Duke, UNC, and NC State academics get crash course in building startups
by Lou Ward and Fedor Kossakovski
Despite the chill of a cold December rain, academics across career stages and Triangle universities gathered on December 11 to begin a two-day Triangle Universities Startup Workshop. There, they hoped to glean how to turn their cutting-edge science projects into successful businesses.
The workshop, organized by Duke New Ventures, UNC-Chapel Hill KickStart Venture Services, and the NC State University Office of Research Commercialization, was hosted by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Alexandria Venture Investments. In contrast to the one put on earlier in the year, this workshop focused on technologies not requiring FDA approval.
Leading the workshop was serial entrepreneur Chris Heivly, Managing Director of Build the Fort.
The first lesson Heivly imparted to the participants was to shift their mindset from the unknowns of entrepreneurship to the joy of discovery.
“I want you to think about your mindset when you were ten,” Heivly told the room, encouraging the academic founders to tap into their playful side and use that enthusiasm to think differently about their research.
Over the two days, sessions included short lectures followed by time for attendees to breakout and draft ideas on everything from business models to customer discovery plans, fundraising to messaging, and revenue to networking.
“Turning promising basic research into a commercializable product with eager customers and a sustainable business model is a highly non-trivial undertaking – and not one for which universities are traditionally set up to provide much guidance. That can lead to early mistakes that undermine potentially great technologies,” said Jeff Welch, Director of Duke New Ventures. “We want our academic entrepreneurs to approach their interest in a commercial path with clear eyes and, where possible, assist in making good, foundational business decisions as early as possible.”
University mentors floated around during the workshop and offered support and discussion. The organizers also brought in successful academic founders and venture capitalists for panels to discuss both business savvy and founder wellbeing.
“This workshop equips faculty and researchers with essential tools to navigate the startup formation process and evaluate the product-market fit of their innovations,” said Mireya McKee, Director of Kickstart Venture Services. “By connecting them to a vibrant network of resources and fostering collaboration, we aim to empower them to transform groundbreaking ideas into impactful startups.”
By the end of the workshop, participants who were unsure of what to expect at the outset walked away with a stronger grasp of how to travel the road ahead.
“You can have an idea,” said Divine Kumah, “but it’s discovering what the market is, discovering how people are going to use the market, and what their interests might be – trying to match all these little pieces is something that takes time.” Kumah, Associate Professor of Physics at Duke University developing electronics to mimic brain structures with sights set on AI and quantum computing applications, said this understanding is “motivating me more now to try and jump into this space.”
Greg Hernandez, a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at Duke University who is constructing metamaterials for omnidirectional sound projection, was tired but enthusiastic about all the new information he’d absorbed over the two days. “I’ve only ever done STEM my whole life,” said Hernandez. “So, it’s nice getting those really big crash course details in terms of how to run a business, or how to get venture capital, or even just how to get this project off the ground.”
For Susanna Choi, a PhD candidate in the Department of Nutrition at UNC-Chapel Hill who is designing a digital health lifestyle program for weight management, the workshop gave her insight in how to approach the next steps. “Just go out there and talk to people,” said Susanna. “Validate that the problem that you’re trying to address is the right problem to address. Start somewhere and don’t just spend too much time in your head.”
Tech transfer offices, just like the innovators they support, strive to bring research out into the world where it can impact the public.
“Every day we are meeting with researchers at NC State who want to launch products based on their innovations,” said Tim Martin, Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor of New Ventures and Investments at NC State. “Through events like this workshop, the leaders in the Triangle are positioning our startups to be sustainable and grow into companies with real community impact.”
The Triangle’s major universities are integral to the growing innovation ecosystem in North Carolina and continue to expand their programming with resources, like this workshop, for entrepreneurial-minded researchers and inventors at their schools. With a foundation in commercialization and entrepreneurship, those researchers are that much closer to turning their discoveries into the medicines, materials, and services of the future.