Are Scientists Really the Right People for Spinoff Companies?

I attended the Business of Science Conference in Liverpool (May 2025) where a simple comment struck a chord with me: “Academics’ dual role in teaching and research limits their commercialisation capacity.”. 

It got me thinking about the complex journey from lab breakthrough to business success.

Steven Bartlett’s four-phase company lifecycle model offers a useful lens.  In the Cult Phase, a small, passionate team thrives in a fast-moving, unstructured environment.  Perfect for scientist-founders.   But, as the business grows into the Growth Phase, structure, leadership, and efficiency take centre stage. This is often where the challenge begins: the very traits that make scientists great in early stages may now cause them to struggle, as operations scale.

In the Enterprise Phase, formal roles and processes dominate.   While this provides stability, it can also stifle the innovative spirit that sparked the company's creation in the first place.  Left unchecked, this leads to the Decline Phase, where bureaucracy replaces creativity and adaptability.

So, the big question is: Can scientists evolve with their company, or are they better suited only to its early days?

In my experience, many scientist-entrepreneurs struggle with:

• * Strategic decision-making beyond the lab

• * Financial acumen

• * Leadership adaptability

• * Market Understanding

These are all skills that go beyond what’s typically required in an academic’s day-to-day role…

So, does this mean that scientists must leave their academic careers to have enough headspace to develop the skills required to build successful spinoffs?   And if their company grows, will they still have a role?