Resources for Starting Your Own Business as a PhD

Whether you’re looking to launch a startup or develop a consulting practice, having the right resources is essential to understanding entrepreneurship and what to do next. Entrepreneurship can provide freedom and flexibility that traditional academic or corporate roles may not offer. An advanced degree can sometimes be a strong selling point for your business if you communicate effectively to the right audience.

By starting your own business, you can define your career path, pursue your passions, and work on projects that align with your values and interests.

This page extends the growing collection of PhD resources on After Your PhD.

If you would like to support my efforts in building After Your PhD into a growing resource for PhDs, please visit my Patreon! Also, consider checking out my LinkedIn review and resume consulting services for more direct help in pivoting out of academia.

Academics and Entrepreneurship

At the core of starting a business is the notion of entrepreneurship which entails creating something new – which comes with its own risks and rewards. The transferable skills developed during a PhD like critical thinking, data analysis, and project management align closely with the demands of entrepreneurship.

For example, starting a business requires testing concepts and learning more about an audience. If you are a quantitative researcher, you would likely be interested in doing A/B tests on your company website to determine if a new feature is getting conversions. If you were a qualitative researcher, you may use focus groups or surveys to understand your target audience better.

In the “real world,” I would argue that these lines of thinking (qualitative and quantitative research) don’t matter as long as you are using the right tactics to help achieve the goals you need to move your business forward.

Steps For Starting Your Own Business

If you want to learn more about starting your own business, I strongly recommend checking out resources from local or federal organizations to ensure that you are checking all the right boxes when it comes to creating a business that fulfills a certain need and also can be taxed.

Below is a summarized list from the U.S. Small Business Organization:

• Conduct market research
• Write your business plan
• Fund your business
• Pick your business location
• Choose a business structure
• Choose your business name
• Register your business
• Get federal and state tax IDs
• Apply for licenses and permits
• Open a business bank account

While this is strictly aimed at U.S. citizens, there’s a lot that can be transferred to other places outside the U.S. Research is key to founding a business because you have to recognize if there is a need for the business in the first place.

Small Business Government Resources

• IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center – This is for tax requirements and EIN registration.
• USA.gov Business Resources – General guidance on starting and managing a business.
  • How to Start and Fund Your Own Business – USA Gov

Startup Resources for PhDs

Startups often aim to create a new product, service, or technology that disrupts existing markets or creates entirely new ones. Startups often rely on venture capital, angel investors, or crowdfunding to finance rapid growth, whereas traditional businesses might use loans or personal savings. To fully understand the risks (or rewards) of building a startup, read different perspectives and approaches before you make a decision wherever you can.

• Runaway Startup Postdocs – The Runway Startup Postdoc Program is part business school, part research institution, and part startup incubator. Based at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Runway ushers recent PhDs in digital technology fields through a paradigm shift — from an academic mindset to an entrepreneurial outlook.
• The Lean Startup – This classic book/guide focuses on building a successful, sustainable business by adopting a scientific approach to innovation. 
• The Academic Entrepreneur by James Calvin and Pat Masick
  Explores how academics can commercialize their research, start businesses, and navigate entrepreneurship.
• The Scientist’s Guide to Starting a Startup – Aimed at researchers, it provides a practical framework for turning scientific innovations into businesses.

Videos About Consulting from After Your PhD

I included some more relevant examples of academics who started their own business, namely doing consulting work. If you’d like to be featured on the After Your PhD YouTube channel, please take a look at this recent article!

UX Career Paths with Kaidi Wu – a UX Career Consultant