You don’t have to be a researcher or chemist to be a successful entrepreneur in the bioscience industry, said Cheryl Watkins-Moore, director of bioscience entrepreneurial inclusion at BioSTL.
And that’s just the message she hopes to drive home to local minority and women professionals this year through a series of talks, networking events and training sessions – all offered for free through BioSTL.
“You don’t have to be a PhD,” said Watkins-Moore. She herself was trained as a physician, has an M.B.A. and a range of executive experience in the life sciences. Most recently, she served as an Entrepreneur In Residence with the BioGenerator.
“With any type of business, understanding your market is the key thing. This is a fast-growing market. If you have those skills, this could be a great opportunity.”
In February, BioSTL received a $100,000 grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation to pilot the St. Louis Bioscience Inclusion Initiative intended to identify and nurture high-potential women and minority bioscience entrepreneurs in St. Louis. Assuming her director position at BioSTL earlier this year, Watkins-Moore will lead and guide the initiative.
“We are trying to reach out to those professionals who already have great skills and probably have done different things in their careers,” she said, “and who are interested in becoming potential entrepreneurs or working alongside potential entrepreneurs in biosciences.”
As part of the initiative, BioSTL is also partnering with Prosper (an entrepreneur support organization for women), St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, Washington University Office of Technology Management, CORTEX and Women Entrepreneurs of St. Louis (WEST).
The initiative’s kick-off event is a networking and business forum at 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 19 at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd.
The forum will look at what’s happening in the bioscience marketplace locally, as well as introduce some of the region’s resources and funders for startups and entrepreneurs. Then attendees will get a chance to meet and network with funders and “the players” in the market, she said.
On July 17, BioSTL will host a panel discussion with entrepreneurs who have started businesses in the bioscience field without having research or science backgrounds. The event will be held 6-8:30 p.m. at the Third Degree Glass Factory, 5200 Delmar Blvd.
“Once you raise the awareness, what’s next?” Watkins-Moore said. “Training.”
Next, BioSTL will host a 10-week boot camp for those who are ready to start creating a business plan. The sessions will feature experts in business strategy and development, legal matters, federal regulations and other areas. At the end of the 10 weeks, participants can enter their business plans in a competition for seed money to help fund their businesses.
The boot camp will be part of Cortex’s Center for Emerging Technologies Square One (SQ1) program. SQ1 is an “on-ramp” entrepreneurial training aimed at developing technology and bioscience entrepreneurs. Details on the training are still being finalized, she said.
Currently, Walker-Moore is doing exactly what she’s encouraging other people to do – creating her own startup company.
Moore is the founder and CEO of a young start-up, UPstart Innovations, LLC, a medical technology development organization.
“I’ve always loved the startup community,” she said. “St. Louis is really primed with the excitement in the entrepreneurial community. It really has inspired me. And if I’m not doing it myself, how can I tell someone else to do it?”
As an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) with the BioSTL, Walker-Moore led and mentored early startup organizations and provided business expertise to founders and/or their management teams in order for them to become successful, viable entities. Watkins-Moore will now be shifting her focus towards the Blackstone Charitable Foundation grant.
It’s no secret that the numbers minorities and women in the bioscience field are low, she said.
“You can look at strictly at how many people are graduating out of science programs and staying here,” she said. “Those numbers are dismal.”
Pushing for more diversity and inclusion in the bioscience industry is a must, she said.
“When you are missing pieces of your community that can be represented, you are missing areas of innovation,” she said. “Ideas and innovation come from various backgrounds.”
That’s why the initiative is also trying to engage children in bioscience early on, as well as talk with high school students about non-traditional careers in bioscience, such as computer programming.
“There is a strong need to provide motivated African Americans the opportunity to acquire higher education that will support entrepreneurial outcomes,” said entrepreneur and philanthropist Brenda Newberry.
William Tate, professor and director, Center for the Study of Regional Competiveness in Science and Technology at Washington University, agreed.
“Pathways from discovery to biotechnology entrepreneurship are challenging and exciting,” he said. “The opportunity to generate value added in terms of the conception of business ideas is increased by including collaborators with different life experiences.”
To register for the upcoming BioSTL events, visit biostl.org/about/inclusion. For more information, contact Dr. Cheryl Watkins-Moore at cwatkinsmoore@biostl.org or 314-880-8868.
