Activation Energy

Casey Lippmeier of Checkerspot discusses precision fermentation. Adam Lawrence co-hosts.  OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:32) Education and career (04:25) Checkerspot - origin story and technology (07:05) Target market - infant nutrition (08:21) Partnerships (10:41) Precision fermentation (13:04) Bioeconomy (14:52) Advantages and disadvantages (17:28) Market sizing and segmentation (19:27) Succes...

Jason Kakoyiannis and Brian Brazeau of Ferment discuss the state of bioeconomy and backing biotech startups. Adam Lawrence co-hosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:38) Education and careers (01:35) Ferment origin story (07:10) Fund vs. studio venture model (12:21) Technoeconomics (19:33) Value ecosystem (21:59) Advantages of bio (24:43) Tech push, Market pull (29:25) Market opportunities (31:25)...

William Morris of NuMat talks about metal organic frameworks (MOFs) for filtration, separation, and storage of gases, as well as about his journey helping spin out a startup from Northwestern University. Bryce Meredig joins as co-host. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:53) Career path (05:29) NuMat’s origin (06:10) Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) (10:39) Market opportunity (12:16) Partnership model...

Mark Warner of Liberation Bioindustries speaks about the importance of scaling biology and shifting focus from R&D to manufacturing. Adam Lawrence cohosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:39) Career  (02:36) Definition of biomanufacturing (03:46) Comparison with chemical manufacturing  (07:14) History and evolution of biomanufacturing  (10:15) Current state of biomanufacturing (13:01) Role of...

Nádia Parachin of Integra discusses industrial biotechnology. Adam Lawrence co-hosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:49) Education and career (02:21) Tech transfer and innovation financing in Brazil vs. US (08:52) Industrial biotechnology - definition and advantages (14:33) Key drivers for industrial biotech (16:21) Platform vs Product business models (20:38) Current state of industry (25:59) Ex...

Robert Stoner of Kendall Square Project and previously of MIT Energy Initiative speaks about licensing as a way to bring academic and scientific research to the market. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:39) Education and career path (07:58) Financing mechanisms for deeptech ventures (12:45) Role of universities (15:34) Licensing (23:11) Role of government (31:03) Scientists turning entrepreneurs (3...

David Heller of C16 Biosciences speaks about biomanufacturing technology and products and business strategy. Adam Lawrence co-hosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:32) Career path (03:13) Origin of C16 Biosciences (07:12) Palm oil agriculture (10:06) C16 Bio’s core technology (11:14) IP strategy (16:22) Products (18:50) Competitors (21:02) Value ecosystem  (24:05) Positioning  (25:32) Criticisms...

Joško Bobanović of Sofinnova Partners speaks about bioeconomy, industrial biotech, and biomanufacturing. Adam Lawrence co-hosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:34) Education and career path (02:21) Sofinnova Partners (04:28) Investment strategy (06:34) Terminology (08:45) Industrial biotech history and evolution (14:06) Competitive strategies for bio startups (16:55) End applications – fuels, fo...

Lee Vinsel of Virginia Tech and Andrew Russell of SUNY Polytechnic Institute speak about innovation, hype, and the importance of investing in maintenance. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:29) Eduction and career paths (02:20) Origin of and motivation of writing The Innovation Delusion   (04:15) True innovation vs. “innovation speak” (08:42) Higher education and tech transfer/licensing offices (14:...

Adrien Côté of the Velocity discusses translating science and research into business ventures. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:43) Education and career (03:17) Velocity Incubator (07:50) Successfully incubated ventures  (09:30) Commercialization challenges (11:44) What distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from others (13:20) “Not all founders are entrepreneurs” (15:49) Challenges of transitioni...

Adam Lawrence of AGL.BIO speaks about bioeconomy and biomanufacturing. OUTLINE (0:00) Introduction (00:38) Education and career (03:23) Challenges and barriers in biomanufacturing  (04:46) Bioeconomy terminology (08:52) Value of biomanufacturing and comparative advantage  (14:18) Actual and potential mpact (18:12) Chemical companies (19:38) Drivers (20:37) Value ecosystem and participants (23:08)...

Charla Triplett of Spine by Design speaks about medtech entrepreneurship and investing. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:42) Education and career   (03:00) Suncoast VC (04:45) Investment thesis (05:44) Portfolio (11:41) Spine by Design (21:39) Medtech innovation and trends (30:22) Regulations and regulatory strategies (36:53) Advice for medtech entrepreneurs 

Jason Jay of MIT Sloan School of Management speaks about  sustainability endeavors and systemic investing. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:33) Career (04:27) MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative (10:29) Modeling climate change impact ( EnROADS ) (15:30) Emissions and warming (21:04) Optimizing economic, social, and environmental objectives and trade-offs (29:03) Public sector’s role in innovation...

