NYU

1. The ‘Yelp’ of Scientific Protocols
CookScience
Steve Blank’s 5-Day Lean LaunchPad, NYU
Instructors: Steve Blank, Owen Davis, Lindsey Gray, and Frank Rimalovski
Team: Fang-Ke Huang, Ph.D. and Jing Deng, Ph.D.
Total 53 Type
Day One 14 PhD students/Postdoc 38
Day Two 11 Principle Investigators 5
Day Three 11 Business Development 2
Day Four 8 Publishing Editor 2
Day Five 9 Sales & Marketing Manager 6

2. CookScience
Team
Fang-Ke Huang,
Ph.D
Cancer Biologists
Biochemists
Postdoctoral Fellow
NYU Medical School
Jing Deng,
Ph.D
Immunologist and
Virologist
Postdoctoral Fellow
NYU Medical School

3. Impact Factors of research reproducibility
CookScience
Experimenting Cooking
Chemical reagents and Biological
Materials
Ingredients
Protocols Recipes
Lab consumables and Lab
Equipment
Cookware
Researchers Cooker

4. How to find a reliable methods to plan and implement experiments?
Search (Google Scholar,
PubMed)
Extract
protocol
Compare
Test
☺
yes
no
Before
Protocol
Research
Article
research paper 1
method 1
research paper 1
method 2
method 3
method 4
method 5
method 6
method 7
1hr
1~2 hr
1~2hr
70%-80%
Same methods with different variations

5. How to find a reliable methods to plan and implement experiments?
Search (CookScience
Platform)
Select (best match, rating,
cost, and duration, etc.)
Test

yes
no
After
2h
Same methods with different variations
1. “Method A for Protein X”
contributed by Group Y Researcher Z
20 reviews 10 citations $ 50 48 h
2. “Method A for Protein X”
contributed by Group A Researcher B
15 reviews 5 citations $ 40 36 h
……
compare

6. CookScience Model Canvas
● Our primary
customers are life
science researchers
who cares about
research
reproducibility but
feel frustrated to
record detailed lab
note;
● Develop and
maintain the
website and mobile
app;
● Help scientists to
take detailed lab
note; Streamline
protocols searching
● Increase research
reproducibility;
● Promote lab note
sharing.
● Promote methods
and experience
sharing
● Improve research
communication and
collaboration
● Reagents supplier;
● Research labs;
● Salary;
● Maintenance fee;
● License fee;
● Hardware cost
● Website;
● mobile app
● Web advertisement;
● Subscription fee;
● Web platform and
mobile app
developer;
● Customer
development team
4
● self-service with
technical support
● Value co-creation
with our customers
throughout different
stages;
● Cost and risk
reduction;
● Convenience
DAY One: 14

7. CookScience Model Canvas
● life science
researchers with 4
+ year research
experience;
● Develop and
maintain the
website and mobile
app;
● Encourage sharing
methods and
reviews.
● Promote methods
and experience
sharing;
● Streamline methods
searching;
● Increase research
reproducibility;
● Improve research
communication and
collaboration
● Cost and risk
reduction;
● Convenience;
● Reagents supplier;
● Research labs;
● Research methods
publisher
● Procurement
Operation Manager
● University (PhD
thesis copyright
holder)
● Salary;
● Maintenance fee;
● License fee;
● Hardware cost
● Website;
● mobile app
● Web advertisement;
● Subscription fee;
● Scientific publisher
● Web platform and
mobile app
developer;
● Customer
development team
DAY Two: 11
4
● Value co-creation
● personal
assistance and
automation
● Reagent suppliers
● Reagents
advertisement
● Promote sales
● Automation

8. CookScience Model Canvas
● life science
researchers with 4
+ year research
experience,
especially cell
biologists and
immunologists.
● Develop and
maintain the
website and mobile
app;
● Encourage sharing
methods and
reviews;
● Promote methods
and experience
sharing;
● Streamline methods
searching;
● Increase research
reproducibility;
● Improve research
communication and
collaboration
● Cost and risk
reduction;
● Convenience;
● Reagents supplier;
● Research labs;
● Research methods
publisher
Publisher will not
be our partner until
our users reach a
critical mass.
● Procurement
Operation Manager
● University (PhD
thesis copyright
holder)
● Salary;
● Maintenance fee;
● License fee;
● Hardware cost
● website;
● mobile app
● Web advertisement;
● Subscription fee;
● Scientific publisher
● Web platform and
mobile app
developer;
● Customer
development team
DAY Three: 11
4
● Value co-creation
● personal
assistance and
automation
● Reagent suppliers
● Reagents
advertisement
● Promote sales
● Automation

9. CookScience Model Canvas
● life science
researchers with 4
+ year research
experience,
especially cell
biologists,
immunologists,
neuroscientists.
● Develop and
maintain the
website and mobile
app;
● Postgraduate PhD
students are willing
to share their
thesis content
● Promote methods
and experience
sharing;
● Streamline methods
searching;
● Increase research
reproducibility;
● Improve research
communication and
collaboration
● Cost and risk
reduction;
● Convenience;
● Reagents supplier;
● Research labs;
● Publisher will not
be our partner until
our users reach a
critical mass
● Publisher needs a
way to promote
their protocols.
● Procurement
Operation Manager
● University (PhD
thesis copyright
holder)
● Salary;
● Maintenance fee;
● License fee;
● Hardware cost
● website;
● mobile app
● Web advertisement;
● Pay per click link;
● Subscription fee;
● Scientific publisher
● Web platform and
mobile app
developer;
● Customer
development team
DAY Four: 8
4
● Value co-creation
● personal
assistance and
automation
● Reagent suppliers
● Research Service
provider
● Reagents
advertisement
● Promote sales
● Automation

