Entrepreneurship for Physicists

Physicists are very smart people. Still, when it comes to moving their ideas from university to market, they often lack the basic set of know-hows that could help them succeed in the technology transfer process. To fill this gap, Entrepreneurship for Physicists: A Practical Guide to Move Ideas from University to Market offers a concise analysis of the key ingredients that enable entrepreneurs to bring added value to their customers.

Author of this “how to” guide, Davide Iannuzzi (PhD, University of Pavia, Italy, 2002; MBA, TIAS Business School, 2015) is a professor in experimental physics at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and the Scientific Director of the Demonstrator Lab Amsterdam Physics Research and Innovation Laboratory, in Amsterdam. In parallel to his academic career, he has developed an in-depth knowledge of the technology transfer process that brings scientific ideas to market, both via direct experience as an entrepreneur himself and via the support he has been offering, over the years, to numerous other start-ups.

Davide spoke to ASTP-Proton blog about his new book and who should read it.

“I have been running a course on entrepreneurship and started to write the book as a companion for the course, but it also works as a stand-alone book. I wanted to try to trigger the idea that entrepreneurialism can be an option that runs in parallel with your academic career or your studies”

“Starting a business is great to do while you are young, there are so many advantages to, there is money if you are successful, of course, but there is also the sense of accomplishment. It demonstrates an awareness of business opportunities and it is great fun!” “What I realised when I was teaching my course is that many scientists lack the basic tools for starting a business, so this book is an ABC for scientist, a condensed version of the course, written in a physicist-friendly manner.”

“Although the book has an accessible style, it is dense with information, it is a read which requires concentration, and so-far the reviews have been good.”

Such as this one from ASTP-Proton Board member, Steven Tan. He calls it “Mandatory reading for the entrepreneurial scientist.”

“This book provides the lessons learned of a fundamental physicist who founded a start-up company and combines it with standard MBA stuff, but with a novel and entertaining scientific tweak. It offers a personal attest that is both honest and inspirational. The book gives lots of perspectives, models, methods and advise that are relevant to any scientist that has the ambition to start his or her own company. Mandatory reading for the entrepreneurial scientist, PhDs and science students. Well done and thank you, Professor Iannuzzi.”

The book is available through the publisher here and on Amazon