The IQSS Startup Foundry - Innovation Community
The IQSS Startup Foundry Innovation Community
If You're an Entrepreneur, Operator, or Industry Expert
We're looking for experienced entrepreneurs, operators, and industry experts to work alongside our faculty as business drivers — the hands-on business partner who does the early work of building, not just an advisor who weighs in from the sidelines.
This isn't the accelerator role you're used to.
If you've worked with accelerators before, you know the drill: come in, give some advice, check in a few times, drive toward a raise or a product launch. That's not this. Here, the "company" often doesn't exist yet — sometimes there's no concept yet, just a researcher with a hunch that their work matters beyond academia. Your job isn't to run anything, and it isn't to sit back and advise either. It's to do the early business-building work alongside the faculty: talking to potential customers, testing whether the idea holds up, shaping a business model.
What that actually looks like:
Running early customer discovery — actual conversations, not just a recommendation to go have them
Building a first version of the business model: how this could work, who would pay
Bringing judgment from having built something before, applied directly to the work
Why is this worth your time?
You get a candid, early look at research most of the world won't see for years — before it's been shaped into a pitch. Some of what you help build could turn into a company you end up leading, investing in, or joining. Some won't turn into anything, and that's fine — this is the stage where real experience matters most, and where it's hardest to find.
If you've ever wished you could get involved before the pitch deck existed, this is that chance.
Deep Experience, Proven Results
IQSS has extensive experience transforming academic projects into commercial startups, nonprofits, open-source initiatives, and research centers at Harvard and globally. Our work has amplified social science research, created thousands of jobs, and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in value. Recent examples include:
- An AI drug discovery company that raised a significant pre-seed round
- A platform clinically proven to reduce maternal mortality across hundreds of Labor and Delivery units in hospitals
- An AI-driven Saas platform to transform industrial engineering and robotics development that completed Y-Combinator and raised millions in grants and venture capital
- Two innovative healthcare companies in the fertility space that are addressing major gaps in care
- A startup using AI to create context-aware human memory assistance that completed a multi-million dollar venture capital-funded seed round.
Learn More
You can read more about our portfolio companies and what they’ve accomplished here.
The director of the IQSS Startup Foundry is Debi Kleiman, who is widely known in the early-stage tech startup space. The director of IQSS is Gary King; he has started half a dozen successful companies based on technology he developed at Harvard and has advised many others.
Join Our Innovation Community!
The IQSS Startup Foundry brings together a curated network of business leaders, investors, and industry experts who share our vision of translating breakthrough social science research into transformative ventures. There are several ways to get involved with our work:
Advisory Board Members are distinguished investors, entrepreneurs, and academics who advise Harvard's IQSS leadership on the Startup Foundry's strategic direction. They guide leadership on key initiatives, provide high-level guidance to founders, and are valued supporters of IQSS and the Foundry within their networks and directly. Members have early access to cutting-edge innovations while joining a community of other thought leaders. Participation occurs mainly in Board meetings, which are usually quarterly for 2-3 hours. At their discretion, they also meet one-on-one with individual founders to provide support and guidance when it is helpful.
Meet our Board of Advisors
Executive Fellows serve as exclusive mentors to our most promising startups. These accomplished entrepreneurs and business leaders commit to year-long partnerships, providing personalized guidance and strategic introductions. Executive Fellows receive official Harvard appointments and work directly with ventures that align with their expertise. They commit to spending a minimum of 10 hours a month working with founders.
Meet our Executive Fellows
Business Drivers (sometimes with formal Harvard titles such as "Entrepreneurs in Residence") are professionals who work hands-on with faculty to transform academic research into viable companies. They help develop business models, validate markets, perform customer discovery interviews, and iterate with faculty to adjust research so that it can make a difference in the commercial world. This effort often results in the launch of the startup and a leadership role in the new venture. Business driver roles can extend for months to a year or more as the venture develops. They typically require a significant time commitment.
Industry Experts contribute specialized knowledge to solve challenges our founders encounter across diverse sectors and technical domains. We reach out to our community with specific asks related to these challenges when needed. The time commitment can vary from 1-3 hours per request. Sometimes these relationships evolve into longer-term mentorship if the startup and expert mutually agree to this.
While many of these key positions are filled by invitation through a selective review process, we actively seek dedicated volunteers and encourage interested individuals to contact us about opportunities to contribute.
Our program thrives when we have participation from others in the innovation community, such as:
IQSS Startup Foundry Supporters are the visionary, philanthropic funders who make our program possible. Through their tax-deductible gifts and business advice, we can build the programming, structure, and support that connect the academic and commercial worlds, generate public good, and bring novel startups to life. Some also connect us with their networks, who may also want to support the next generation of high-impact social science innovations.
Early-stage Investors provide startup capital and guidance to these emerging ventures in exchange for equity, helping them launch and grow. These investors are aligned with the IQSS Startup Foundry but external to it.