We took part in Summer of Startups, a startup incubator by Aalto University. We met a lot of other small startups and people interested in them. We found out how to pitch synthetic biology to people that know nothing about it. It just needed a sympathetic mascot and explaining how a bioreactor is a work place for him.

The program included two different occasions where we pitched our startup idea. There was pitching night, where we competed in pitching with all the other teams. Then there was Demo Day, a massive event with hundreds of people where we presented ourselves and run a booth for the whole evening, getting people excited about us and synthetic biology. We presented ourselves to an audience of hundreds and many of them came by our booth later.

Being a Synthetic Biology Startup

There is no specific definition for a startup, but as Eric Ries puts it: "A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty".

So, that's kind of where we were; the first-ever Finnish iGEM team with a vague idea of what to do, but no idea of how to get there.

The Startup Scene

We were around just by the right time. During the early 2010's there has been a big startup bubble in Finland. That means people are really interested in these kinds of teams and lots of "big guys" are swarming around the scene, which in Finland is definitely centered around Espoo, the town where we had our lab, and Starup Sauna, the place for startups in Espoo. The Startup Sauna is situated roughly 700m from our lab! So why not get involved?

When we decided to attend the Summer of Startups programme we actually had no idea what we were signing up for. We thought we would attend some lectures and report back on how we're doing. We were, in a sense, like children in a stock market, naive but full of hope. Being brave is part of a good startup.

Summer of startups lasted 9 weeks and consisted of talks, coaching, assignments, workshops, BBQ and networking events. Did you say networking?

So, a lot about the startup scene is about believing in what you do and being very talkative. Well, maybe not really, but it is a way to get to know the right people who can help you, and get you funding.

So how do you get nine labrats and nerds to talk with investors and coaches who are mainly concerned about "finding the next big thing" and know nothing about biology, labwork or iGEM?

In the beginning we really took things seriously. We listened to all the coaches and their ideas, but turns out we were kind of the odd ones around there. No one really knew anything about biotech. Software is the thing! And for a particular reason: setting up a software startup requires very little money compared to biotech.

"Starting a biotech startup requires tremendous amounts of money" ...but everyone starts off poor. The point of incubator programmes and certains startups is about getting investors interested in your idea or your team. There are many kinds of investors, but the ones very lucrative for startups are angel investors. These are people who will spot "the next big thing" early and fund them in exchange for a certain amount of their (to-be) shares in their (to-be) company. They take big risks. This way the team can keep focusing on their project. Maybe one of ten companies pays itself back, but in those cases they pay back themselves over ten-fold. That is what angel investing is about. Later a startup can seek for venture capital and do "funding rounds". We were really scared about the money involved, but you shouldn't. Most of the angel nivestors just want you to "continue as you were" and will become a coach for the team.

The Summer of Startups programme coupled us up with some great coaches. It was really interesting to talk with these people who have founded big industries and have actual experience. It seems however that most of the people have moved from "technical industry" to "marketing industry", because lots of focus was laid on how we look and are understood. People stated that "invention first, market then" is the old way of doing things. Actually it seemed like the idea and team were enough to start with, and this really holds...for most kinds of companies.

Experimenting with different ideas in a quick pace is really effective! Our problem was that our research could not be done fast. So in the end we were actually one of those "old style" startups who do their research first and then think of a market for the product. But we still learned a very important lesson: Being able to convey what is being done is crucial to a startup!

I don't understand. Are you making an application for smartphones?

Many of our discussions started like this: "So what are you guys working on?" "We are developing a genetic switch that can be controlled with light. We want to be able to control gene expression in bacteria" "What? Bacteria?! That sounds horrible!" We started saying "organisms" instead of "bacteria" but the response that followed was something close to: "So what are you actually doing?" We tried to formulate ourself in a different manner: "We are developing small bio-factories inside organisms. We can produce things like medicine!"

But even after weeks of refining our responses still were: "I don't understand. Are you making an application for smartphones?"

Honestly, one has to express oneself really clearly with common-language words in order for laymen to understand. So why is it important that everyone understands what you are doing?

• People will tell their friends who actually understand. "You know, I saw this startup who were engineering bacteria to be controlled with light, you work in the biobusiness, right?..."
• Investors will get excited even though they have no idea what you are doing.
• You will cut down on time in the beginning of talks. People seem to have very limited time, so getting to the point (we need money and advice) fast is crucial.

One of the greatest methods of quickly explaining what you do is Pitching.

Pitching is about conveying your idea / enthusiasm / team / knowledge to an audience of 1 or more people. A great example of this is the elevator pitch: a short, structured explanation about your thing and it's potential in 30s-2 minutes. The idea is that if you happen to stumble on someone who could benefit your project in an elevator, you should be able to get their attention before the ride is over!

We Pitched A LOT! We had coaching and ranting and lots of "NO, BAD!":s.

Our pitch was revolutionized by Brian, the bacterium. We wanted to keep the word bacterium in our pitch, but the big audience seemed to be really scared of such things. So what do you do? You make an absolutely cute bacterium that cannot be feared: Brian was born.

Once you are able to explain your startup in just two minutes, you actually have a much clearer picture about your project yourself, too!

But how did we get people to follow our idea? We told them a story about Brian, who is an ordinary guy, until we come around. We turn Brian into an superhero! The great thing about pitching is that once you are able to explain your startup in 2 minutes you actually have a much clearer picture of what your core is. Mental magic! Through thorough practice and countless hours of refining our script and slides, we were finally ready for the big thing.