7 minute read
And Another Thing
And Another Thing... Um, No: What Not to Do When Starting a Business
By Denise L. Merkle, PhD
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American Chemical Society (ACS) members can join as many of the thirty-two Technical divisions as their little hearts desire, thereby enjoying professional enrichment in multiple diverse fields. ACS offers divisions dedicated to the science of chemistry, and also boasts a number of divisions dedicated to the business of chemistry. The Division of Small Chemical Businesses, SCHB, inspired this month’s ‘And Another Thing…’. Every single week since the start of COVID-19 Captivity, SCHB has Zoomed with its members and friends. Unsurprisingly (it’s SCHB, after all), many of the Zoom-discussions address aspects of starting and maintaining a NewCo (New Company). So, in the spirit of entrepreneurism, and in honor of One Full Year of SCHB’s Innovative, mid-COVID, Virtual programming, insight from chem business owners and service providers was sought, and is shared with you here. Of the thirty-six or so professionals who were asked to send one piece of ‘Don’t Do This’ advice, twelve very kindly complied (25% ROI – pretty good!). Disclaimers: Keep in mind that the views of the respondents *may not be the views of the author. Don’t get your biz advice from random newsletter articles, youtube, or social media. Don’t even move without consulting card-carrying professionals who can guide you on the best path to success. Please enjoy this selection of the Top 10 Don’ts for Starting A Business. #10) Don’t be afraid or doubt yourself! New ventures are scary beasts. Sometimes they’re frightening enough to immobilize the entrepreneur. This is to be expected – as long as you breathe in, breathe out, and power on through. If you’re not an Adrenaline Junkie, Entrepreneurism may not be your niche. #9) Don’t succumb to Inventor Syndrome, in which the inventor is so invested in the innovative idea that all else required to establish a successful company is condescendingly deemed unimportant.
Don’t think you, as the Inventor/
Founder, are the best person to run the company, either. And by all means, before you spend money on your website and marketing, figure out your brand –
What will your venture be? #8) Don’t feel like you have to know everything – You can’t. Acknowledge your weaknesses, find competent professionals and advisors - and let them advise you. Don’t keep everything so secretive that competent people can’t help you.
It’s nearly impossible to start and maintain a successful business while Flying
Solo. Don’t do it. #7) Don’t do very much of anything without contracts and agreements. Non-
Disclosure Agreements can be necessary for in-depth discussions of technology, as well as for business practices. If a professional is handling a task or project for your company, it is imperative that the scope of work is defined and formalized, and the interactions are, too. You need a good attorney – or two – for this. #6) Don’t wear out your friends and family.
When you start your company, your immediate family may very well think you
And Another Thing...
have emigrated to someplace far, far away. Warn them that you’re headed into the wilds of entrepreneurial pursuits. If you’re in a ‘Don’t Quit Your
Day Job’ situation, your employer may wonder why you look like you’ve not slept for weeks. You will likely want to wait until NewCo can afford at least one employee before you tell your current employer about your endeavor.
Your CPA friend, if you call on the 14th for help with a filing due on the 15th , will wish you would emigrate to someplace far, far away. Do not impose on your buddies – or if you do, have contracts and agreements in place so they are compensated. Pay. For. Services. #5) Don’t ignore the sometimes urgent need to observe, assess, adapt and act.
It’s human nature to resist change, especially since Giving The Benefit of
The Doubt is societally ingrained – and expected. All sorts of things can happen that must be addressed quickly and unemotionally. Letting bad situations fester is like boiling the flask in your distillation apparatus dry, or allowing your HPLC solvent reservoir to drain:
Very. Bad. News. Business often seems unfriendly, and decisions can be harsh.
