Aoife Taylor: from PhD to CEO
Three years ago Aoife was a PhD student in the 野狼社区 Institute of Biotechnology, now she is the CEO of a STEM startup. We caught up with her to find out more about becoming a businesswoman.
When we last sat down with Aoife Taylor she told us about her experiences of being a woman in STEM, what it was like carrying out a PhD during the pandemic and how she tackled her impostor syndrome. Now she is the CEO of , a startup that has its roots in the MIB, and that is producing a sustainable alternative to ceramic tiles. We thought it would be an good time to catch up with her and find out more about her new role.
Trust in yourself and be determined. It will pay off in the end.
Enna: Hi Aoife, nice to see you again, it鈥檚 been a while! And so much has changed since we last spoke. Can you tell me a bit about what you鈥檙e up to now?
Aoife: Sure! And yes, so much has changed. I鈥檝e handed in my PhD thesis and I鈥檓 now working full time at DeakinBio as their CEO. It鈥檚 quite a nice change from before as I鈥檓 now on the business side of things rather than the science side.
E: Nice! So how did you make that transition from PhD to CEO? From scientist to businesswoman?
A: So weirdly it started with an art-science collaboration. I went along to a exhibition, really loved what they were doing and wanted to get involved. Aled was already working with them using his materials so I decided to join his team along with Sunny (artist) and Helen (scientist). We started to investigate adding chlorophyll because I was studying a chlorophyll pre-cursor as part of my PhD and I was making interesting hues of green and blue when synthesising it. So, we started experimenting with spinach! Eventually we got to algae which we found made the composite a really attractive colour. It also happened that the algae improved its strength too, so it had a practical application we weren鈥檛 expecting.
We thought about other additives that might improve the properties of the material and graphene was one of them. So, we entered the Eli Harari competition to see if this was an idea worth pursuing. We won the first prize (拢50,000) and that really gave us the means to do some serious material investigation! After that we were able to secure a number of other grants and have been working at the under the Bridging the Gap scheme. Being at the GEIC is great because it's a start-up hub and everyone is happy to help each other out.
E: That鈥檚 amazing! What鈥檚 it like being on the business side of things rather than the science side?
A: I love it, it鈥檚 a really great opportunity to expand my horizons and after my PhD I was fed up with being in the lab. I鈥檝e also found that I feel more confident in this role and setbacks don鈥檛 knock me like they used to. So, for example, when I was doing my PhD, it would really knock my confidence if I didn鈥檛 get the results I wanted and I hated presenting my work to people. But with this I鈥檓 happy to get up and show off what we鈥檙e doing and even if we get setbacks like not getting a grant, it doesn鈥檛 worry me as that鈥檚 just part and parcel of it isn鈥檛 it?
E: That鈥檚 great to hear! So, had you had any business training before taking on this role? Or has it been provided on the job?
A: I鈥檇 never had any formal training in terms of courses or anything like that, but I have taken part in quite a few competitions and events that are aimed at developing business skills in scientists. The University has actually been really great at providing those kinds of opportunities so obviously I took part in as many as I could find! One of the most helpful ones was BiotechYes, it鈥檚 a competition where you come up with an imaginary business, a product, and then put together a pitch deck and present it to the rest of the group. As you鈥檙e doing that you get support and feedback from businesspeople, it was a really useful learning experience. One of the things I learned that was particularly helpful was how to present a business case (asking for money), which is very different from how you鈥檇 present your research findings.
E: So, last time we talked we touched on your feelings of impostor syndrome. How do you manage that now? Is it better now that you鈥檙e in a role you feel comfortable in?
A: So, I definitely still have it, but I don鈥檛 struggle with it in the same way I did while I was doing my PhD. I find it much easier to rationalise the little problems and work my way through them rather than going into self-destruct mode. I鈥檓 also comforted by the fact that many start-up CEOs start with no experience, so I鈥檓 not alone on that front!
E: How do you find female representation now you鈥檙e on the business side of things? We spoke about this last time; do you think representation has got better?
A: All of our advisors are men and I don鈥檛 work directly with any female business leaders. There are women around but they鈥檙e always super busy, so I guess that impacts on their ability to offer mentorship. But I have been to some events where there have been women-led panels and there鈥檚 schemes for women where they take you through important business skills or topics. They鈥檙e all really helpful.
E: Do you find people interact with you differently because you鈥檙e a woman in a traditionally male-led field?
A: Yeah, I think sometimes. I am conscious though that most of the people we interact with on a business-front are men, potential investors, mentors and the like. I am interested to see if they鈥檒l treat me differently because of my gender. But, so far, it hasn鈥檛 been a big problem which is nice! And actually, our team is evenly split, and the men in our team are very supportive so there鈥檚 no friction there.
E: And what do you think the future holds for you?
A: I鈥檇 love to see us grow and DeakinBIO turn into something great. Hopefully we鈥檒l get some investors and we鈥檒l be able to go to market. If not, then at least I鈥檝e learned business skills, and I can look for similar opportunities elsewhere. But I really believe in our product and that we can do some good in the world. So I鈥檓 going to learn, practice, iterate and try my best to make this work!