From Scientist to Entrepreneur: How I Made the Leap
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
The Unlikely Path From Scientist to Entrepreneur
I never planned to become an entrepreneur.
I wanted to be a scientist. Discover something. Maybe win a Nobel Prize one day.
That didn't happen. But something better did.
The "bad" career decision
In 2005, I had to decide where to do my PhD. I had two options:
Stay at my alma mater in Bayreuth
Go to Göttingen and work with Stefan W. Hell at the Max Planck Institute – a renowned professor in biophysics
Göttingen seemed like the obvious choice for a scientific career.
Then a third option appeared.
A casually dressed researcher visited our lab. Corduroy pants, worn-out white t-shirt, intense eyes. His name was Dieter Braun, and he was looking for PhD students willing to work for €1,400 per month in Munich – one of Germany's most expensive cities.
The research topic? "The Origin of Life."
Zero probability of high-impact publications. A terrible choice for an academic career.
I said yes anyway.
In 2014, Stefan W. Hell won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The job I turned down.
But I don't regret it. Because that "bad" decision led me to Stefan Duhr – my future co-founder.
The moment I realized I wasn't a scientist
After two years and over 4,000 hours in the lab, something clicked.
I had never really asked "why" something is the way it is. My focus was always on "what can I do with it?" What problem can I solve? What's the application?
That's when I understood: I wasn't meant to be a researcher. I was meant to be a builder.
Understanding science excited me. But applying it? That's what made me come alive.
The secret experiment
Our professor needed publications. Stefan and I worked on separate projects – no teamwork allowed.
Then the entire department went skiing in the Alps. Everyone except us.
We stayed behind. We had a secret idea: "Melting Curve Analysis in a Snapshot."
For two days, we had the lab to ourselves. I glued hundreds of microfluidic chambers with nail polish. Stefan prepared samples. We ran experiment after experiment.
By the end, we had achieved something remarkable: identifying single-point mutations in DNA 10,000 times faster than existing technologies.
That was the moment everything changed. Not because of the science – but because of what we discovered about ourselves.
We worked better together. My biophysics perspective combined with Stefan's biochemistry skills created something neither of us could have done alone.
From patent to business plan
I had no idea how to commercialize an invention. So I did what any clueless PhD student would do: I sent an email to a biotech student network.
"Who knows how to write a patent for a biophysical measurement method?"
A man named Lars replied – but not with patent advice. He invited us to a Business Plan seminar at LMU's Entrepreneurial Center.
A business plan? I had never even thought about one.
We joined the seminar. We won prizes. And suddenly, we weren't just scientists with an invention. We were founders with a company name: NanoTemper.
The mindset shifts
Looking back, the transition from scientist to entrepreneur required three fundamental shifts:
From "why" to "what for"
Scientists ask: why does this work? Entrepreneurs ask: what problem does this solve?
Both questions matter. But if you want to build a company, the second one has to come first.
From solo to team
Academia rewards individual achievement. Your name on the paper. Your thesis. Your reputation.
Entrepreneurship rewards collaboration. The best ideas came from combining different perspectives. Stefan and I are proof of that.
From publishing to selling
In science, success means getting published. In business, success means getting customers.
This was the hardest shift for me. I had to learn that a brilliant technology means nothing if no one pays for it.
The environment matters
I was lucky. The Center of NanoScience at LMU had an entrepreneurial culture. Companies were being founded all around us – Nanion, attocube, ibidi. Our professors supported it.
When you're surrounded by founders, starting a company feels possible. When you're not, it feels crazy.
That's why I now work with LMU as Vice President for Entrepreneurship. Because too few students ever meet someone who makes them believe it's possible.
Those role models exist. At every university. We just need to make them visible.
What I'd tell my younger self
If you're a scientist thinking about entrepreneurship, here's what I wish someone had told me:
You don't need to have it all figured out. We started with a technology and a name. That's it.
Find a co-founder who complements you. Stefan and I have completely different personalities. That's our strength.
Talk to customers before investors. The best validation is someone paying for what you've built.
Your scientific training is an asset. The rigor, the persistence, the ability to solve complex problems – it all transfers.
The leap is scary. Do it anyway. I turned down a future Nobel laureate to follow an uncertain path. Best decision I ever made.
The journey continues
Today, NanoTemper has over 250 employees, €56M in annual revenue, and serves researchers in more than 60 countries.
But I still remember those early days. The nail polish. The secret experiments. The moment we realized we could build something together.
Science taught me how to think. Entrepreneurship taught me how to act.
You don't have to choose one or the other. You can be both.
If this resonated with you – I write about building NanoTemper, the lessons I learned, and the questions I'm still figuring out. Every two weeks, one story. No slides. No fluff. -> subscribe to my newsletter
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