My successes.

Securing grants is essential for researchers. But it is not easy. After a long career managing grants, Julia Barzyk saw an opportunity to use her experience to help others. Here is how she started her business, Wise Investigator, doing just that.

Getting started

Julia had a long career managing research grants at the US Army Research Office. She decided to apply her experience in a new way, and started a company to help university faculty navigate the grant process. While universities have teams focused on big multi-million dollar grants, there was a gap in support for the individual investigators pursuing much smaller grants. That’s where Julia saw an opportunity.

Helping graduates become investigators

Julia's company provides coaching and training for investigators on how to write and submit grants. But this training must be comprehensive and include the entire funding process, from building relationships, to strategizing, to creating an application, and communicating the why behind the research. Julia's productized service aims to help new investigators transition from a student mindset to becoming independent leaders. Along the way, she has faced challenges in convincing institutions of the value of her services, especially for smaller grants. Despite these challenges, Julia's program has been well-received by investigators.

Reaching the target customers

Julia has seen success in reaching clients through LinkedIn and YouTube. She understands the importance of leveraging social media to connect with potential clients, and notes that even a small audience can lead to valuable conversions. Plus, it is much more economical than paid advertising. Julia plans to expand her business-to-business sales using this approach, but acknowledges the challenge of finding time to create content while running a business.

Streamlining video creation

Videos are very popular, but their production can be very time-consuming. Julia has streamlined this process and avoids getting bogged down by technical issues. She also recommends providing valuable information to the audience, rather than worrying about appearance or entertainment value. Julia also stressed the importance of ignoring feedback from those who have not created videos, and instead seeking support from those with relevant experience.

Experience with SCORE

Julia was introduced to SCORE by a friend and colleague. Julia found SCORE to be very helpful for practical advice, such as business aspects of her venture and serving an unmet demand in the market. But SCORE was more than that, and her mentor provided guidance and support.

Turning experience into a business

Julia’s creation of Wise Investigator is a great example of how someone can take their experience and leverage it to create a business. And she has been able to help her clients succeed in their careers, which is very rewarding. You can learn more about Julia and her company at the Wise Investigator website.