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350 BYRD ET AL.

Combine (Combine) works with media technologies BACKGROUND: WHY ARE THESE PROGRAMS
that tend to be leaner and faster moving, and hence NEEDED IN THE FIRST PLACE?
instituted an abbreviated application and awardee It is well established that high-potential early-stage
process compared with the energy or medical device scientific innovations often fall into what is com-
programs. In the case of Combine, a new format was monly known as the “Valley of Death” (Figure 1).
molded using many but not all of the fundamental This “valley” exists when fundamental basic research
elements in PowerBridgeNY and Columbia-Coulter that indicates potential opportunities for commer-
Translational Research Partnership. We are now in cialization has been completed in the academic lab
the process of taking the lessons learned from these but stalls without the expertise, knowledge, and
first three accelerators to launch a new program spe- resources to bring these technologies to market. In
cific to therapeutics and are finding that building off many cases, this results in a tremendous net loss to
an existing base is much easier than starting from society—fewer new products or services, fewer new
scratch. We are also combining many of the shared jobs, loss of exports and taxes, and lower chances for
administrative and infrastructural elements from fundamental breakthroughs.
each of these programs into a centrally-staffed vir- Why does this valley exist? Federal research grants
tual core facility, called the Columbia Accelerator primarily fund basic academic research, but the
Network, to better leverage these best practices and resulting projects are often still too risky for industry
increase efficiency and effectiveness across the pro-
grams. to simply in-license or for traditional venture capi-
The authors hope that by sharing lessons learned tal investment. Academic researchers often lack the
from these accelerators, as well as collecting and dis- business skills, experience, and network to navigate
seminating similar lessons from accelerators at other the early stages of company formation. These projects
research institutions, best practices will continue do not benefit from early and frequent industry and
to evolve to benefit everyone involved in moving investor input reflecting the real-time needs of the
early-stage technologies out of labs and into the mar- marketplace or are developed in ways that cannot
ket for the good of society. To that end, Columbia scale effectively to serve those needs. Even those
University has begun to keep a public repository of products that make it to market may not have been
observations and materials from our existing acceler- tested, proven, and deployed enough to appeal to cli-
ator programs, including lessons learned, application ents or consumers, particularly enterprise customers
and review materials, award terms and conditions, who may need to demonstrate high reliability and
and public outreach materials. Other universities will cost-effectiveness.
be able to access these resources while also upload- As a result, early-stage start-ups leveraging grant
ing their own, thus initiating a conversation across or angel capital have become increasingly critical for
the national research community. If your institution getting high-promise but not-yet-validated univer-
would like to participate, please email the authors at sity IP to a more mature stage, after which the large
techventures@columbia.edu with “Accelerators” in industry players can obtain access to the technology
the subject line. either through an IP license, company acquisition,
Until the repository is fully established, our hope or by purchasing the start-up’s product or service.
is that this article will start the dialogue and begin Technology commercialization in general, but spe-
sharing what we have learned about both the key cifically via start-ups, also fulfills other objectives for
elements of an accelerator program and how the universities, including local and regional economic
surrounding components can be tweaked in order development, supporting entrepreneurial students
to meet industry needs. Ultimately, the authors hope and faculty, increasing connections to local com-
readers will be empowered by this information and munities, and employing postdocs and graduate
take steps toward starting their own programs or, if students.
they already have programs, share their experiences However, commercializing a technology through
with others. a license or a start-up presents problems beyond
solely the dearth of financial resources. It is fairly