Luigi Franciosi

The key to being an entrepreneur is to be actively prospecting for new business opportunities and building relationships.

 

Luigi Franciosi has established himself as an academic, and as one of Vancouver’s leading pharmaceutical industry professionals. He serves as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia.

He experienced the pharmaceutical industry as an executive in operations, a research academic, and a professional in laboratory and clinical pharmacology. He researched a variety of projects facilitating drug development initiatives internationally. His cutting-edge research led him to publish his papers in leading industry journals. In addition, Franciosi was recognized for his work by “The Lancet,” a prestigious peer-reviewed general medical journal. This journal is known for having extremely high standards for publishing research papers. The papers must be relevant and impactful to human life.

Luigi Franciosi commenced his career at the University of British Columbia after earning his Ph.D. in Pharmacology & Therapeutics. His early work history included post-doctoral research positions at Leiden University in South Holland, GlaxoSmithKline in the United Kingdom and Kings College in London. He later joined Verona Pharma as Chief Operating Officer. This pharmaceutical company focused on new types of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drugs.

He had many accomplishments around his groundbreaking lung disease research. Much of his research was published.

Luigi Franciosi’s work in academia and industry experience provided an epiphany which made him recognize the need for assistance in many organizations when doing business in the pharmaceutical industry.

Franciosi’s intuition proved correct after he launched Franciosi Consulting Limited at that time. As a successful business, the company provides consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry and also to the seniors’ care living industry.

Where did the idea for your career come from?

Having a background in laboratory and clinical pharmacology as well as executive and operational experience in both academia and industry, I came to realize organizations require assistance from someone such as myself. I can help them overcome research problems as well as prevent costly problems in day to day running of their operations. Much of it relates to having specific knowledge that they need to address in terms of scientific questions or even overcoming organizational behavioral problems with specific staff as an example.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I share my office at the University of British Columbia where I do much of my work. I am there early mornings to mid-afternoons. My typical day involves communicating with current and potential clients over email or phone. I do literature searches and data analyses. I think about potential solutions to problems and write reports. I split my day into three parts. I am at the University until early to mid-afternoon. Late afternoons are spent with my wife and children. After the children are in bed I start working again. I have about a nine to ten-hour workday. I do an additional four to six hours on the weekend. It is a lot of thinking, reading, and writing.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I normally consider the history of a problem. I do literature searches and reviews. It triggers a lot of ideas and solutions to problems that I or some of my client’s face. I investigate the uniqueness and the feasibility in terms of implementing the ideal solution. Once I have a leading idea, I find the financial resources to make it a reality. The last thing I do is challenge the solution to see if it is robust. I do a test or an audit of it.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I enjoy seeing a solution that shows progress. One trend that excites me, as an example, is that we are seeing more and more people purchasing electric cars. The result is cleaner air quality. It is something that we can tangibly see working. That excites me. I can appreciate that it is happening.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

The key to being an entrepreneur is to be actively prospecting for new business opportunities and building relationships. It means going to events and meeting people. It is forcing yourself to be proactive in creating opportunities.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Health and saving for a pension are really important. I would tell my younger self to keep your health in check and start saving for your future as young as possible.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I know I am almost in my 50’s. I look and sound much younger than I am. When people see me, they think I am in my 30’s. I have to reiterate, people should pay attention to their health and well-being.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

It is important that you force yourself to attend industry-related conferences. It is the only way to build your reputation, brand, and business. You can do it through formal presentations at these events. It gets the word out. I think the key to being successful as an entrepreneur, is meeting people and exchanging ideas. Perhaps eventually there will be a transaction.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Networking is very important. When I am at my events and conferences, I pick out the keynote speakers and others who may benefit from my service. I try to get their email addresses and phone numbers. I follow up with them at a later date to see if they have any new projects or business opportunities. It makes for a great opportunity.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

One of the things that I have is a very trusting nature. I trusted a business colleague to perform a very specific task. I realized later that he was not capable of completing it. I had to sort this out with the help of former colleagues. I didn’t want to ruin my reputation. I do what I say. I was able to resolve the issue. The lesson that I learned was to make sure to know what your colleagues are capable of fulfilling.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

One of the biggest problem’s colleagues have spoken about is training staff properly. One of the opportunities I think would be profitable is education of sales staff. You can send sales staff to big conferences and pay thousands of dollars. I think the easiest and most efficient way is to deliver these courses online. If you can determine what an organizational requires and turn it into modules and put it on a website it would be profitable.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

One of my friends in my network suggested attending a conference for Business Network International. I’ve never heard of them before. It was a breakfast event. The cost was about a hundred dollars. This network helps small and large businesses to grow and make money. They think of your business and their business in terms of potential leads that they can provide for you. I was blown away. I will become more involved with Business Network International here in Vancouver.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

I use LinkedIn. It is a good resource for my professional network. It is a very useful web service.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Make Your Own Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven. Discipline and self-motivation are vital to everything.

What is your favorite quote?

You must put your head in the lion’s mouth if performance is to be successful. By Winston Churchill.

Key Learnings:

• The key to being an entrepreneur is to be actively prospecting for new business opportunities and building relationships.
• Being an Entrepreneur means forcing yourself to be proactive in creating opportunities.
• Make sure to know what your colleagues are capable of fulfilling.