{"690970":{"#nid":"690970","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bridging the Gap Between Technical Research and Marketable Solutions","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/chandra-raman\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EChandra Raman\u003C\/a\u003E is a physicist \u2014 and an avid beach volleyball player. In 25 years as a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, his sport never came up in the classroom. That changed when he joined\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/quadrant-i.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EQuadrant-i\u003C\/a\u003E, a faculty startup engine, and realized volleyball could help him pitch his startup.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERaman\u2019s company,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.8seven8.com\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E8Seven8\u003C\/a\u003E, produces quantum chips for aircraft navigation and industrial automation. To explain it to investors, he drew on the sport he knows best. \u201cThe technology I\u0027m working on needs precision, timing, and teamwork, so I compared that to volleyball,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need precision to place the ball, timing to block, and teammates who support you.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe metaphor helped investors grasp his company\u2019s value, a skill Raman developed in Q-i\u2019s first\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/new-space-startups-take-georgia-tech\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Espace-themed cohort\u003C\/a\u003E, run with the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/space.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESpace Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E. The six faculty and student teams learned how to launch startups, from customer discovery to storytelling \u2014 soft skills essential to bringing research to market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBuilding a successful startup means recruiting a team, winning customers, and convincing investors, all\u0026nbsp;of which require\u0026nbsp;the ability to rally\u0026nbsp;people behind a world-changing vision,\u201d said Theo Williams III, general partner at\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/creations.vc\/\u0022\u003ECreations VC\u003C\/a\u003E, a space venture capital firm that funded the cohort. \u201cSoft skills\u0026nbsp;turn brilliant researchers into the kind of leaders people want to follow.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESharing the Art of Storytelling\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo help faculty connect with investors, Q-i brought in storytelling coaches from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/creativereframe.com\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECreative Re\/Frame\u003C\/a\u003E, a Boston-based consultancy founded by academics Jen Guillemin and Wendy Swart Grossman. They led a workshop to refine pitches, then worked one-on-one with teams on everything from narrative to presentation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe biggest hurdle: translating complex research for audiences who aren\u2019t scientists. \u201cWe help faculty innovators translate deep knowledge and expertise into relatable human stories that solve real-world problems and create change,\u201d they said.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFaculty quickly saw the payoff.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGiving customers or investors the story behind a startup shows how invested you are in its success,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ae.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/panagiotis-tsiotras\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EPanagiotis Tsiotras\u003C\/a\u003E, who leads Penumbra Autonomy, a spacecraft maneuvering startup.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop also reshaped how some participants framed their work. James Read, founder of ferroelectric memory startup\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cimtech.ai\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECIMTech.ai\u003C\/a\u003E, said it shifted his focus beyond novelty. \u201cAs researchers, you focus on novelty, but you have to ground it in something anyone can understand,\u201d he said. \u201cQuadrant-i pushes you to focus on customer value, not just what\u2019s publishable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDiscovering the Customer\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat focus starts with customer discovery: listening, asking questions, and validating problems before building solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn research and development, there is a natural tendency to lead with the solution: build something sophisticated and then look for a market that needs it. But customer discovery flips that instinct on its head,\u201d said Mike Yan, whose startup\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/openwerks.org\/\u0022\u003EOpenWerks\u003C\/a\u003E streamlines supply chain management for space industries. \u201cIf you haven\u0027t validated that a problem is real, urgent, and worth solving from the customer\u0027s perspective, you risk building something technically impressive that no one actually needs. The soft skills of listening, empathy, and intellectual humility are what make genuine customer discovery possible.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Q-i director\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/jonathan-goldman\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJonathan Goldman\u003C\/a\u003E, that mindset shift is the point.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFaculty are best positioned to drive real-world impact by partnering with experienced entrepreneurs,\u201d he said. \u201cThey also have to be the first salesperson before hiring one.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe approach is already paying off. OpenWerks has secured funding from the Georgia Research Alliance and the Defense Logistics Agency and is prototyping with aerospace and defense manufacturers, validating both its technology and its market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrograms like Q-i show that research doesn\u2019t have to be paradigm-shifting to matter. Sometimes, the key to impact is simple: meeting people where they are with a story they understand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;From storytelling to customer discovery, Quadrant-i teaches faculty soft skills to commercialize their work.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" From storytelling to customer discovery, Quadrant-i teaches faculty soft skills to commercialize their work."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2026-06-29 19:42:54","changed_gmt":"2026-07-01 15:51:22","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680534":{"id":"680534","type":"image","title":"KYEmZ59Q.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStorytelling is a vital soft skill for pitching investors. Students pitched at Quadrant-i \u0026amp; Creations VC Space Fellows Pitch Event this spring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv lang=\u0022en\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782762577","gmt_created":"2026-06-29 19:49:37","changed":"1782762577","gmt_changed":"2026-06-29 19:49:37","alt":"Man pitches to group at table","file":{"fid":"264808","name":"KYEmZ59Q.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/KYEmZ59Q.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/KYEmZ59Q.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":185088,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/29\/KYEmZ59Q.jpeg?itok=hUvUzsQS"}}},"media_ids":["680534"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"195134","name":"go-quadranti"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"},{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}