Academic Founders
Translate your research into startup reality. Go from lab to market with clarity and conviction.
You're not just a researcher anymore. You're a founder now. And you're standing at the edge of a chasm, between what you've studied, built, and published... and what the market will actually pay for.
This page is your mirror. It reflects the real challenges and incredible leverage you carry as an academic founder. You're not starting from zero. You're starting from depth. But depth without translation stalls. This is how we bridge it.
Quick Navigation
Founder Profile
Defined characteristics, motivations, and inherent advantages of academic founders building their first startup.
Background Profile
Primary Motivations
Competitive Advantages
Common Challenges
Strategic and operational friction points academic founders typically encounter.
Translating IP to Market Fit
You've built something powerful, but is it commercial? We work on identifying who actually needs this, who pays, and what makes it non-optional.
Solution Framework
Navigating Academia vs. Startup Tradeoffs
You're balancing tenure track, lab time, and spinout commitments. We clarify what to keep, what to let go, and when.
Solution Framework
Building a Non-Academic Team
You're used to grad students and postdocs. Now you're hiring operators, marketers, builders, closers.
Solution Framework
Crafting a Business Narrative
Your slides are dense. Your language is precise. But investors need the story, clear, urgent, fundable.
Solution Framework
Intervention Areas
Mapped phases of support designed specifically for the academic-to-startup journey.
Market Translation
Key Deliverables
Structural Design
Key Deliverables
Capital & Credibility
Key Deliverables
Execution Systems
Key Deliverables
Case Studies
Documented outcomes from academic founders across different verticals.
Dr. Lina Verma
"James helped us translate complex science into a compelling business case. The results speak for themselves."
Dr. Rafi Al-Khatib
"From academic to operator, James made the transition feel natural, not forced."
Dr. Morgan Eddington
"We had the science. James helped us find the story that made investors care."
Methodology
Not coaching. Co-building. With founder leverage in mind.
What We Move Between
What We Don't Do
Engagement Model
Single exploratory call to assess fit and signal. No pitch, no pressure. If alignment exists, we proceed to structured co-building. If not, you gain clarity regardless.
Not Quite Ready
Starting A StartUp
Your guide from zero to paying customers. Real-world tactics to avoid the mistakes that sink most first-time founders.
Founder Newsletter
Every Sunday I share actionable startup insights, frameworks, and playbooks. Built from exits, not theory, to start, scale, and fund your startup.