Empowering research-based founders – Innovator’s Leap in collaboration with SILTA
In this blog post, the Startup Foundation project grantee SILTA team shares their experience in building the Innovator’s Leap community. Innovator’s Leap supports research-based founders to bridge the gap between research and commercial success.
Did you know that, aside from one oil giant, every company valued at over a trillion dollars was founded by a 'technical person'? This, if anything, is a good reminder that founding startups is not limited to the so-called ‘business people’.
The best way of unlocking the impact of research is through commercialization. The more users an invention has, the greater the positive impact on the world. Thus, it’s essential for technical professionals too to develop the skills needed to build a company or collaborate with large corporations.
To better understand the commercialization of inventions, we’ve thoroughly explored the topic, studied, and interviewed professionals. Now combining the insights from Finland and some of the most vibrant hubs, like Boston and the San Francisco Bay area in the US, we have identified three main themes.
1) World-class research is step one, spreading the word is step 2
While the research in Finland is undeniably world-class, we fall short in translating that into research-based startups. The first step towards fixing this is to start speaking out loud about the world-class research happening here. By actively sharing the problems we are solving in research institutions and the groundbreaking solutions on the horizon, we can attract future business opportunities. The three key audiences that need to be reached are potential customers, investors, and collaborators.
Towards the spinning-out phase, it’s incredibly important to validate the idea by engaging with potential customers. Customer interviews help a founder determine when they’ve truly hit the golden product-market fit and that the product will be flying off the shelves.
Next, it's essential to ensure that potential investors and funders are aware of the solution. During our visit to the US, we noticed that, in addition to having more funds available, every lab routinely maintained contact with potential investors – even before the spinout phase. Whether through regular demo days, networking events, or other forms of engagement, research groups and investors should be in dialogue from the start.
The same applies to potential collaborators like industry partners or startup ecosystem supporters. The right industry partner, mentor, accelerator program, or fellow founder can play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth transition for the founders from research to commercialization.
2) Mindset changes reality – Role models, collaboration and courage
In nearly all situations, our environment shapes what we do and who we become. This is equally true for research commercialization. In places where many people are actively commercializing their research, it becomes part of the norm – and eventually, the culture.
We saw this clearly in Boston, although we were told it wasn’t always the case. The culture shift began with a few high-profile researchers successfully commercializing their work, inspiring junior researchers to follow suit. Today, Boston boasts a vibrant culture of research commercialization that creates a record number of spinout companies."
Beyond the culture among researchers, the level of ambition and the breadth of support functions are key factors in successful commercialization hubs. An open mindset toward collaboration enables everyone in the ecosystem to reach new heights. Partnerships between industry, researchers, universities, startups, accelerators, and other entities are sought after more courageously than we typically see in Finland.
Compared to these hubs, Finland still lacks the same number of role models and the culture of launching ventures from the lab. This is why visiting a different environment can be invaluable for growing a similar mindset here. Any researcher with impact-driven solutions should find the courage to ask themselves whether they could be the path-paving founder that the next genius minds will look up to as a role model.
3) Silicon Valley launches startups to success like no other place
Silicon Valley remains the startup capital of the world, standing out with its rich history of innovation compared to Finland’s younger ecosystem. The maturity of Silicon Valley is evident in nearly every aspect – its open-mindedness, culture of disruption, and emphasis on ideation and risk-taking make it a prime place to venture.
With unparalleled access to capital and market opportunities, Silicon Valley enables businesses to scale globally from the start. Its reputation and benefits, it continuously attracts top talent, from bright students to tech professionals, driving the next wave of breakthroughs. The strength of the networks built in the Valley adds significant value throughout a startup’s journey.
The Silicon Valley culture values deep technical knowledge and big visions aimed at solving the world’s biggest challenges. We believe these values are shared by many research groups. That’s why we’re certain that more research-based founders from Finland should step into the startup ecosystem, ideally all the way to California.
One path to achieving this is through the SILTA program. SILTA was created to help Finnish entrepreneurs gain exposure to Silicon Valley’s unique ecosystem and harness the opportunities it offers. Over a three-month program, SILTA supports Finland’s most promising founders to accelerate their businesses, build a valuable global network, and ultimately bring fresh insights and new energy back to the Finnish startup community.
Join the Innovator’s Leap Community
Throughout this post, we’ve explored the importance of making research visible, adopting the right mindset, and engaging with global startup hubs like Silicon Valley.
Finding an innovative solution is just the beginning – success depends on how effectively you communicate that solution. This is particularly true for research-based founders, who often face the challenge of explaining their work to investors and partners from different backgrounds. At Innovator’s Leap, we understand this gap and provide support for mastering communication, gaining valuable feedback, and navigating investor relations.
Whether you’re looking to refine your pitch, improve your website, or prepare for critical meetings, we’re here to help bridge the gap between your research and commercial success. Our goal is to improve founders’, researchers’, and innovators' ability to sell, validate, and promote their startups, as well as to apply for the SILTA program.
If you're a research-based founder and this resonates with you, we invite you to join our community. There are no costs or obligations – just fill out this form, let us know how we can support you, and we’ll add you to our info channel and group chat to get started.
- Sebastian Hannula & Pihla Päivänsalo
About the writers: The writers have been educated in research commercialization both in Finland and Boston, US, as a part of MIMIR Fellows group of 2023. Pihla Päivänsalo is Team Lead at SILTA. They are now part of the team building Innovator’s Leap in collaboration with SILTA.
