For Activate Fellows, 2021 Was the Year of Pilots, Products, and Partnerships
We’ve rounded up some of the most exciting products, partnerships, and pilots that our cohort companies have launched or announced in 2021.
Meet Our Stellar Team of Managing Directors
We’ve assembled an incredible team of managing directors across four Activate communities. They’re all looking forward to guiding Cohort 2022 fellows through the crucial first two years of their startup lives.
Looking Back, and Forward, as the DEIB Committee Begins Year Two
In a wide-ranging conversation, three team members discuss Activate’s work to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across our business, including in our operations, our fellowship, our partnerships.
Introducing: Activate New York
As part of the $19.5 million Carbontech Development Initiative, announced by New York State in April 2021, the Activate New York Community will provide entrepreneurs with resources and training to build the global network needed to scale carbontech innovations.
Stripe Climate to Purchase up to $500,000 in Carbon Removal from Fellows' Startups
We have forged a landmark partnership with Stripe, a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, in support of Activate Fellows whose technology innovations promise to permanently remove and store atmospheric CO2.
From Berkeley to Boston to Anywhere
As Activate Boston hit the one-year mark, we took stock of what we’ve learned and gained from scaling the fellowship and landed on a bold next move: Activate Anywhere.
Meet Karen Krause-Bencal, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Defense & Electronics
A powerhouse mentor to Activate Fellows, she’s also helped us tap into Boston’s vibrant startup ecosystem at the intersection of defense, fedtech, and energy innovation.
Meet Activate’s New Executive-in-Residence, Ranulfo (Randy) Allen
Since joining Activate this summer as our first Boston-based executive-in-residence, Randy Allen has been laser-focused on helping fellows—and showing them why now is a great time to be a science entrepreneur.
Matthew Alpert’s Transformation from 'Diligent Engineer' to Founder and CTO
Matthew Alpert applied for the Activate Fellowship because he viewed entrepreneurship as a new skill that was worth acquiring, even if he was not yet convinced that he’d actually fit the mold.
Activate Fellows on Hiring, Company Culture, and Open Roles
Activate helps scientists develop as leaders, mature their ideas, and learn what it takes to build a viable, scalable business.
From Zero to One to Many: How Richard Wang Built the Cuberg Team
A lot has changed since Olivia Risset joined Cuberg as employee number one, but the characteristics that Cuberg looks for in new hires has remained constant.
Richard Wang’s Tips for Effective Startup Hiring
Six nuggets of hiring advice from Cohort 2016 fellow and Cuberg CEO Richard Wang.
Welcome, Cohort 2021
These 23 fellows bring a wealth of scientific talent and ambition to turn their innovations—in everything from quantum computing and robotics to bio-based materials, ag-tech, and carbon-free energy systems—into much-needed products and services, with speed and at scale.
Values, Focus, Fresh Ideas: Advice for Founders from Matt Rogers
We asked Incite.org founder and Activate board member Matt Rogers to share his advice with our community of founders.
Learning to Lead: A Fellow Shares ‘Wisdom from the Future’ with Her Younger Self
In a letter to her younger self, Cohort 2020 fellow Elise Strobach reflects on the hard work of overcoming self-doubt and confronting her early perceptions of what makes a strong leader.
Tom Boussie Set 50 Founders—and Our Fellowship—On a Path Toward Success
Managing director Tom Boussie is transitioning out of his role and will serve as Activate’s executive-in-residence while helping to hire and train the next managing director for Activate Berkeley.
Climate Reflections from the Activate Community
As individuals at an organization committed to the urgent work of mitigating climate change, how can we balance staying informed and inspired? We asked members of the Activate community to reflect on their climate journey.
Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask If They Want to Cut Industrial Emissions
For industry, cost is king, so creating a new, low-carbon approach to making an industrial product isn’t enough. Science entrepreneurs need to find not only the lowest and cleanest energy costs but also the best manufacturing scenario.
Sea Change: Activate Fellows and the Blue Economy
We are celebrating the Activate Fellows whose innovations directly and indirectly contribute to the blue economy—a powerful tool for climate mitigation.
The Activate Fellowship Model Takes Root in the Netherlands with Faculty of Impact
We are encouraged whenever other organizations with similar goals launch programs modeled on our fellowship, because it means more scientists will turn their research into products.