Knowing the Facts Behind Entrepreneurship and the Meaning of Success

Natalia Isabel Martinez, founder of Inexbi and biotechnology graduate working on the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine production in South America, chatted with artil about her entrepreneurial journey.

Since she was a young girl, Natalia spent countless hours staring at little bugs and insects whenever she was out in nature. One of her favorite games was to try to find the smallest possible insects and then research their purpose in the world. When she grew up, she realized that her passion for those little organisms persisted, so she studied chemistry in high school. Biotechnology was her undergraduate choice, and then she specialized in microorganisms and their development. “The first time I saw a colony on a petri dish, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep,” she says. Natalia founded her own business in 2016 at age 32, and after a few years as a successful entrepreneur, she happily agreed to share her experience with artil and all of you! This interview was translated from a Spanish conversation.

Natalia Isabel Martinez

How did you come up with the idea to start your own project?

“I was working with a vendor from a pharmaceutical company that manufactured soft capsules for different pharmacies both in the Latin American and the United States market. During my time there, I noticed that there was a great amount of polluting waste that was generated. The company even had an ad-hoc commission to try to solve the issue. At the time, I was finishing my degree in biotechnology and looking for a topic for my thesis, and it occurred to me that I could try to find a method or a microorganism that could transform that residue into something beneficial that could be re-used and was viable at an industrial level. That idea was the beginning of it all.”

What is Inexbi and what does it mean to you?

"Inexbi is an entrepreneurial project that emerged from an idea: build an expectation of trust. We are a company that handles solid waste from the production of soft gel capsules in the pharmaceutical industry. We work in-situ with that waste to transform it into non-pollutant waste. To me, Inexbi is the realization of a reality that I had never imagined because of the way I was educated. Throughout my education I didn’t receive preparation to start nor handle a business. I felt that my only option was to be inside a lab. So to my surprise, friends, colleagues and family supported me when I shared with them my ideas.”

How do you obtain funding to grow your business?

“In the beginning, we enrolled in different funds contests, competitions and programmes for entrepreneurs. In this journey, we were fortunate enough to be selected by Argentina’s Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Production, and different agencies that promote and support innovative and entrepreneurial projects and obtained funds from them. Our company was selected because these agencies thought that our project had the potential to grow, become a successful business and generate work in our country, and contribute to the development of a technological and productive industrial system. At the moment, our funds also come from the services we offer to our clients.”

What are your biggest challenges?

“To change the traditional profile of a technical analyst, who is supposed to only work in the laboratory and not delve into other fields. Also, to be the visible face of a project and try to convince other people that is a good idea and sell our services. This definitely was not part of any lecture during my education program.”

How do you overcome those challenges?

“With patience and dedication. When one gets a positive response from one’s colleagues and the general public, that boosts my willingness to keep moving forward.”

What motivates you and helps you keep moving?

“I find that when I talk about Inexbi, it always generates a certain surprise and enthusiasm in people. This really excites me. That others feel this is a good project from a sustainable, technological or biotechnological point of view. Foremost, people say it is a viable project. A lot of times, it happens that there are a lot of great investigations in my field, but it is very difficult to put them into practice.”

How much is teamwork and how much is solo work?

“For me, teamwork is essential. Why? Because when I started, I thought that I could do everything on my own, but then I realized that I needed the expertise from people in other fields in order for my project to become a reality. Relating to other people helped me gain knowledge outside my area of expertise and transform my business plan into something more robust.”

How do you deal with unexpected changes in your processes?

“As for changes, I am a person who is drawn to them. I seek to change. Because every change leads me to a new outcome that may signify progress at some level, and to me, that is very rewarding. I believe that changes are good. When I think about where we started and compare it to where we are I feel good because I can see that we keep progressing, we learn with every day that comes, and that is great.”

Did the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact on your project?

“The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t impact Inexbi in a positive way. There are a lot of pharmaceutical companies that changed their production scheme and have now migrated to COVID-19 vaccines and related products research and production, so there is not much room for us and the services we provide at the moment. However, we are taking advantage of this time to improve our processes so that when business starts flowing again, we can provide a better service and have a more robust project.”

How did you get the opportunity to participate in the development of the vaccine? What are your thoughts about being a part of a project like this?

“As I said, we were kind of in the middle of an impasse with Inexbi, so I decided to apply to a call for a project to develop the vaccine, and I was selected. Mainly, my role is to participate in the microbiology control process and endotoxins analysis. As I see it, I am contributing with my grain of sand, through my knowledge. By making sure to assure microbiological results for a product that is destined for our loved ones and all of South America. My wish is that it contributes to preventing people from losing their loved ones.”

Have you found a balance regarding what the pandemic took away and what it brought?

“I think that it touched us deeply. We all now have a new appreciation for the value of health, relationships with our loved ones, and how everything is more volatile than we imagined, that plans can suddenly change. Luckily our country's culture has prepared us and made us resilient and adaptable. [Argentina is a country that often undergoes economic and social crisis].”

Do you feel you experienced distinct challenges in your business journey because you are a woman?

“Yes, definitely. One of the things that shocked me the most is that whenever I scheduled a business meeting or when Inexbi engaged in conversations with other people, they would often ask me to share with them the contact of my associate (assuming that I had a male associate) to speak with them about industrial processes. They just assumed that because I am a woman, I had an administrative role in the company! I believe this helped me to stay true to myself.”

What is success to you?

“Success to me is being able to reflect on my potential and passion through a prosperous and productive project. This does not always come hand in hand with a purely economic benefit. To me, knowing that we are doing something positive for nature and our environment is enough. Success understood as financial success comes in handy just in the sense that to keep progressing, we need to have a profitable project.”

What is the most satisfying aspect of being an entrepreneur?

“See how your own invention grows.”

Do you have any advice for people that want to start a project in the science field?

“The most important thing when embarking on a project is knowing that perseverance and sacrifice will be needed.”

And to young women specifically?

“I believe that women from younger generations are becoming more and more self-confident and have a better understanding of the world. Fortunately, they are growing up in a context that promotes respect towards women, which was not the case in my teen years. There is a younger generation of women that have internalized social rights that now appear to be obvious but back in the day, this wasn’t the case. They are empowered and feel that they can raise their voices and express their concerns. I would say that my advice to them is to keep walking that path because raising their voices will allow them to open their minds, fully express themselves and break old patterns that limited women, for instance, to doing domestic chores.”

In time Natalia’s fascination with the natural world and an idea of contributing to the environment transformed into a tangible project. Inexbi started in 2016, and as she sees it still has a long way to go. The project encountered challenges in the way that were overcome through perseverance and hard work. But as she says it is all worth it since she has the privilege of doing what she loves.

The formula for success? In this case: a mix of self-confidence, eagerness to change the reality, hard work and adventuring into the unknown.