is a direct reflection of the R&D investment strategies of the firm.
This is reflected in the fact that the ventures created by the scientists are usually quite different to the work they were doing in their previous role. Of course, this could be in part due to specific non-compete clauses, but it also reflects an implicit judgement on the investment decisions of the big firm.
It does however also underline the important role such firms can play in providing the skills, experience and connections that can help researchers develop a great startup.