Aleksandra Gosiewski of Keel Labs talks about harnessing the ocean to create biobased materials. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:50) Education and career path (01:39) Origin of Keel Labs (03:45) Sustainability (05:37) Offshoring (07:23) Technology and product (08:14) Manufacturing (13:47) Material performance (15:38) Biodegradability (16:46) Economics (17:50) Traction (18:46) Value ecosystem (20:...

Dr. Tanya Ramond of Sapienne Consulting talks about deeptech ventures and commercialization strategies. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:45) Career path (03:50) Transitioning from academia to industry (05:17) Transitioning from corporation to startups (08:06) From PhD to MBA  (13:15) Definition of deeptech (14:56) Dual opportunities – ROI and impact (16:57) Risks and uncertainties  (19:26) Mitigat...

Fred Rostami of GreenLIB talks about recovering and recycling materials from lithium batteries. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:33) Fred’s career path (01:21) GreenLIB’s elevator pitch (01:55) Common and state-of-the-art battery materials recovery tech (03:42) Technical and economic challenges associated with materials recovery (04:43) Recovery vs. recycling (05:16) Recovery/Recycling vs. extract...

Jaehee Sweeney of BEI talks about battery technologies, including BEI's products. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:26) Career path (04:12) Energy storage (07:38) Lithium-based batteries (10:17) Lithium metal batteries (11:39) Ideal battery (12:32) BEI technology (13:32) Distinctiveness and stage of BEI batteries (15:59) Comparison with current solutions  (16:04) Charging characteristics of BEI...

Jeff Rosedale of BakerHostetler speaks about how deeptech entrepreneurs can navigating the IP landscape and integrate IP with business strategy. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:25) Jeff’s professional background (04:10) Dialogue between scientific advancements and legal frameworks (07:22) How law firms are addressing evolving technologies (09:05) Emerging trends (11:13) Integrating IP and busines...

Bryce Meredig of Citrine Informatics talks about leadership and the business of science. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:28) Career path (02:06) Academia vs. business (03:15) Deeptech startups vs others (04:48) Integrating science and business (06:08) How to overcome challenges with integration (07:27) Scientific leadership (10:00) Group and organizational dynamics (11:20) Leadership qualities (1...

Pavle Jeremić of Aether Bio talks about protein engineering, lithium extraction, and advanced polymers. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:29) Pavle’s professional background (01:12) Motivation for founding Aether (04:31) Aether’s technology and product lines (06:45) Uniqueness of Aether’s technology (13:08) Importance of Aether’s technology (14:45) Monetization strategy (16:22) Failed strategies (1...

Rodrigo Alvarez-Icaza of Elysium Robotics talks about actuation, movement, and robotics. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:39) Rodrigo’s professional background (03:04) Motivation for founding Elysium (04:17) Elysium’s technology (05:45) Limitations of current robotic systems (07:02) Suite of robotic technologies (08:09) Actuation (10:19) Technical performance metrics (12:06) Target applications (1...

Mahmood Shirazy of Calogy Solutions discusses thermal management systems of electrical vehicles (EV) systems, transitioning from scientist to entrepreneur, and the state of the deeptech ecosystem. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:36) Mahmood’s career  (02:32) Calogy’s technology (04:09) Value proposition and uniqueness of technology (06:45) Examples (09:02) Broader impact (11:39) Value of opportun...

Chad Wasilenkoff of Helicoid Industries talks about commercializing advanced, proprietary composites for sporting goods, automotive, and aerospace applications. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:33) Chad’s professional background (05:25) Helicoid’s technology (07:42) Significance and potential impact of Helicoid’s technology (10:17) Trends in composites industry (13:04) Applications in sporting goo...

The team behind TrueAlgae – Angela Tsetsis , Nathaniel Jackson , Taka Kamezawa – talks about commercialization of algae-derived metabolites, which have potential impact across multiple fields, including medicine and health, food and nutrition, and materials science and biofuels. OUTLINE (0:00) Introduction (0:33) Angela Tsetsis (02:05) Taka Kamezawa (03:12) Nathaniel Jackson (04:08) Origin of True...

Martin Mulvihill of Safer Made , a VC firm, talks about investing in startups that eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals in consumer products and supply chains. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:40) Marty’s career path (03:10) Motivation for becoming a VC (04:38) Safer Made’s origin, mission, and vision (05:40) Safer Made’s investment thesis (06:05) How Safer Made thinks about and measures impac...