At first glance, moving from the field of PhD research to the dynamic life of a startup founder can seem like a big shift. But many of the skills you learn during your PhD, such as critical thinking, problem solving, networking, patience, and resilience are vital skills for a startup founder.
In this session, you’ll hear directly from two startup founders who have done just that: transforming their research into real-world ventures. They’ll share their journeys, including the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned, and the ways that their academic training helped them in creating successful startups. You will also hear how IDA can help you with legal advice and sparring to build your business.
Shannon Hanson, PhD in Marine Biogeochemistry and co-founder of ReefCircular. After completing her PhD, Shannon co-founded ReefCircular with the goal of helping to restore marine environments in a sustainable manner. ReefCircular creates artificial reefs to increase marine biodiversity, and the many benefits healthy marine ecosystems provide, in areas damaged by human activity.
Pablo Alberdi-Pagola, PostDoc from DTU Construct and co-founder of ERLEtek, a technology company that integrates expertise in construction, software, and robotics. The mission is to enable automation in construction technologies, by focusing on simple concrete works such as land retaining walls with agile mobile 3D concrete printers for rapid, on-site construction.
Whether you’re curious about entrepreneurship or actively considering turning your research into a business, this session will provide inspiration and guidance to help you take the first steps.