#124: Simon Rittmann on Innovating on Two Fronts: Founding a Company while Thriving in Academia

PhD Career Stories

You might have always wanted to be an academic, but what if your academic research brought up a groundbreaking technology that you knew could dramatically revolutionize industrial processes? Would you choose to stay in academia or pivot to industry and bring your idea to market? Well, it is possible to do both!

This episode’s guest, Simon Rittman, shares with our host, Tina Persson, all about his experience with founding a company while still holding a position in academia.

Simon Rittmann is the CSO and co-founder of Arkeon, a biotechnology company focused on alternative food production technologies. Additionally, he serves as the Principal Investigator at the Archaea Physiology & Biotechnology group at the University of Vienna, where he also shares his passion through teaching.

Simon and Tina discuss the crucial steps and the strategic planning that go into building a start-up as an academic, highlighting the importance of finding the right people to help bring one’s entrepreneurial vision to life. Further in the episode, they delve into the personal qualities needed to take the leap. They also talk about the concept of a dual career, how to keep “one foot in academia, one foot in the industry”, the motivations behind that choice, and how to manage both.

With Simon’s advice, you will learn that you can have the best of both worlds, if only you are flexible, open to personal growth and pick the right business-minded people to complement your scientific skills and build a great team! Stay tuned!

For the transcript, please click here: https://phdcareerstories.com/pub/srittmann

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