Lean Start-up: A Comprehensive Case Study in the Establishment of Affordable Laboratory Infrastructure

Abstract

Historically, innovation in the biotechnology sector has relied to a large extent on the expensive infrastructure provided by universities or large pharmaceutical companies. This prohibitive start-up expense is the basis of why garage-style biotechnology entrepreneurs are exceedingly rare as compared to their software and high-tech counterparts. Recent consolidation among pharmaceutical companies and the release of next generation research equipment has produced an affordable surplus in the secondary equipment markets, reducing the barrier to entry posed by equipment expenses. We examine the biotechnology start-up Ichor Therapeutics, Inc., and review strategies that the founding team has successfully employed to establish an affordable laboratory, reduce research expenses, and promote communication among team members.

Taking stock and charting the future: the management and implications of DIY laboratories for innovation and society

“…However, in recent times, there has been a proliferation of Do-It-Yourself laboratories (hereafter, referred to as DIY labs) across developed and developing countries. These laboratories are often established by science enthusiasts and 'garage-style entrepreneurs' (Meissner et al 2021;Grohn et al 2015) to learn, experiment and engage in the advancement of science, technology, and innovation.…”

“…As DIY labs serve as alternative homes for local talent (Sleator 2016), they pose competitive challenges to traditional innovation stalwarts such as universities and companies. Perhaps, their greatest competitive advantage comes from their low start-up costs and low cost-cost operating models (Grohn et al 2015), which make them more efficient than traditional laboratories without compromising their potential for new discoveries. Representing platforms for technological innovation at the grassroots and embodying democratisation, they allow people to experiment and test ideas (Sarpong, and Rawal 2020;Meyer 2013).…”

Lean Commercialization: A New Framework for Commercializing High Technologies

“…One of well-known lean/agile approaches is the lean startup methodology. It was propounded by Ries (2011) and it has been applied by scholars in various contexts, such as healthcare (e.g., Gaffney et al, 2014;Silva et al, 2013), biotechnology (e.g., Shimasaki, 2018;Kruuti, 2016;Grohn et al, 2015), education (e.g., Tran, 2015;Youtie & Shapira, 2017), research (e.g., Still, 2017), technology-based ventures (e.g., Harms et al, 2015), and information and communication technology (e.g., Gbadegeshin & Heinonen, 2016;Ibba et al, 2018;Miski, 2014).…”

Untitled

“…One of well-known lean/agile approaches is the lean startup methodology. It was propounded by Ries (2011) and it has been applied by scholars in various contexts, such as healthcare (e.g., Gaffney et al, 2014;Silva et al, 2013), biotechnology (e.g., Shimasaki, 2018;Kruuti, 2016;Grohn et al, 2015), education (e.g., Tran, 2015;Youtie & Shapira, 2017), research (e.g., Still, 2017), technology-based ventures (e.g., Harms et al, 2015), and information and communication technology (e.g., Gbadegeshin & Heinonen, 2016;Ibba et al, 2018;Miski, 2014).…”