University spin-offs are important mechanisms for creating and capturing value from scientific inventions. Academic scientists are uniquely positioned to shape such opportunities long before the university spin-off is founded. To better understand how science-based university spin-offs can be endowed for success, the pre-formation stage of 30 ventures co-founded over a 40 year period by a star-scientist-entrepreneur is analysed by matching his 363 co-invented US patents granted to 1476 co-authored publications and these 30 ventures. Employing the extended case method, including the analysis of extensive archival data, iterative interviews, and this unique, longitudinal, multi-level dataset, existing dynamic capabilities theory is confronted and extended with evidence as to how a star-scientist-entrepreneur senses and shapes and seizes opportunities to endow university spin-offs pre-formation. A process model is developed depicting four pre-formation entrepreneurial capabilities with which these science-based university spin-offs are endowed for success. Recommendations are made for scientist-entrepreneurs, investors, university leadership, and for innovation policymakers.

大学衍生品是从科学发明创造和获取价值的重要机制。早在大学分拆成立之前，学术科学家就处在塑造此类机会的独特位置。为了更好地理解科学为主的大学分拆如何被赋予了成功，在前期形成由一位星科学家企业家在40年内共同创立的30家企业的阶段，通过将他的363项共同发明的美国专利授予1476种合著出版物进行分析，并分析这30种企业。采用扩展案例方法，包括对大量档案数据的分析，迭代访谈以及这个独特的，纵向的，多层次的数据集，现有的动态能力理论面临并扩展了有关恒星科学家企业家如何感知和塑造的证据并抓住机会赋予大学附属公司股权。开发了一个过程模型，描述了四个预成型的企业家能力，这些能力使这些以科学为基础的大学衍生出来的产品获得了成功。为科学家，企业家，投资者，大学领导以及创新政策制定者提供了建议。