Release date: October 22, 2024
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Curious about how cutting-edge federal technology can support minority entrepreneurs in the tech industry? Today, we explore that topic with our guest, Dr. Paul Campbell.
According to Paul, his music background enabled him to see a mashup opportunity to drive innovation from a tech transfer perspective.
Paul is a co-founder and managing partner of Brown Venture Group, a venture capital firm for Black, Latino and Indigenous technology startups. Paul has an impressive background in music, tech and entrepreneurship.
In this episode we talk about the NASA Inclusive Innovation Mashup Lab, an initiative brought to life by Brown Venture Capital and NASA. The Innovation Mashup Lab is meant to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs and contributors to find opportunities through federal tech transfer.
Paul breaks it all down for us and shares how this initiative is opening doors for those who have historically been left out of the conversation.
You can hear and share more Transfer Files conversations on the FLC website, YouTube, Apple, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms.
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In This Episode:
[01:41] Paul has been an entrepreneur since he was a teenager. He worked in the music industry and eventually discovered things like Y Combinator and venture capital.
[03:15] Innovation is a blending of different ideas, just like a music mashup. A mashup lab is often used to solve problems.
[05:00] We learn how a mashup with a wine press ended up leading to the printing press.
[06:11] The study of behavioral economics is a great tool to take complex ideas and whittle it down into something usable.
[07:11] Ask good questions and whittle everything down to a manageable set of opportunities.
[08:54] When NASA reached out, Paul began talking to people in different industries. The question was what would they do if they could harvest NASA technology. They learned about the technology commercialization process.
[11:06] The group decided to land a relationship with NASA and work strategically. This was the beginning of the NASA Inclusive Innovation Mash-up Lab.
[11:52] They were focusing on the medical side and the aviation fuel side.
[12:29] They needed an expert in technology and an expert in entrepreneurship.
[14:08] This is the beginning of the journey for the commercialization process.
[15:06] After the mashup lab, the entrepreneurs get to have conversations with investors.
[15:58] Licensing a technology through a federal lab opens many doors and opportunities to entrepreneurship.
[17:33] The licensing technology from a federal lab helps de-risk the investment.
[19:05] The program helps close the relationship gap.