What I wish I’d known before I started my business

By Sola Adeleke , Founder of Curenetics .

1) Do your market research

It’s easy to assume that you know what your customers want when you’re an expert in the field that you are developing a product for, however it's?very important to do your research and understand the market. Speak to the people that you’ll be selling to – they may have insights that help you to hone and perfect your product, giving you a greater chance of success. ?

2) Get to market as quickly as possible

Find a way to utilise the scarce resources you are likely to have and get to market as quickly as possible. If you wait until your product is perfect, or at a stage that may take months or even years to achieve, you risk running out of money.?

Launch your initial product, generate some profit, and reinvest that money back into your business. You’ll please your investors with a quick return, and there will still be room to diversify as your business grows.?

3) Protect your idea

Protecting your idea is just as important as creating a brilliant?idea. You need to decide early on whether you want to focus?on the UK, Europe and/or further afield. If you think you’ve got an idea that is transferable to an overseas market, but you choose to only protect your idea in the UK, you risk it being replicated in another market which could jeopardise your long-term business success. ?

Sola Adeleke is a practising oncologist working on the NHS frontline. He was inspired to start Curenetics because he feels we can do more to deliver better outcomes for patients offered cancer immunotherapy treatments.