The Hero’s Journey of a Clinical Research Site Owner and the Cycle of Expansion

Amid the tumult of tech bros and AI vendors swarming like locusts through the life sciences industry, there's a relentless quest. They seek to delve into the minds of countless clinical research site owners, sending countless emails with the phrase "can I pick your brain", hoping to unearth the mythical elixir, a panacea to banish all the burdens of clinical research with the mere touch of technology. Whatever the latest DCT-centric-AI-DEI craze or narrative may be, the rubber meets the road at community research sites where the only thing that matters is randomization and retention rates. In the quiet corners of the world where innovation meets necessity, there lies a journey—one of uncertainty, persistence, and transformation. It’s a path not unlike the ancient tales of heroes venturing beyond the known, chasing something greater than themselves.

Clinical research site owners walk this path every day. Some start with a grand vision, a call to adventure, a belief that something can be built where nothing existed before. For me, it was bringing clinical research to Yuma, Arizona—an underserved yet diverse region brimming with untapped potential. The question was never if it could be done but why no one had done it yet. That was my first lesson: entrepreneurs step into the unknown because they see opportunity where others see obstacles.

Stepping Into the Unknown

The founder’s mindset is bold, full of energy, and, if we’re being honest, a bit naive. At the start, you imagine yourself as a visionary. But visions don’t pay bills, and ideas don’t answer queries. Reality humbles you fast.

At first, I was not just the founder—I was the coordinator, recruiter, data entry specialist, and lab tech. I had to spin blood samples, answer EDC queries, chase down PIs for signatures, and negotiate with sponsors. This is the "descent into the trenches" every founder must make. You take off the dreamer’s hat and put on the worker’s gloves.

The first transition requires you to step down from the clouds as founder/visionary, and get dirty in the mud as a generalist (ie do everything yourself) clinical research coordinator. I recommend founders bootstrap their way into growing their site and doing the early CRC work themselves before hiring any staff. This way they are creating the SOPs and refining best practices within the context of the original vision for the company. For me, this was approximately 6 months (because I am not a first time site owner) until I hired my first real employee.

And just when you think you’re making progress, the real challenges begin.

Trials, Tribulations, and Rock Bottom

Every path has dark moments—the abyss where you wonder if you made a mistake. For me, it wasn’t just about managing studies; it was about managing people. The first set of coordinators I hired—brilliant as they were—fell into competition instead of collaboration. Power struggles, ego clashes, and growing pains made leadership the hardest role to step into.

This is where most site owners break. You think, I built this. Why is it falling apart? Maybe I should have never hired a CRC and just done all the work myself! You realize that no matter how well you set up systems, people dynamics can make or break everything. It would have been very easy for me to abandon the plan and remain a coordinator (possibly forever) at my site and just maintained a lifestyle business.

But leadership is about adaptation. I restructured, reassigned roles, and, most importantly, learned when to step back and let others grow. And when the dust settled, the site was stronger than before.

I was able to comfortably remove myself from the day to day activities of a CRC and become the Lead CRC/Site Director. This was a huge shift because it allowed me to work on the business not merely in it. This channels the powers of leverage and scalability. Many never even make it to this point although that is still better than the even more who have had to close down their dreams of site ownership entirely.

But there is one more step needed to complete one of an infinite amount of never ending Hero's journeys that all site owners face, the return, and a semblance of an autonomous, functioning system.

The Return and the Next Call

There’s a return—the moment when you emerge from the abyss with wisdom, scars, and a gift. In research, that gift is a working, profitable site with a trained team and a flywheel that runs without constant intervention. The profits are left for the owner to decide what to do next. Let the system keep generating cash and buy some bitcoin, fartcoin or other investments? Or reinvest into the system and embark on an even bigger Hero's Journey cycle while periodically checking in on the original?

Like most successful site owners, the next phase is expansion, either geographically, or into other therapeutic areas. With success comes the next adventure.

Now, we’re expanding into new specialties, considering new locations, and—ironically—starting the journey again. The hero’s cycle never truly stops. It only evolves.

A Shared Narrative

Every site owner, every entrepreneur, walks this path in their own way. The call to adventure looks different for each of us, but the trials, the transformation, and the ultimate return remain the same.

If you’re a site owner, know this: your journey is not about standing tall but about lifting others. It’s about stepping into the unknown, bringing back something valuable, and sharing it with your community.

And when the next call to adventure comes—answer it. Join your fellow super heroes at the next SOS Save Our Sites conference www.saveoursites.com and I leave you with Coldplay (doo doo do doo doo dooooooo ?? ).