# IQSS Startup Foundry - Academic Founders ![Blue hex pattern peppered with digital icons and binary code](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/harvard-iqss/files/startup-foundry-hero_alt_6x1.jpg?itok=wzqwQywY) ## Bridging Academia and Industry to Solve Global Challenges ![Illustration of two people bridging a gap between them with a ladder](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/harvard-iqss/files/illustration-building-a-bridge_getty-unsplash_2x1.jpg?itok=nTZUGAnc) ### Commercialization Help for Academic Founders The IQSS Startup Foundry supports Harvard’s social scientists from any school in exploring the commercialization of their research into a new commercial venture. Our sweet spot is very early-stage concepts born from validated Harvard research. We've designed our program for busy faculty members and other Harvard academics who want to see their research make a difference but don't necessarily have the time or business expertise to commercialize it themselves or simply want help doing it. ### What does the IQSS Startup Foundry Offer? We've built a specialized ecosystem with technical, legal, and entrepreneurial expertise, integrated with offices across Harvard, and extending well beyond the borders of the university. We help bridge academic research and real-world applications, and provide strategic guidance, subject matter expertise, help with university policy, industry and investor connections, business experts to help manage your startup activities, and go-to-market experience specifically tailored for academic innovators. We focus on key steps in the early-stage startup journey, such as market research, understanding prospective customers, business model development, creating an MVP or pilot projects, and fundraising. We connect academics with Harvard's innovation ecosystem, including the [Harvard iLab](https://innovationlabs.harvard.edu/), [the GRID](https://www.grid.harvard.edu/), the [Office of Technology Development (OTD)](https://otd.harvard.edu/), [HBS Rock Center](https://entrepreneurship.hbs.edu/Pages/default.aspx), and Boston-area organizations for programming, community, and non-dilutive funding. #### Learn more [ draftsContact IQSS Startup Foundry Director Debi Kleiman](mailto:dkleiman@iq.harvard.edu) [ arrow\_forward See the FAQ below for additional information ](/iqss-startup-foundry-academic-founders#startup-faq) ### The Faculty Role: Flexible Engagement Faculty participants maintain intellectual leadership (and keep your day job!) while choosing their level of involvement: - Advisory Role: Provide guidance and expertise while a dedicated Business Driver handles day-to-day development and operating duties - Partnership Role: Collaborate actively with the Business Driver on strategic decisions - Leadership Role: Take the helm and drive, more “hands-on” venture creation ### The Business Driver: Executional and Operational Leadership As needed, some projects will be matched with a Business Driver to help forward the early work to explore commercialization. The Business Driver serves as the project's operational leader. Their role is to: - Work with faculty to understand their research and its potential applications - Research relevant industries and market opportunities - Conduct customer discovery interviews - Develop a business model with guidance from our mentor network - Create pitch materials for investors or potential customers - Handle the legwork in creating the strategies and plans to launch a new venture Faculty and academics who explore commercialization find it highly valuable, gaining insights into real-world value creation and often discovering new research directions. ### How to Apply Projects selected for entry into the IQSS Startup Foundry should have at least one Harvard faculty member with an interest in the startup and be based on their research. Projects are being accepted on a rolling basis. **If you are interested in applying, please email the** [**IQSS Startup Foundry Director, Debi Kleiman**](mailto:dkleiman@iq.harvard.edu) **to begin the process.** Application Steps: 1. Initial consultation with the IQSS Startup Foundry Director 2. Complete a simple application and submit supporting materials 3. Materials Reviewed by the IQSS Startup Foundry 4. The IQSS Startup Foundry selection interviews - conversations with members of our community who can provide more info and ensure fit with program goals 5. Notification of admission to the program The director of the IQSS Startup Foundry is [Debi Kleiman](/people/debi-kleiman "Debi Kleiman"), who is widely known in the early-stage tech startup space. The director of IQSS is [Gary King](/gary-king "Gary King"); he has started half a dozen successful companies based on technology he developed at Harvard, and advised many others. ## Frequently Asked Questions Open all sections Close all sections ### Who is eligible to apply? expand\_more Any Harvard faculty member in any department or school at the university doing social science research (by which we mean research where the person, group, firm, country, etc., is the unit of analysis). Others associated with faculty can apply if they can recruit a faculty member to be a central member of the team. ### How do you define "Faculty" or "Academic Founder"? expand\_more "Faculty" means any ladder faculty doing social science research at Harvard, at any school, who serve as the intellectual cornerstone of a startup project. These scholars bring groundbreaking research and domain expertise while maintaining their Harvard position. Academic Founders vary in their level of engagement in the startup, depending on their preference. For example, faculty who want deep engagement throughout the venture development process would meet regularly with the team working on the business and advisors, and may continue as advisors post-launch, retaining equity ownership with appropriate university conflict-of-interest disclosures. In rare cases, the academic founder may choose to leave their Harvard position to take an operating role in the new company, but usually they keep their job and continue to advise or participate as a