#  Startup Foundry Project Journey 

 



##  From “Is This for Me?” to “Ship Sails” 

The Typical Project Journey



 

 

 

       ![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) 

 

 



 

 



 

Faculty move through the Foundry at different speeds and often do not go through every stage. If this is your first time exploring commercialization possibilities, you might have a lot of questions that need to be addressed first.

Most of the faculty we work with follow some version of the following path:



 

 

You might be here if:

- You are curious but skeptical.
- You are unsure whether any of your work is commercializable.
- Your main questions are about fit, conflicts of interest, and career implications.

At this stage, we:

- Explain concretely what “commercialization” can mean in your case (and what it does not mean).
- Walk through example paths that similar faculty have taken.
- Identify parts of your work that might plausibly have external users, customers, or partners.
- Give you enough information to decide whether to move forward—or not.

**Outcome:** You come away with clarity. For many, that clarity is “not now.” For others, it is “this might be worth a small experiment.”



 



      ![Stage 0: Exploration. "Is this for me?"](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%200.png?itok=CHSe_VXj) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

 

You might be here if:

- You suspect there is something in your research that others would pay for or adopt.
- You do not know what “the product” is, who the user is, or what problem you are really solving.
- You are interested partly because this could also inform what you work on next.

At this stage, we:

- Help you inventory your existing and planned research through a commercialization lens.
- Identify candidate ideas, tools, datasets, methods, or platforms that might have external demand.
- Conduct lightweight market and stakeholder exploration to see what resonates.
- Use what we learn to refine both the practical opportunity and, if you wish, your research questions.

**Outcome:** You get a sharper sense of whether there is a real opportunity, what it might look like, and whether it is worth treating as “one more project” in your portfolio.



 



      ![Stage 1: Finding the Idea. "What here could actually go out into the world?"](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%201.png?itok=6k5CXl8n) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

##  Stage 2: Getting Ready – “I’m in. Now I need help.” 

Once you decide that you want to create something beyond the paper, there are usually two needs.

 

 



 ### Research Needs

You may realize that, to make the opportunity real, you need additional research:

- New data or experiments
- Further validation of a method or model
- Engineering support to turn a prototype into something demonstrable

Here, we:

- Help you scope what research work is needed to de-risk the opportunity.
- Connect you to the usual IQSS and Harvard mechanisms—grants, technical support, computing, quantitative consulting, etc.—to get that work done.



 

   ![Stage 2A: Research Resources](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%202a%20%5Bcolumn%20ver%5D.png?itok=sylNsq6B) 

 

 

 

 ### Industry Needs

In parallel, you may be ready on the research side but missing all the “business” components:

- Early customers or partners to talk to
- A simple prototype or demo others can use or react to
- A first-pass understanding of the addressable market
- A coherent narrative and pitch for internal and external audiences

Here, you need a business driver. At this stage we:

- Help identify and recruit that person (from your team or from our network).
- Work with them to run actual customer and stakeholder conversations, not just talk about them.
- Build first versions of the business model and value proposition.
- Assemble the materials needed to approach funders, customers, or institutional partners.



 

   ![Stage 2B: Business-Building Resources](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%202b%20%5Bcolumn%20ver%5D.png?itok=NFkobopC) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

When the startup (or equivalent structure) is ready to emerge, we help you:

- Decide the right vehicle: a venture-backed startup, a customer-funded company, a public-benefit structure, a license to an existing firm, or a partnership with a public or nonprofit organization.
- Identify and approach the right early funders or first customers.
- Choose and form the appropriate legal entity (LLC, C‑corp, etc.).
- Navigate Harvard’s conflict-of-interest policies and technology transfer processes.
- Lead or support negotiations between Harvard and the new entity to align incentives and responsibilities.
- Line up essential services—legal, accounting, HR, data infrastructure, compute, and more.

**Outcome:** A deal is made. There is now an actual company or organizational vehicle, with defined relationships among Harvard, you, and the new entity.



 



      ![Stage 3: The First Deal. "Turning this into an actual entity."](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%203.png?itok=2bNVNQW7) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

 

Once the company is formed and the initial deal is in place, there is often a defined period—typically on the order of 12–18 months—during which the new entity can:

- Operate on Harvard property
- Make use of certain Harvard resources under agreed terms
- Continue to interact with your lab and research program in defined ways

During this period, we:

- Help ensure that everyone understands and abides by the boundaries set in the agreements.
- Support the gradual operational and organizational separation between the company and the university.
- Work with you and the business driver to prepare for life fully outside Harvard.

**Outcome:** The company grows while still benefiting from a structured, time-limited connection to your academic environment.



 



      ![Stage 4: Runway. "On Harvard's campus, with a clock."](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%204.png?itok=r3rD0yj5) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

 

At some point, the clock runs out by design. The company:

- Moves fully off campus
- Operates on its own infrastructure, with its own staff and governance
- Interacts with you and Harvard at arm’s length, like any other external partner

Our job at this point is mostly complete. We remain available as a connector and resource, but the company is independent. You remain a faculty member, with whatever formal relationship to the company was established (e.g., advisor, board member, founder equity), and with a new channel for your work to reach the world.

**Outcome:** The ship sails. You stay with it as an advisor, keeping an ownership stake and continuing to provide your input, but on a part-time or consulting basis. You stay on the faculty.



 



      ![Stage 5: Ship Sails. "Independent and on its own."](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-08/Foundry%20timeline%20Stage%205.png?itok=mArDt88V) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

###  Questions about the Startup Foundry? 

 



 [  arrow\_forward  Check out our FAQ ](https://www.iq.harvard.edu/startup-foundry-faq) [ draftsContact Startup Foundry director Debi Kleiman](mailto:dkleiman@iq.harvard.edu)