Can Researchers Become Billionaire Entrepreneurs?

[Unknown_9999]

Is being a researcher has the biggest chance to become a billionaire entrepreneur ??

seriously,look at those thin-film cell companies,i mean how they came up with the thought of starting up the companies?

 

[WhoWee]

seriously,look at those thin-film cell companies,i mean how they came up with the thought of starting up the companies?

There's an old saying, "he who has the gold, makes the rules". The cost of investment venture capital varies, but an ROI of 20% to 40% compounded over 5 years is standard, and usually requires an IPO.

 

[fatra2]

Do you really believe so.

From my experience, the researchers spend so much time in their lab, that it cannot be them that make the cash at the end.

Cheers

 

[Pyrrhus]

Do you really believe so.

From my experience, the researchers spend so much time in their lab, that it cannot be them that make the cash at the end.

Cheers

It depends. One of my professors invented a device that is widely used today for traffic operations. He's very rich now.

 

[drizzle]

Q: Is being a researcher has the biggest chance to become a billionaire entrepreneur

A: [IMO] yes... use your brain and become one

 

[lisab]

You shouldn't go into science for the money. Do it for love :!).

 

[Ivan Seeking]

seriously,look at those thin-film cell companies,i mean how they came up with the thought of starting up the companies?

I have met many rich salesman and very few rich researchers.

Most companies automatically own anything developed by an employee whether it was done on the job or not. But you don't have to do pure research to start a company. The success of a company is usually depedent more on financing and marketing than technology. For example, while every EE I knew at the time said Beta was better, VHS won the video tape war.

 

[drizzle]

I have met many rich salesman and very few rich researchers.

Most companies automatically own anything developed by an employee whether it was done on the job or not. But you don't have to do pure research to start a company. The success of a company is usually depedent more on financing and marketing than technology. For example, while every EE I knew at the time said Beta was better, VHS won the video tape war.

maybe that’s true but not for academics. for example Munir Nayfeh is a professor of physics at the university of Illinois, he published a paper in the journal Applied Physics Letters, which explain how an ultrathin layer of nanomaterials could improve the efficiency of solar cells. this paper caught the eye of California investor David Gelbaum – who quickly placed a call to Nayfeh...

Nayfeh and Gelbaum talked frequently in succeeding weeks. At one point, Gelbaum offered $4 million for 33 percent of Nayfeh's start-up company. When Nayfeh asked for $5 million, Gelbaum said fine.
Later, Gelbaum revised his offer: $8 million for 49 percent of the company.
And Nayfeh took him up on it.

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=4366.php"

 

[rootX]

Re: Is being a researcher has the biggest chance to become a billionaire entrepreneur

No..

 

[russ_watters]

maybe that’s true but not for academics. for example Munir Nayfeh is a professor of physics at the university of Illinois...

That's nice, but he's a couple of orders of magnitude below a billionaire.

The straightforward answer to the question is the one above: No.

More detailed: Here is a list of 50 of the worlds' billionaires (in an annoying slideshow attached to the story): http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/11/worlds-richest-people-billionaires-2009-billionaires_land.html

Have a look at where they come from. Scrolling through the top 10+ on that list, about half come from retail (even after lumping the Wal Mart Walton family together), a few from computers and a few from finance. These are how most billionaires are made, I would think.

The problem with a pure researcher becoming an insta-billionaire is two-fold:
1. Few single ideas are worth a billion dollars*.
2. Most billion dollar ideas and most researchers in general require funding/support. As such, individuals rarely ever own their billion dollar research.

*Though not technically researchers, the computer revolution is a big/notable exception to this (depending on how you look at it). Major companies came up with a lot of the foundational ideas, but collectively failed to realize what they were sitting on. Guys like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs became mega-rich captains of industry almost entirely because the existing corporations ignored them when they walked away with those ideas. If the big corporate players were paying better attention, we wouldn't have Apple and Microsoft, only Xerox and IBM.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

maybe that’s true but not for academics. for example Munir Nayfeh is a professor of physics at the university of Illinois, he published a paper in the journal Applied Physics Letters, which explain how an ultrathin layer of nanomaterials could improve the efficiency of solar cells. this paper caught the eye of California investor David Gelbaum – who quickly placed a call to Nayfeh...



http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=4366.php"

It happens, but rarely.

If you just want to get rich, get your real estate brokers license. For a long time it was true that 90% of all millionares were made in real estate. I think that number was skewed by the dot com bubble, but historically real estate was considered the best bet.

For every rich professor, I can probably find 1000 rich real estate brokers.

I am a huge fan of innovation, but it is practically delusional to think that a good or innovative product automatically means you will get rich. The fact is that the high risk associated with innovation ruins lives every day. It is not something to be take lightly. You have to know what you are getting into when you try to market a new product or you are far more likely to be a victim, rather than rich.

 

[WhoWee]

The problem with a pure researcher becoming an insta-billionaire is two-fold:
1. Few single ideas are worth a billion dollars*.
2. Most billion dollar ideas and most researchers in general require funding/support. As such, individuals rarely ever own their billion dollar research.

*Though not technically researchers, the computer revolution is a big/notable exception to this (depending on how you look at it). Major companies came up with a lot of the foundational ideas, but collectively failed to realize what they were sitting on. Guys like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs became mega-rich captains of industry almost entirely because the existing corporations ignored them when they walked away with those ideas. If the big corporate players were paying better attention, we wouldn't have Apple and Microsoft, only Xerox and IBM.

To expand on this - from a business perspective. All successful business models have 3 key elements: Capital, Management, and Concept. Rarely, an individual is able to do everything alone. To expand on these basics, Capital often owns a majority (as much as 80% to 90%) , the Concept is often controlled by the founder or inventor or their group, and the Management component would also include the Marketing team.

The Management group is usually hired and requires an aggressive compensation package. The ROI for the Capital partners is usually pre-negotiated and often includes a minimum requirement. The Concept group is the last to get paid (the big $) and usually consists of the people who most want the venture to succeed - blood, sweat and tears of development.

All of the parts are necessary and inter-dependent.

What does this mean? If you want to make $1 billion personally, design the next $10 billion success, find a venture partner with adequate funding, and hire the best team to package, sell and manage the company.

By the way, if you come up with THAT design - give me a call.:!)

 

[rootX]

I don't think it is just coming up with a valuable idea. You just don't become a billionaire if you come up with some idea no matter how good it is.

You might require to make some sacrifices today and work bit hard. You might be willing to let someone else take the risk and become billionaire than taking it yourself.

Microsoft/Apple didn't become rich companies in one night.

 

[Unknown_9999]

Both of these billionaire/hundred-millionaire were a researchers before they founded their solar companies
founder of Canadian solar
http://www.2000sz.com/UpLoadFiles/focus/2008-11/2008111209244841780.jpg

founder of suntech
http://www.asiasocietysocal.org/images/images/bio_pics/bio_zhenrong.jpg

but my question is how could they get the oppurtunity b4 the others realize it?

 

[Unknown_9999]

I don't think it is just coming up with a valuable idea. You just don't become a billionaire if you come up with some idea no matter how good it is.

You might require to make some sacrifices today and work bit hard. You might be willing to let someone else take the risk and become billionaire than taking it yourself.

Microsoft/Apple didn't become rich companies in one night.

just like how larry ellison founded his database management company from the idea of edgar f codd from ibm.

 

[Cyrus]

I think they started by learning how to write in full sentences.