member of the board. Faculty participating in the Foundry program find that they can also extend their research impact in and beyond academia while preserving their position at Harvard, which is incentive compatible with their academic career. ### How long is the program? expand\_more The program is not time-bound; it is based on milestones. Some go through the milestones faster than others, because of what they are building, where they started, or the nature of their research or the market. We find it often takes 6-18 months for the project to find a business model and market. Exit events (when you will become an alumnus of the program and perhaps co-founder, advisor, or C-suite member of the new company) include milestones such as acceptance into a nationally known accelerator program, raising a pre-seed or seed round of funding, obtaining a contract that funds the company beyond the university, or receiving revenue. ### How does the program work? expand\_more - **Initial Consultation:** Share your research concept or innovation with our team; we’ll help you refine it. - **Business Driver Identification:** We help find you the right business or operating partner (if needed). Sometimes, we begin with an internal RA or staff member to do preliminary research or an IQSS EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) before moving to a more full-time professional once the venture has spun out. - **Deep Dive:** You and your Business Driver explore the research's commercial potential. (This is how you might work with a grad student or postdoc: you provide wisdom, they do the homework, and you both learn from the experience.) - **Market Research:** Your Business Driver investigates industry applications and brings findings to you. - **Customer Discovery:** Together or led by your Business Driver, conversations with potential users refine the concept. - **Mentorship & Networking:** Access to our network of industry experts and entrepreneurs. - **Go-to-Market Strategy:** Development of a commercialization pathway, whether through venture funding, customer contracts, or direct market entry. ### Can I also be working in another Harvard entrepreneurship or innovation program such as the GRID, OTD, the HBS Rock Center, or Harvard Innovation Labs? expand\_more Yes, we encourage you to use as many Harvard resources as you need or want. ### Is there funding available for my company in this program? expand\_more We don’t offer direct funding, but we can help you find it. ### Can you explain more about what the Business Driver or Entrepreneur-in-Residence does? expand\_more The Business Driver or EIR is someone who joins the project team in an operating capacity to transform the research into commercial ventures. This skilled professional—whether an external business expert or entrepreneurial postdoc/doctoral researcher—works directly with faculty to develop business models, refine research applications, conduct market validation, secure funding, and navigate IP considerations. The Business Driver may ultimately evolve into the operating leader of the venture as it progresses through development stages and transitions from Harvard's ecosystem into an independent company. ### Can you help create non-commercial ventures? expand\_more Of course, IQSS has [a long history of incubating](/incubation "Incubation") these and other organizations. ### What's the ideal stage of development for a project to begin the Startup Foundry program? expand\_more We focus on ventures at the earliest stages of development. The ideal project has validated academic research foundations but has not yet fully explored—or has only minimally investigated—the market viability and technical feasibility of commercialization. In the program, we concentrate on business model design and pilot programs, customer discovery and market validation, and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development. ### Who should I ask if I have other questions? expand\_more Please email [Debi Kleiman](mailto:dkleiman@iq.harvard.edu). ### Do I have to give up my job or appointment at Harvard to do this? expand\_more You do not. While part of the IQSS Startup Foundry, you and the business driver will be doing a research project, using all of Harvard’s facilities. At some time after the business is launched (agreed upon between you and the University), the business will operate independently and off campus, but the faculty member will retain a role as advisor, board member, equity holder, or in another mutually agreeable and beneficial capacity. ### Does the IQSS Startup Foundry take equity from the new venture to participate? expand\_more No, we don’t charge for support and resources (we have amazing donors who fund this work) and do not take any equity. Any IP issues related to the company are subject to Harvard University's IP Policy. Consult with Harvard's Office of Technology Development if you have IP questions. We can help you navigate the sometimes complex Harvard ecosystem (and outside activities reporting) as you prepare to launch the new initiative. ### Are there specific industries or technologies that you are focused on supporting? expand\_more We are specifically looking for innovative projects in the quantitative social sciences that solve important problems. Few areas of the economy do not involve people or groups, and so we do not limit industries that we attempt to influence. ### Who runs the Foundry? How did it get started? expand\_more The director of the IQSS Startup Foundry is [Debi Kleiman](/people/debi-kleiman "Debi Kleiman"). The Foundry is part of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science directed by [Gary King](/people/gary-king "Gary King"). IQSS has considerable experience over many years incubating academic projects into commercial startups, nonprofits, open source efforts, and centers at IQSS, elsewhere at Harvard, and across the world. Recently, we moved a nascent startup foundry at the Harvard Business School (part of their D^3 initiative, which was itself originally incubated at IQSS) here and combined it with our ongoing efforts into what is now the IQSS Startup Foundry.