It should always be considered within the range of other possible approaches (such as licensing to existing companies for instance), keeping in mind an optimized return to co-owners and inventors is sought as well as economic and societal value creation. Many researchers wish to know how to create a startup and seek advice to do so in the best way.

Inserm Transfert has launched in 2017 this Pathway for Pre-Entrepreneurship to support researchers/inventors that aspire to become involved in entrepreneurship and to help them become « Enlighted founders (“Fondateurs Eclairés”) aware of what it implies to create a company. The objective is to offer them a tailored assistance in their project of startup creation as earlier as possible by helping them to structure their project around 6 factors that we believe are key for success:

• A solid team ready to work together in the long term;
• A differentiating innovation (technology or product) validated by robust pre/maturation, with reliable solid and reproducible research results, and up to “due diligence” standards of companies or investors.
• A solid intellectual protection
• A market access strategy which is clearly defined and realistic
• A sound development plan
• A realistic and coherent funding plan

The objective is to create solid and long-term startups able to face a worldwide competition, to fundraise and to bring products into clinical phases. This Pathway for Pre-entrepreneurship is based on the strong expertise of Inserm Transfert teams in entrepreneurship, intellectual property and product development and on the complementarities of its partners in company creation (incubators, investors, etc.).

There are two major steps in this pathway:

• The objective of Pre-Entrepreneurship Meetings is to gather scientists, willing to create their startup, and experts. Each researcher/inventor has 2 hours at his disposal to introduce his project and exchange with a panel of experts around different aspects of entrepreneurship (team, technological innovation, protection and legal environment, market access and business model strategy in coherence with financial aspects) without any stakes on the licensing agreement or a possible fundraising.
• A possibility to be certified by the HHSF consortium with the French Tech Seed label to get a co-investment from BPIfrance in convertible bonds during the first investments post creation.