In this episode, guest Christy Wyskiel is invited on to speak about her role in bringing new technology to businesses at Johns Hopkins and the surrounding Baltimore area. Christy provides a brief personal background and talks about how she is an investor and entrepreneur at heart. Leaving her formal investing career behind to start her current role, Christy was captured by her spirit for entrepreneurship and company building, and the opportunity to see incredible new technologies come to market.

Khuram gets the conversation rolling by asking about the ecosystem of companies in Baltimore. Learn about the barriers that led to an infrastructure that lacked the necessary connections, investors, and networks. Why did this infrastructure exist in the Baltimore area? Christy discusses the paper she wrote concerning this very issue and how that launched her career. Christ demystifies the technology transfer of how ground-breaking research can be productized and commercialized. Learn about the 1980 federal laws that served to encourage university research and actual productization.

Where do you go to meet people like Christy, and to move on to the next steps? Christy shares about their “secret sauce” at Johns Hopkins! Additionally, learn about the National Science Foundation’s i-Corps program that offers great mentorship and training for individuals.

Khuram dives into a series of various questions for Christy regarding patents, how research becomes a business, the finances behind the innovations, the ins and outs of start-ups, and the various assistance programs out there. Don’t miss out on the outstanding strides and dramatic changes in these ventures that Johns Hopkins has made in the recent years! More and more companies are not only starting up in Baltimore, but they are staying there for the long-haul.

Christy shares about the Fast Forward initiative as a place for companies to locate and stay in the area—a space for shared resources and innovation. Building the Baltimore ecosystem with biotech companies is Christy’s dream. Pulling mentors and investors from around the area, the “Maryland Innovation Initiative” also helped to address the gap needing to be filled for innovation to happen. Find out more on “translational funding”.

Christy also shares about the other institutions she is involved in, such as the “Social Innovations Lab”—an initiative for the missions driven, not for profit startups. Learn the story of the “Clear Mask” mission-driven start up that has recently taken off. With the technology ventures for both student and faculty programs, there are resources available to everyone in the ecosystem.

What’s been happening during COVID and how is Christy’s class on entrepreneurial finance going? Listen in as Christy shares the ins-and-outs of this season during the pandemic and the momentum that is still raging on.

The episode wraps up with envisioning the future of biotech. Christy shares the importance of marrying the ideas of where the world is going, with the here and now. She provides resources on how to find the great ideas and all the unlicensed products being produced at Johns Hopkins. Join Christy and be part of her community with the momentum that’s rolling!

Links:

Connect with Christy on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Learn more about the Social Innovations Lab

Check out more about the startups at Johns Hopkins—use Tech Finder for the unlicensed products

Find out more on Johns Hopkins University and their Fast Forward program

Learn more about the NSF’s i-Corps program

Access Campfire podcast videos on YouTube.

Timestamps:

0:45 - Welcomes Christy

0:59 - Christy’s background and role

3:15 - The ecosystem of companies in Baltimore

4:44 - Why the barriers and why a lack infrastructure in this area?

7:30 - Demystifying the technology transfer

12:14 - Their “secret sauce”

14:45 - National Science Foundation’s program: i-Corps

16:17 - Questions about patents

19:15 - Start-ups

23:44 - Learning about Fast Forward

25:22 - Building the Baltimore ecosystem

28:07 - How do you find a mentor?

29:42 - The “Maryland Innovation Initiative”

30:50 - The “Social Innovations Lab”

35:20 - What’s been happening during COVID?

39:15 - Christy’s class during

41:31 - Envisioning the future of biotech

45:12 - How to find the great ideas

47:08 - Last words to impart