"But he'd been considering an idea for new technology-an autonomous, wind-powered cargo ship. Then, while on paternity leave in 2024, he discovered a free program that helps scientists and engineers launch businesses for the first time. Weeks after finishing the program, called 5050, Cymbalist had launched a startup called Clippership. The company's first ship is being built in the Netherlands this year. Without the accelerator, he says, the company likely wouldn't exist."
""The transition from academic scientist to founder is actually much more difficult than the transition from sophomore dropout to founder, for a whole host of reasons," says Seth Bannon, a founding partner at Fifty Years. "Because of that, the best people to start these startups-the scientists that invented the technology-weren't doing that. So we said, 'okay, can we help fix that?'""
Fifty Years operates a free 13-week program called 5050 that helps scientists and engineers evaluate and commercialize technologies. The program combines some in-person weekends with weekly Zoom sessions to test whether ideas are worth pursuing and ready for market. The accelerator has enabled the launch of 100 startups, including Clippership, Huminly, and Plasmidsaurus. Fifty Years founded the course after observing that academic inventors faced high barriers to founding companies. The program guides participants through idea validation, commercialization timelines, and pivot decisions to accelerate transitions from laboratory research to market-ready ventures.
Read at Fast Company
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