AN AMERICAN IN PARIS “April in Paris...chestnuts in blossom...holiday tables under the sun”...or so the song goes. But on that cold, rainy April evening, it was just plain miserable. That would also accurately describe the mood of John Williams, an American expatriate who had been living and working in Paris for just over three months. He still struggled with the language and the unfathomable bureaucracy. Worse yet, he was totally frustrated by his lack of ability to make anything positive happen at work. As he walked along the Seine on his way home from a disastrous few days at the office, he wondered how he was ever going to get the cooperation and commitment he needed to successfully market Gene Life’s latest product. Gene Life Corporation It was only two years ago that a group of genetic scientists from the Boston area formed a privately-held company to focus on medical applications of genetic sequencing. All of the company founders were research physicians who had been associated with large universities in and around Boston. Since most of the founders were preeminent in their fields, obtaining venture capital was not difficult. The group was particularly interested in developing a genetic test for type II diabetes. This interest was based not only on their expertise but also the results of market surveys sponsored by the American Medical Association. It was clear that physicians were extremely interested in purchasing a potential test that could help