What is the definition of luck? For many people, luck is some “happy coincidence” that has the power to change their life, like winning the lottery. Still, very few people created a fortune by just winning the lottery. On the other hand, bad luck can be defined as an “unfortunate coincidence” of events, like being at the wrong time at the wrong place and this type of luck can be fatal. There are always a few things that someone can do to deal with bad luck, although it is always possible to minimize the probabilities. But let’s go back to the happy coincidences.
Is luck enough for someone to become successful? Either as an individual or as a company? Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, nicely introduced the concept of “Return on luck” in their wonderful book “Great by Choice”. By comparing several companies in pairs, throughout a long period of time in their history, they identified that in all cases, these companies experienced similar amounts of good (and bad) luck, such as changes in society, economy, market trends, new innovations etc. There was only one significant difference: The way each company responded to the same kind of luck. The great companies maximized the outcome of good luck, each time it occurred.
There is also another interesting definition of (good) luck by Seneca: “Luck is what happens, when preparation meets opportunity”. This is easier to understand; There are things in life that can turn out to be a nice opportunity for one person, but not for someone else. If a nice house, on a Greek island, is sold at 50% of its initial price, I still could not afford it. However, it is an opportunity for someone with a nice full bank account. Other things may be an opportunity if they happen now but wouldn’t be an opportunity if they happened some time ago. Assume that I like cooking and taking photos of my plates; Who would have cared back in 1990? But in 2025 I may have my Instagram page, with thousands or millions of followers and getting a nice revenue from products that I advertise.
Can all above be linked to BIOEMTECH’s success? Looking back, I say definitely YES!
What are BIOEMTECH “eyes”? Small benchtop imaging systems, capable of doing things that even very advanced 3D scanners cannot do. Why? Because the technology shifted from complicated, bulky PMTs and electronics to programmable ASICS; Computer power exploded, and AI offered new capabilities. This was not possible back in 2000, but it is in 2025. So, today it is indeed possible to take advantage of these developments and offer powerful scanners, far below the cost and size of any alternative option. But to be able to benefit from this opportunity, 20 years of experience on working on detectors, performing preclinical imaging, setting up a company and building a global network of great collaborators, was required. Many teams know how to build detectors and prototypes, but this is not enough to sell products!
Is it possible to set up a preclinical CRO, testing radiopharmaceuticals for big pharma companies, when located in sunny Greece? Yes, but when we started testing radiopharmaceuticals as academics, they were still considered as just a diagnostic option. However, when the first therapeutic isotopes like Lutathera and Xofigo were licensed, our team had the required experience in the field, but also the premises, the people and the network to set up a CRO for this. Many teams can do what we do, but to quickly take advantage of this hype, you need to already be a professional in the field.
Today, we are located in a lovely building. We first saw this building five years ago. Still… we did not have the budget to get it back then. Two years ago, we were out searching for our new premises. It became available again. This time, we had the budget to get it and the ability to make it even more beautiful than it was. An opportunity met preparation.
When a company grows, you will do new things, bigger things, different things. You will always need more spaces and people. And suddenly the ideal space becomes available. And some great and experienced people become available too. And by combining these coincidences, you can create an alluring project to evolve the company. Is this just luck?