Keynote Presentation: Commercialization and Entrepreneurial Lessons from Microfluidic Biotechnology Startups with Live Q&A

Microfluidic Tech has served millions of lives through the Biotech industry, whether in life science research or clinical diagnostics. Most of these technologies are spawned at academic and research institutions, taking multiple years to materialize outside the lab. While the publication of initial proof of concepts in the lab can be rewarding, society truly benefits when these technologies are released to the market as reliable and easy-to-use products. But this pivot does not happen overnight. Successful commercialization of tech requires the tremendous efforts of an entrepreneurial team skilled in both technology and business development. This process begins with formulating a business plan to secure funding and resources for product development and business growth through building awareness and sales. To make matters more complicated, the commercialization of clinical products takes longer to fruition than research market products because of regulatory constraints. Clinical devices need to be manufactured under a rigorous quality system, and companies are required to submit data to Government agencies showing the safety and efficacy of their products. Even if executed flawlessly, this entire process could take 5-10 years and tens to hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, a daunting endeavor for aspiring entrepreneurs. In this talk, I will share some of the lessons I learned from my two startups, HandyLab and Celsee, both with successful exits, so that it may inspire some of you to take the plunge to benefit so many others.

Learning Objectives:

1.    Discuss how to develop microfluidic technologies into products for life sciences or clinical diagnostics.

2.    Explain how to design milestones for a new product development.

3.    List what the key lessons are for aspiring entrepreneurs for increasing the odds of success.