Activate- Empowering scientists to bring their research to market

Matt Price is the co-founder and President of Activate, a program teaching scientists how to bring their research to market. He was previously the Managing Director of Cyclotron Road, and comes with experiences in the  Renewable Energy space , Materials Science, and Venture Capital industry.

In this episode of lab to startup, we talk about the Activate fellowship program, its origins, especially how they navigated carving out a niche but much needed space for supporting scientists to build startups. We will discuss details about the application process, challenges that the fellows generally face in this space, the support they provide, and what they actually look for in an idea or a founder trying to commercialize research. We will then find out more about the recently announced NSF fellowships for scientists and engineers in collaboration with the Activate fellowship program.


Shownotes
https://www.activate.org
- What is Activate?
- Origin story and Cyclotron Road
- Business model of Activate vs incubators/accelerators
- How VC funding model might not be appropriate for scientific entrepreneurs exploring technology translation
- Activate fellows receive money, time and space t find out what kind of capital will help them build a company
- Solving the brain drain problem
- Types of industries covered
- Activate fellowship: application process and selection criteria, timelines, fellowship amounts, and other benefits the program offers.
- What success looks like: Economic value created; understanding market dynamics-capture value; identify the right source of capital
- What they look for in an idea/founder
- Scratching the intellectual itch
- Activator readiness level
- NSF Fellowships: https://beta.nsf.gov/tip/updates/nsf-launches-entrepreneurial-fellowship-engineers
- Hit milestones and receive funding from partner VCs
- Delivering intimacy at scale
- Apply to the program: https://www.activate.org/apply