A typical early stage company in chemistry used to require high upfront costs, extensive intellectual property (e.g. pharmaceutical start-ups), and was inaccessible to an aspiring entrepreneur working out of their garage. This is in contrast to the origin stories built around mainstream disruptive tech companies like Amazon, Airbnb, Snapchat, or Dropbox that seem much more accessible to everyone as bringing to market simple solutions to everyday problems. Younger generations are placing emphasis on social responsibility and sustainability in career and consumer decisions, which brings about new market opportunities for business models that address relevant pain points. As this trend continues, we will discuss how chemistry and chemical education becomes more approachable and relevant to entrepreneurs building environmentally and socially sustainable companies.

Pathways to entrepreneurship in sustainability and chemistry

256th National Meeting (2018)

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