For nearly a decade, Michael McCaman had an idea for a company — he just needed the right opportunity.
Two years ago, when he was 68, that opportunity arose: McCaman cofounded Orion Therapeutics, a small company developing new ways for RNA medicine to reach specific areas of the human body.
McCaman is among the older Americans who are rethinking retirement and starting businesses instead. Among people 55 and older who started a business in 2023, 44% said they wanted more flexibility in their work schedule, and 41% said they believed they had a business opportunity, according to data shared with Business Insider by Gusto, a payroll services company for small businesses.
Gusto surveyed 1,345 new business owners of all ages between late January and early March using its payroll platform.
McCaman, now 70, is the vice president and chief strategy officer at Orion Therapeutics. McCaman said Orion’s biotech field is risky yet meaningful and received particular interest after the development of the COVID-19 vaccines.
He works remotely outside Frederick, Maryland, while the rest of his team is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. McCaman is passionate about staying engaged with his interests and said remote work has enabled him to extend his career.
“Call it semi-retired if you want,” McCaman said. “It’s actually a fun time to sit back and go, ‘Okay, what can I do? What is still fun to do?'”
Starting a business at 68 and finding purpose in ‘semi-retirement’
McCaman studied chemistry at the University of California San Diego before earning his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He enjoyed a decadeslong career working in biotech in California.
Yet, in 2011, McCaman was looking for a new job and said he needed a change. McCaman and his wife packed up their things and drove across the country, with McCaman chasing potential job offers.
That year, he landed a position at Lonza, a manufacturing company in Maryland, where he worked as head of cell development. After four years, he switched jobs again. From 2015 until 2020, McCaman was vice president of process development at Intellia Therapeutics, a biotech company.
He said his time at Intellia reinvigorated his passion for scientific research, and in March 2020, McCaman quit his job and began consulting.
“As the consulting picked up, it was like, ‘Oh, the world is still out there, and I can be a part of it,'” he said.
In 2021, McCaman met Trey Fischer, then a recent Ph.D. graduate at the University of Tennessee. McCaman and Fischer launched Orion with Deidra Mountain, a University of Tennessee professor, and Jennifer Zachry, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University.
McCaman put up the first $10,000 investment for Orion and, in July, the company received $300,000 from the University of Tennessee Research Foundation and Launch Tennessee, a nonprofit that supports tech startups in the state. The $300,000 is part of a $5 million fund to fuel startups that help bring research from the University of Tennessee to the market.
However, McCaman is not on the payroll. He said he earns enough from his consulting work and prefers to keep Orion’s budget lean.
Orion is his passion project, and he said he hopes the company takes off so colleagues like Fischer can develop it into a full-time career.
“I think being part of a movement — it’s not a political movement, it’s a technology movement — but being an enthusiast and being a participant, there’s just an adrenaline rush,” he said.
Working into his 70s makes him feel active
McCaman said the experience of working in his 70s helps him feel mentally engaged. Additionally, working at Orion gives him an opportunity to mentor and work with a younger generation.
Working remotely also gives him work-life balance, something he feels passionate about after recent health crises. In 2022, McCaman was hit by a motorcyclist while he was riding a John Deere lawnmower. McCaman broke both of his legs and said he needed a wheelchair for months. While recovering, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has since been treated, and in February, he had a stroke.
Working at Orion also lets McCaman set his own schedule so he can build in time for family, like his grandchildren.
McCaman said he doesn’t have a retirement date in sight. He said it’s hard to stop when he’s passionate about what he does.
“I can’t run the mile the way I used to, so I’ll walk that mile,” he said. “But I’ll still do it, and I’ll still go see things.”
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