Gary Leyden, Director of NDRC launchpad, graced us with his presence this week to share some lean start-up stories and valuable lessons that his team at the NDRC have learned over the past number of years. The Art Of The Start is a monthly seminar series run jointly by the Conway Institute and Systems Biology Ireland. More information on the series is available at http://www.ucd.ie/sbi/ Systems Biology Ireland at the Conway Institute is a multi-disciplinary cancer research centre with a particular focus on understanding the signalling events that underpin Colorectal cancer, Breast cancer, Melanoma and Neuroblastoma. The centre is strongly committed to scientific excellence, entrepreneurial education and disruptive innovation.

20. We invest early

21. It’s competitive to
get in

22. We promote peer to
peer learning

23. We roll up our sleeves

24. We focus on the
business model

25. We obsess about
the customer
experience

26. We practice
design-led thinking

27. We eat our own dog
food—
• ITERATE.
• ITERATE.
• ITERATE.

28. We surround
ourselves with the
best mentors,
entrepreneurs &
investors in the
country.