Joe Nowlan, MassDevice staff
Amir Nashat of Polaris Venture Partners and Cambridge-based tissue regeneration firm Pervasis told a group attending a panel session at the 2009 BioMEDevice conference what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur these days.
Investors are gun-shy, many having taken some hits during last year’s Wall Street meltdown, Nashat said at the “Life Science Entrepreneurs: Distinguish Yourself in a Crowded Market” forum this week.
“In today’s economic environment, people are retreating to what they know has made them money in the past,” he said.
That means an entrepreneur needs to have equal parts gumption, grit and good sense.
“It’s a different cycle today. It’s a different type of entrepreneur emerging now than two years ago,” Nashat said. “The current economic environment is bringing out the best in management teams.”
Some entrepreneurs have told him the challenging conditions actually represent a good opportunity to start a company. But today’s entrepreneur has to be as talented and as enterprising as ever, Nashat stressed.
