The first few years were tough. Hardly anyone wanted to buy his invention. Luckily for him, Lieu had located his company at Science Park, a New Haven, Conn., business development designed to help scientists become entrepreneurs. Lieu credits the organization, known as a business "incubator," with helping to keep his fledgling firm from going under for the past six years, and although his company has yet to turn a profit; sales are picking up. "When I started I thought I was a scientist," he says. "Now I am a businessman and I see that profitability is the true challenge. The incubator was a cocoon where I was transformed from a scientist into a businessman."
Each year organizations like the one Lieu joined are helping more scientists avoid the economic perils that plague most first-time business people. When Lieu opened his company, General Network Services Inc., there were 53 business incubators ...