10. Here is what we learned from day 2 to day 4
Customer Segment
PhD Student/Postdoc
• 27 out of 38 (70%) had a hard time to reproduce a particular experiment, all of
them named the lack of detailed protocol as one of the top three reasons. These details
include reagent catalog No., lot No., timing, etc.
• For those who say they did not experience reproducibility problem, they come from
disciplines like, Systems Biology, Organic Chemistry, Structural Biology, Protein
Engineering, Nutrition.
• For those who say “Yes”, they are cell biologists, neuroscientists, and immunologists.
Reagents supplier and their sales channels
• One reagent supplier has 70~ 80% of their sales through their websites, especially through
search engines.
• Some research service providers have their sales through websites as well.
• Lab consumable supplier have most of their sales either through direct sales or distributors.

11. Total Available Market
$ 3.5 B
Lab supplies in the world $35 B
Percent Cut charged 1%
Total Available Market (US) $3.5 B
US Share in research output 30%
Share of Life Science 50%
Share of Reagents and
Consumables
50%
Served available market (US) $25 M
People have issues with
existing ways to find methods
50%
Target market (US) $25 M
Served available market
$ 25 M
Target market
$ 25 M
Market Size
Trend: expected 3% increase of annual R&D spending in US

12. CookScience
Publishers
science video protocols
Social
Research Lab management
Competitive Landscape

13. Potential Partner
Publisher
• Publisher are not likely to have an interest to partner
with us until we have a critical mass of users.
• Protocols Publisher does have a need to engage with
a lot of scientists to promote their journals.
• They even tried to acquire a forum called “Protocol
online”.

14. CookScience Model Canvas
● life science
researchers with 4
+ year research
experience,
especially cell
biologists,
immunologists,
neuroscientists in
US.
● Develop and
maintain the
website and mobile
app;
● Postgraduate PhD
students are willing
to share their
thesis content.
● Promote methods
and experience
sharing;
● Streamline methods
searching;
● Increase research
reproducibility by
providing detailed
protocol and
anticipated results;
● Improve research
communication and
collaboration
● Cost and risk
reduction;
● Convenience;
● Reagents supplier;
● Research labs;
● Publisher will not
be our partner until
our users reach a
critical mass
● Publisher needs a
way to promote
their protocols.
● Procurement
Operation Manager
● University (PhD
thesis copyright
holder)
● Salary;
● Maintenance fee;
● License fee;
● Hardware cost
● website;
● mobile app
● Web advertisement;
● Pay per click link;
● Subscription fee;
● Scientific publisher
● Web platform and
mobile app
developer;
● Customer
development team
DAY Five: 9
4
● Value co-creation
● personal
assistance and
automation
● Reagent suppliers
● Reagents
advertisement
● Promote sales
● Automation

15. CookScience DAY 5
Customer Segment
Here is what we ended
Life Scientists
- 4+ research experience
- cell biologists, immunologists, neuroscientists
- US (challenges of sharing protocol internationally)
What are the criteria scientists use to choose a
particular protocol?
- details, catalog no, lot no, temperature, timing
- anticipated result (quality of the protocol)
- reagents/equipment availability

16. What we are going to do next?
CookScience
• What level of details do scientists prefer?
• What kind of format do scientists like?
• Given a protocol with balanced details, can it guarantee the reproducibility? If not, how we
could measure to what extent it can improve?
• How much money and time we could potentially save for scientists?
Customer Relationship - Get Strategy
• Obtain open access protocols to get started.
• Recruit volunteer scientists to rate, review, and
comment .
• Demo Website
Interest:
• Offer advertisement for vendors.
• Tabling up and visiting number of trade expos
• Advertising in various architecture magazine
• Blogs, newsletters

17. Acknowledgements
Steve Blank
Teaching Team
Owen Davis Frank Rimalovski Lindsey Gray
Risa Cohn
Jerry Hao
Carlo Yuvienco
Jasmine Hume
Teaching Assistants

18. Backup Slides

19. CookScience Model Canvas
● Our primary
customers are life
science researchers
who cares about
research
reproducibility but
feel frustrated to
record detailed lab
note;
● Develop and
maintain the
website and mobile
app;
● Help scientists to
take detailed lab
note;
● Increase research
reproducibility;
● Promote lab note
sharing.
● Reagents supplier;
● Research labs;
● Salary;
● Maintenance fee;
● License fee;
● Hardware cost
● Website;
● mobile app
● Web advertisement;
● Subscription fee;
● Web platform and
mobile app
developer;
● Customer
development team
DAY 0
4
● self-service with
technical support
● Cost and risk
reduction;
● Convenience

20. Pivot 1
Hypothesis Value Proposition
Scientists struggle to take detailed lab notes Help scientists to take detailed lab note
Scientists struggle to find reliable protocols Help scientists to streamline protocols
searching