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By Tarez Eisen
To stay in business during a risky economic climate is one thing. But to hire as many as 20 new employees in one month, open new international branches, and celebrate a booming 10th anniversary is a different game altogether. And that’s exactly what GENEWIZ, a contract research organization (CRO) that specializes in DNA-based services like molecular biology, genomic services, and DNA sequencing, accomplished in 2009. The company, with corporate headquarters in South Plainfield, has seen growths comparable to its previous nine years, according to GENEWIZ Co-founder and CEO Steve Sun, which prompts him to joke, “What recession are we talking about?”
Perhaps growth can be attributed to the industry and business practices that are integral to GENEWIZ. As a CRO, GENEWIZ is the extension of the research labs of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic institutions that are its clients. If those labs do not have the time, expertise, resources, or equipment to carry out necessary research, it is contracted out to GENEWIZ and partnerships are created.
“More and more core facilities and schools are realizing that it is cheaper and faster and better to outsource these types of activities to a focused service provider like us,” says GENEWIZ Co-founder and COO Amy Liao. DNA sequencing and other genomic services tend to be “equipment heavy” says Liao, and it generally does not seem sensible for universities and scientists to invest in such specialized devices.
The partnerships that GENEWIZ has created with academic institutions include Scripps, Brandeis, the University of Miami, and Drexel. One of the most successful partnerships is with Rockefeller University though, says Liao. “The leadership of that organization is very happy with the change,” she says. “They can use the space for other use and the customer service headache which used to be on their shoulders is outsourced too—if their internal users have any issues, we will take care of them.”
And this passing of customer service nightmares to GENEWIZ is another hallmark of the company. According to Sun, one of the most important reasons why the company has grown is its dedication to customer service, for the scientists and labs partnered with GENEWIZ, and for clients of those institutions as well. “We have become industry leaders through our operational excellence. Our customers are pleased, they are rewarded by the service we provide to them,” he says. “We have to ensure they are pleased with our service. And that’s also where our pride is, their achievement is our achievement.”
Employee satisfaction is vital to success too. “Our employees are rewarded; we have created many jobs and at the same time have created many opportunities for our coworkers,” says Sun. Job creation and retention seem to be easy, considering GENEWIZ has four lab locations in New Jersey, California, Maryland, and Beijing that all require focused, skilled employees who must, as Sun says, be open, honest, and able to work together.
Ten years ago, Liao and Sun had little idea what running a business would be like. Both post-doctoral research scientists, working in Columbia and Rockefeller Universities respectively, Liao and Sun looked at the options available for research scientists, including teaching and laboratory work, and decided, as Sun says, “to take the road less traveled.” Similarly, Liao says she decided 10 years ago that starting a company was the most stimulating option. “For me, the uncertainty and the challenge part of that really excited me,” she says. “The other two career paths—I could see the end of the path. I knew what would happen if I became a professor.”
Yet, as Liao says, the business challenges are far greater today than 10 years ago. “Now the standard is different. Ten years ago, I just wanted to see if starting a company would be viable. Now it is definitely viable and successful, and the goal really would be to become the supplier of choice to researchers in the U.S. and internationally too,” she says.
But above and beyond teaching two trained scientists the “nuts and bolts of business” while traveling down an unknown path, GENEWIZ was and is simply a business that wants to utilize cutting-edge technologies to help the research community. “We are scientists, but our mission is not to the first line, research, and development work here. Our mission is to help other scientists,” says Sun. “That’s what we’re proud of, and where our satisfaction should come from.”
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