“We are not the entrepreneurial type.” I heard that more than once when I was young, from my parents. While their friends were starting businesses, they both kept their jobs until retirement, and they did well for themselves. Still, I always wondered what traits those were that they thought they lacked: courage, creativity, interpersonal skills, what? Did I have those traits? Would I do well in business?

For a long time, I didn’t see myself as a business person either – I wanted to become a scientist or a teacher since elementary school. I was never driven by money, and I thought that the life of a university professor would suit me well, with the intellectual challenges, creation of new knowledge, and building the skills and futures of the new generations.

But the joke is on me. I do great science, yes, but money turned out to be as central to my work as it is in entrepreneurship. I spend long hours outlining grant proposals (business plans), to secure funding for my projects (get contracts). Now that I am a Principal Investigator (CEO) on my own grants, I worry about expenses, accounting, paying collaborators (contractors), and staying on schedule and under budget.

There are other, non-financial similarities. The hours are long. I wear many hats. I’ve had to learn many new skills to make sure the projects get done. Curveballs show up all the time, and I solve them on the go. Creative solutions are needed constantly. Networking and people skills are crucial. Project management is central. Being a scientist, as it turned out, is being an entrepreneur. “A Rose by Any Other Name”, indeed.

Had I known all this 30 years ago, would I have been more or less inclined to pursue an academic career? I don’t know – I was a different person then. But today, this realization makes me curious to explore further.

Have you become aware of the entrepreneurial aspect of academic research? What moment brought that about? Drop a comment – I’m curious.