Founder teams often have a special bond. You all set out together and there is a fantastic collegiate spirit. Everyone mucks in equally and everyone is included in the coffee round.

But comes the day when you need to grow - and that is one of those never look back moments.

In biotech and life sciences, the founder team is often made up of friends or colleagues who come from a science or engineering background. You know your subject matter inside out. But what do you know about recruitment, or managing new staff?

No matter who joins your team in the early stages they are going to have a profound impact on your team - for better or for worse. So choose wisely.

But of course, in order to choose, you need a wide selection of excellent candidates to choose from. What is your recruitment methodology? Where do you look? What is your pitch to attract the right people? How do you screen the good from the bad?

When you first go to market, you might find that you have no Employment Brand - the magic ingredient that makes your company an obvious place to work. How do you create one when you have never hired anyone?

Let's say you manage to find and persuade someone amazing to join your team - what happens on day one? Do they have a clear understanding of their role? Do they have all the access, logins, equipment and training they need to do their job properly? How soon will they be contributing positively to your company?

And, once they are working, how will they know if they are working on the right things? More importantly, how will you know?

The good news is that every question posed above has an answer. You don't need a complete suite of HR tools and technologies in place to get it right first time. It does not need to cost a lot in terms of money or time. In fact, do it wisely and it will save you both.

At LUKA BIO we specialise in advising nascent teams on how to set up a stage-appropriate recruitment function to make sure you get it right first time.

For more information contact us on info@lukabio.com for a free diagnostic discussion.
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Biotech founders are a special breed.

It requires a particular type of gumption, coupled with an extraordinary level of technical expertise, to take a scientific concept and set out on the long and arduous journey to bring that idea to life.

In my conversations with life science innovators, I have found them to be passionate about their mission - to do some good in the world. This is very much an industry to which we feel aligned.

My colleagues and I come from a different background - a unique mix of clinical medicine and human resources, with a focus on talent acquisition.

We have noticed that life science startups often face a critical inflexion point when they start to hire new team members. As every entrepreneur knows, you usually have to develop skills and systems on a short timescale, just as the need is arising. 

HR and hiring skills are no different, and providing advice on this is the sweet spot that LUKA BIO intends to occupy. We aim to help biotech founders develop their HR and recruitment systems to a level that is appropriate for their stage of development.

We can find the right people - recruitment is our core skill. 

However, our broader mission is to make sure that our clients learn how to hire and select the right people, successfully onboard them and then set up their new team members for success.

We want to be a partner on your journey to develop and grow as a business, as we grow ours. Let's enjoy the adventure together.