How Grantigen Came To Be – A Personal Story From The Founder
Grantigen is my brainchild begotten in a very personal story. Whether it was a chance or a providence, I can’t tell. Everything started back in grad school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I witnessed the struggles of the newly hired international professors writing their first grants. It was the time before grammar checkers and especially AI. We had only spell checkers available.
The University of Illinois Years
Simply judging by the emotional aspect of the situation, I thought it took some superhuman abilities to write a grant. Once I saw the actual text, I changed my mind. We, the proofreaders, understood the solid science, but it was obvious that we had to communicate the idea with the reviewers effectively in order to improve the chances of getting funded. Communication was never an issue for me, so I fulfilled my duty to the best of my knowledge (at that time) and forgot about the experience.
The University of Toronto Years
Fast forward a couple of years and again, by chance, I found myself in a totally opposite situation. I was surrounded by master communicators! The science may not have been rock solid, but the communication part was impeccable. This combination was more effective in the real wold than the one I had experienced years ago. In this scenario, I was the one who focused on the science aspect of the project as the team didn’t need more communicators.
It was obvious to me at that point that communication was the more important asset and that a combination of the two strengths could possibly be an even stronger asset in the biomedical business landscape. While I was given a chance to experience both the academia’s “Ivory Tower” and then the “real world” composed of Non-Disclosure Agreements and broken promises, I still didn’t think within the lines that you can see here on the website.
The Grantigen Years
It took some additional years until the current idea crystalized. The crystallization process was fast. There was no gradual buildup of the ideas. It was more like a quantum leap from nothing to the final idea. Grantigen was born, not as a structured hierarchical company but rather as a collaborative effort among peers who love what they do. Thanks to our broad skill set, we can deliver a wide range of services at very competitive prices..
I want to see Grantigen develop further in multiple directions. It is easy to project a vision and be confident about it until the forces beyond our control change that. Still, one vision stands: It takes the “right people” to get anything done well. I hope to meet those people.
Image coming soon!