#  Incubation 

 



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IQSS partners with faculty and researchers to incubate data-intensive social science research initiatives. This process involves working as a team to move the idea through the incubation life cycle, which includes discovery, development, launch, growth, and assessment. IQSS offers dedicated hosting and support of scientific programs with administrative services, office space, sponsored research administration, data science services, and research computing infrastructure.

Since its inception, IQSS has helped over 30 research programs thrive and significantly advance research across many disciplines. Several initiatives have grown into independent organizations within other parts of the University or have become non-profit or for-profit entities outside of Harvard.



 

    ![Tyler VanderWeele](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_3_4__480x640/public/2025-08/Tyler-VanderWeele_2017_4x6.png?itok=w1y7GX4s) 

 

 

 

   

IQSS has been a tremendous support in the formation and sustaining of the [Human Flourishing Program](https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/) at Harvard. Without the infrastructure provided by IQSS and the guidance we had from Gary King, our program quite simply wouldn't exist.

 

Tyler VanderWeele

IQSS Affiliate

 

 



 

 

 

##  Programs & products incubated at IQSS include: 

 



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###    Crimson Hexagon  expand\_more  

 

 Co-founded by Gary King in 2007, Crimson Hexagon's innovations in consumer insights and social media analytics expanded upon technology that was developed at IQSS. ([Read more about Crimson Hexagon](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-M0MqxE2YG-Smp_6BwYbxegdnHuznqdc91YHQyeTbsk))



 

 

 



###    OpenScholar  expand\_more  

 

 Originally created in 2009 as an easy-to-use platform that would enable researchers to create and manage websites for their projects, OpenScholar was developed at IQSS until it was able to stand alone as a private company in 2017. ([Read more about OpenScholar](https://theopenscholar.com/about-us))



 

 

 



###    Human Flourishing Program  expand\_more  

 

 The Human Flourishing Program was created in 2016, and with support from IQSS has developed into a leading center of data-driven research on psychology, philosophy, and other fields connected to the concept of human flourhishing. ([Read about the Human Flourshing Program](/news/focus-flourishing-newest-iqss-program-combines-social-science-philosophy))



 

 

 



###    Thresher  expand\_more  

 

 Created in 2015 out of research on censorship and text analysis, Thresher developed into a startup company offering products in signal-rich data, novel quantitative methods, and qualitative expertise. (Read more about [Thresher](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kP1960J0NUuaoEFIakXK5p98xFEz13QvEdpwGh_n5aM/edit))



 

 

 



###    Learning Catalytics  expand\_more  

 

 Founded in 2011 with the goal of improving classroom learning, Learning Catalytics has evolved into an interactive tool for team-based learning that was ultimately acquired by Pearson. ([Read more about Learning Catalytics](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/08/fueling-the-entrepreneurial-spirit/))



 

 

 



###    Legalist  expand\_more  

 

 Launched in 2016 by Christian Haigh and Eva Shang based on skills gained in a course with Latanya Sweeney, Legalist evolved into an institutional alternative asset management firm. that uses data-driven technology to invest in credit assets at scale. ([Read more about Legalist](http://legalist.com/))



 

 

 



###    Sense/Cloudera  expand\_more  

 

Founded by IQSS graduate student affiliate Tristan Zajonc, Sense was a venture-backed enterprise data science platform which was subsequently acquired to Cloudera in 2016. After leading Cloudera’s machine learning initiatives for a number of years, Zajonc, based in San Francisco, became co-founder and CEO of Continual, another AI startup working to democratize operational AI. ([Read more about Sense](https://venturebeat.com/business/cloudera-sense/)) ([Read more about Continual](https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/08/ai-platform-continual-raises-14-5m-series-a-and-comes-out-of-beta/))



 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

"Here’s the typical cycle: First, King’s scholarly work inspires him to found a company or create a product. That company, by bringing those ideas to scale, gives him access to more data. Then, King takes that data and writes a new paper, and it all repeats..."

*"Entrepreneurial Academia with Gary King" by Neil H. Shah, the Harvard Crimson*



 [Read the full article chevron\_right](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/3/9/gary-king-profile/) 

 



      ![Gary King](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/harvard-iqss/files/gary-king-2018.jpg?itok=QV6VvGbv)