Different Roads to Academic Entrepreneurship

There has been a sea change over the last few decades in the way academic institutions view entrepreneurial activities of the faculty and the role of the Institution in fostering an ecosystem conducive to such activities. This has become a global phenomenon and many of the leading Institutions in Europe and Asia are also beginning to replicate the model of the Boston or Silicon Valley academic Institutions. While this is an opportunity for the innovative, entrepreneurial faculty member it also presents a significant dilemma in terms of how one manages such extra-curricular activities with minimal detriment to one’s academic program. In my talk I will discuss a variety of models that are available to the academic entrepreneur, their pluses and minuses and also some of the critical knowledge one needs to understand about the world of entrepreneurship in general. I will use examples from several of my colleagues’ startups and my own experience in running a company for over three decades maintaining an academic life.