You’ve been up in the middle of the night to mix more reagents – you can get used to the pain of business. #4) Don’t negotiate for yourself in high value situations. There’s a reason Car
Dealers all have invisible managers for the sales people to consult. Do these managers actually exist? No one knows, but the idea of them is an effective negotiating tool. Along with ‘I’ll get back to you’, ‘Let me take that offer to the Principals’ ranks right up
there among handy phrases – for use by someone who is not the founder and certainly not the inventor. #3) Don’t Seek funding without adequate research and preparation. Determining which funding model is appropriate for your company is part of establishing a strong Business Plan. Recruiting an effective team to take your company forward is also crucial, as are ensuring you know what questions the funding entity will ask – and how to answer them. This is an intense topic all on its own, but the key is, starting out with a well-defined foundation (even if the foundation initially involves credit cards) prevents crumbling later.
A corollary to Don’ts #3 & #6: Don’t part out your NewCo trying to avoid paying for assistance. 100% goes quickly, even in 2% nibbles. Depending on the level of investment NewCo will need to fully commercialize, you may have to be ready to give up a major chunk of equity in return for money. Plan well enough so NewCo’s future isn’t jeopardized. #2) Don’t leave your Intellectual Property (IP) unprotected, and don’t practice IP law unless you’re a patent attorney.
Don’t publish or talk about your ideas/ inventions/innovations, especially to vendors, unless you’re sure the assets you’re discussing cannot be slurped away by the unscrupulous. Provisional patents help a lot here, but your patent attorney will know all about this. Don’t be a stranger to Non-Disclosure Agreements and the phrase, ‘I’ll ask my attorney about that’.
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From the ACS Press Room Copper Foam as a Highly Efficient, Durable Filter for Reusable Masks and Air Cleaners
“Efficient and Robust Metallic Nanowire Foams for Deep Submicrometer Particulate Filtration”
Nano Letters
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have grown accustomed to wearing facemasks, but many coverings are fragile and not easily disinfected. Metal foams are durable, and their small pores and large surface areas suggest they could effectively filter out microbes. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters have transformed copper nanowires into metal foams that could be used in facemasks and air filtration systems. The foams filter efficiently, decontaminate easily for reuse and are recyclable. When a person with a respiratory infection, such as SARS-CoV-2, coughs or sneezes, they release small droplets and aerosolized particles into the air. Particles smaller than 0.3 µm can stay airborne for hours, so materials that can trap these tiny particles are ideal for use in facemasks and air filters. But some existing filter materials have drawbacks. For example, fiberglass, carbon nanotubes and polypropylene fibers are not durable enough to undergo repeated decontamination procedures, while some further rely on electrostatics so they can’t be washed, leading to large amounts of waste. Recently, researchers have developed metallic foams with microscopic pores that are stronger and more resistant to deformation, solvents, and high temperatures and pressures. So, Kai Liu and colleagues wanted to develop and test
copper foams to see if they could effectively remove submicron-sized aerosols while also being durable enough to be decontaminated and reused. The researchers fabricated metal foams by harvesting electrodeposited copper nanowires and casting them into a free-standing 3D network, which was solidified with heat to form strong bonds. A second copper layer was added to further strengthen the material. In tests, the copper foam held its form when pressurized and at high air speeds, suggesting it’s durable for reusable facemasks or air filters and could be cleaned with washing or compressed air. The team found the metal foams had excellent filtration efficiency for particles within the 0.1-1.6 µm size range, which is relevant for filtering out SARSCoV-2. Their most effective material was a 2.5 mm-thick version, with copper taking up 15% of the volume. This foam had a large surface area and trapped 97% of 0.1-0.4 µm aerosolized salt particles, which are commonly used in facemask tests. According to the team’s calculations, the breathability of their foams was generally comparable to that of commercially available polypropylene N95 facemasks. Because the new material is
From the ACS Press Room
copper-based, the filters should be resistant to cleaning agents, allowing for many disinfection options, and its antimicrobial properties will help kill trapped bacteria and viruses, say the researchers. In addition, they are recyclable. The researchers estimate that the materials would cost around $2 per mask at present, and disinfection and reuse would extend their lifetime, making them economically competitive with current products. The authors acknowledge funding from the Georgetown Environmental Initiative Impact Program Award, the McDevitt bequest to Georgetown University and Tom and Ginny Cahill’s Fund for Environmental Physics at University of California Davis.
