Category Archives: careers
You will have an exciting business adventure
Last Monday, TedxAcademy in Athens, Greece, organized an event that I will forever remember. Inspired thinkers, entrepreneurs, and innovators were invited to speak about making a difference in a country that is undergoing historical change. There were many excellent speakers, who talked about this time of rapid change, which amidst its high risk, it also offers the incredible opportunity to transform. I thought that two of them just stood out.
Costas Evripides is a founding member and Genesis Pharma’s Chief Executive Officer. In 2006, Costas was voted as the “Dynamic Entrepreneur of the Year 2006”, in the international competition “Entrepreneur Of The Year”. At the TedxAcademy, he advocated about starting a business in Greece. “You will have an exciting business adventure” he told us, if you follow these key ingredients of a successful startup:
- Passion
- Experience
- Create your our own networking circle
- Differentiation
- Specialization
- Stretched targets
- Flexibility
- Reliability
- Alliance building
- Choosing a strong team
And here’s the things to avoid:
- Be fast but don’t rush
- Appreciate the right timing
- Never give up
- Never rest up
And then, there was Stathis Kalyvas, the Arnold Wolfers Professor of Political Science and Director of the Program on Order, Conflict, and Violence at Yale University. Stathis talked about three key aspects to overcome the crisis:
- Incentive
- Vision for the future
- New social framework
Stathis Kalyvas at the TedxAcademy 2011 event.
I couldn’t agree more. Inspired by my research, on the drug design sector (ie making novel drugs for human diseases), and these two excellent talks, I believe that there are plenty of opportunities to innovate and move forward utilizing the power of the flourishing Greek Pharma Industry. What Greece needs right now is transformation and growth, which could undoubtedly rise from the pharma industry’s active involvement in Greek pharmaceutical and biotech R&D, exploitation of the underutilized capabilities of Greek researchers ultimately leading to the creation of new, Greek drugs. Our country has extremely talented scientists, who could provide access to a multi-billion euro market: health. Greek Pharma-Academia partnerships could be key for emerging stronger out of the crisis.
TedxAcademy is a nonprofit organization inspired by “TED“, an organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. Thank you TedxAcademy for the wonderful opportunity to be part of this event!
George Whitesides on Entrepreneurship + Innovation = Jobs
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is the world’s largest scientific society with more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related fields. ACS provides a wealth of educational activities, which are mostly free and open to the public. Most importantly, they are interesting even for those who are not chemists! One of those activities is the “Virtual Career Fair”, where you can find webinars such as “Navigating the Global Industrial Job Market” and “Networking 101 — Making Your Contacts Count”. One of today’s webinars, entitled “Entrepreneurship + Innovation = Jobs” is given by Professor George Whitesides (Harvard University), a legendary innovator and pioneer, who has pioneered microfabrication and nanoscale self-assembly. One of his achievements is the “soft robot”, which is capable of gripping and lifting a raw egg without cracking its delicate shell (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., DOI: 10.1002/anie.201006464). The challenge was to find the right material that could be soft enough to treat delicate surfaces, such as an egg. You can read the full article from C& E News here.
EGG LIFT: A soft robotic gripper lifts a raw egg without damaging its shell. (Source: C&E News)
George Whitesides is the co-founder of a dozen companies and holds 50-plus patents. Definitely worth hearing from him about converting a great idea into a business.
From the American Chemical Society website on today’s webinar:
A recent ACS Task Force on Innovation report documented that most new jobs today and in the near future will be created by entrepreneurial start ups and small companies. Do you have an idea for a new product, service, or technology, but need help converting it into a business? Do you have a desire and the right stuff to be an entrepreneur? Plan to attend this webinar and receive valuable advice and direction from successful serial entrepreneur and Harvard University Professor George Whitesides. Whitesides recently chaired the ACS Task Force on Innovation, which was appointed by Joseph Francisco, 2010 ACS President and Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University. Whitesides and Francisco will provide valuable career advice for chemists at all stages in their careers, whether they are graduate students, postdocs, or seasoned professionals making a transition in this challenging economic job market. At this webinar, you will learn how ACS is working with U.S. policymakers, industry, academia, and its membership to support entrepreneurs and innovation to create jobs. You will learn about new ACS programs in entrepreneurship as well as specific steps that you can take now to develop the skills and find the resources needed to convert your innovative ideas into successful entrepreneurial ventures.
Enjoy.
Life is Chemistry 