This document discusses leaving academia for entrepreneurship. It shares the author's experience of transitioning from a PhD to founding Mendeley, a company that helps researchers work smarter. It provides advice for researchers considering leaving academia, such as diversifying your skills and experience, seeking guidance from those who have already transitioned, and networking within and outside your department to find opportunities. The author emphasizes the importance of having clear goals and an entrepreneurial mindset to make the transition successfully.

1. Academic to Entrepreneur: Why and how to leave academia behind
William Gunn, Ph.D.
Head of Academic Outreach
Mendeley
twitter: @mrgunn

2. How many of you currently plan to look for a tenure-track faculty position when you finish?

3. 80% will choose something else

4. My story

5. The advice I got
•Good: Pick a stable, well-funded lab where people graduate on time
•Good: Diversify project risk
•Bad: Keep your head down, work hard, and it’ll all work out

6. Seek advice from the people who can give it

7. Looking for light at the end of the tunnel

8. A challenger appears!

9. I was part of something!

10. It was a little isolating

12. Csikszentmihalyi, M. Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. (1991)

13. Ease transition by diversifying risk

14. A desire to make things better

15. Early Adopter

16. Lesson: Fail Faster

17. Look beyond the surface

18. Achievements
•OA policy advocacy successes
•a tool that doesn’t suck

19. ..and aggregates research data in the cloud
Mendeley extracts research data..
Mendeley helps researchers work smarter

20. ..helps
researchers work smarter
..makes science more collaborative and transparent
..is creating the world’s largest open research database
Tools of scientific discovery
Mendeley..

21. Nothing traditional about it

22. The career development office can’t help with the nontraditional stuff

23. BLOG!

25. Stay
•What do you want to do?
•Will you find "Flow"?
•Realistic impression?
•Supportive network?
•Are you young?

26. Go
•Frustrated by lack of impact?
•Like to write?
•Want to influence policy?
•Are you too charismatic?

28. tinynazispiders.spreadshirt.co.uk

29. Network!

30. Not just standing around talking to people

31. Do interesting things

32. Such as blog

33. FINDING OPPORTUNITIES
http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/tag/transitions

34. Reaching Out!

35. In your department
•Be a speaker, symposia, conference organizer or session chair
•Your local Biotech Club
•MassBio
•Your local Post-doc Association

36. Professional organizations

37. MAKING THE TRANSITION
•Goals
•Mindset
•Time management

38. Grants vs. Sales

39. Time pressure

40. Teamwork vs. solo research

44. www.mendeley.com