Network

"TI:GER provides a solid dependable team, an extremely structured academic framework and super well connected and experienced network to make things happen. This program was the single most awesome experience in my entire educational experience till date."

"TI:GER was a great help in navigating the university commercialization process, identifying and attracting the people we needed to get on board to make it happen, and understanding intellectual property issues."

"TI:GER was a perfect way for me to diversify. Having an understanding of science and how to talk to the business side was really helpful in getting jobs. It definitely jumped out at potential employers."

"In TI:GER, my research evolved from ideas into value propositions and a funded startup. This was possible only because I worked in a TI:GER team. I continually use the knowledge I gained from TI:GER, and its instructors and mentors, in my career.”

"One of the biggest benefits of TI:GER is the interdisciplinary nature of the teams. In my product management role I interact with marketing, sales, legal, and technical teams developing new products and initiatives. The intellectual property aspect of TI:GER provides a great foundation for my involvement in the patent inventory of my business unit."

"TI:GER fundamentally changed my career trajectory-- the skills I learned during the program shaped the way I think about and tackle business-related challenges within biotechnology. TI:GER enabled a transition from the lab to a leadership position at a hot biotech company developing cutting edge cancer drugs. Looking back, TI:GER was one of the most valuable investments of time I made-- the skills I learned served as a springboard for my career." 

"I started my company while enrolled in TI:GER. Through the program I connected with some of the brightest minds in the local technology scene. I raised my first seed round through these TI:GER connections which accelerated the growth of my company."

"TI:GER provided me with the skills, confidence, and network to make the leap from thinking about doing a startup to actually diving headfirst into one. Years after graduating, I still rely on the mentorship, advice, and encouragement from TI:GER faculty and staff, alumni, and my TI:GER team."

"In my job search, the TI:GER experience really helped me stand out from the pack. The firm I work for likes an entrepreneurial mindset in its consultants. TI:GER gave me deep understanding of how to get a startup business off the ground and what obstacles you might face."

"With a lifelong goal of developing a career around technology commercialization, TI:GER is literally the reason attended Emory Law.  The TI:GER program delivered and exceeded my expectations, by providing me with not only practical knowledge that greatly benefits my work in intellectual property and technology currently, but also an incredible network of alumni and faculty with whom I stay in touch to this day."

"I liked the idea of working with other disciplines, seeing the perspectives of the MBA, JD, and other PhD students. It was a very beneficial program. I apply it to my current career, and I think it has made me a more valuable employee."

"TI:GER was an incredible experience that allowed me to build solid and useful skills that complemented my research program. These are the kinds of valuable skills that differentiate TI:GER students from other PhDs."

"The exciting part about TI:GER for me is that it extends beyond school. I know that I will use what I have learned in TI:GER as I explore entrepreneurship in my career."

"As a full time entrepreneur during the program, the TI:GER program helped to familiarize me with the fundraising process and strategies to employ during our own seed round."

"TI:GER helped me understand the importance of market research, due diligence, and industry analysis before taking technologies to market. My TI:GER experiences are what helped me land the job [senior management consultant with Easton Associates] in the first place. Easton liked the fact that I had not only a PhD in science, but also experience with market assessment as well as communicating with CEOs and others on the business side."

"The TI:GER program helps engineers and scientists understand what place their work has in greater society. TI:GER is without question the most rewarding experience I've had so far at Georgia Tech."

"The relationships I've maintained since TIGER have helped me in my entrepreneurial endeavors, from strategizing regularly over coffee or beers to hiring a former PhD colleague as our Head of Technology."

"TI:GER is a rare opportunity to work with complex technologies in their infancy, and build out a robust commercialization plan from the ground up.  The program imposes all the real world challenges facing entrepreneurs, and paints an accurate portrait of what it takes to lead a new venture.  I experienced first-hand what it's like to transform a lab experiment into a product, identify viable market opportunities, garner feedback from interview industry leaders and customers, and design a funding strategy to launch and grow the business.  In addition to all the skills gained, the experience serves as a poignant conversation piece that any business professional or potential employer will admire."

"TI:GER gave me the fundamental knowledge, network, and initiative to start, scale, and eventually sell my company that commercialized a university-based technology. This has allowed us to improve the lives of over 10,000 patients around that world that previously suffered from chronic neck and back pain."

"TI:GER opened doors to the entire Atlanta tech ecosystem.  I still leverage the connections with business insiders that I made during the program."

"The ability to work on cross-functional teams is on every major company's radar.  That's exactly the type of hands-on experience TI:GER offers.  I can't even count how many times I brought up TI:GER during my interviews!" 

"The TI:GER program has continued to benefit me in a variety of business roles since I graduated in 2011. The core innovation concepts in the program will apply to nearly any role or industry, and allow TI:GER graduates to stand out from their peers in the job market. The TI:GER program uniquely combines faculty experts and coursework, successful entrepreneurs and investors, and real-world applications to give students a broad understanding of technology innovation. Whether you’re looking to start a new venture or bring a fresh, strategic approach to an established Company, the TI:GER program will teach you the path to make it happen."

"TI:GER showed me that there was so much more to a successful product than just a cool technology. TI:GER gave me the skills necessary to identify how my technology fits into the marketplace. This will allow me to attain my ultimate goal of it reaching as many people as possible is seldom realized by most biomedical scientists."

"TI:GER was the highlight of my MBA experience!  TI:GER's combination of class, experiences, and the mentors you get to interact with helped lay the foundation for success in the start up world!" 

"I got a TON of value out of the TI:GER program. TI:GER courses have been the most eye-opening and stimulating that I have taken in engineering grad school. While other courses expanded on what I knew, the TI:GER courses have given me a new paradigm and numerous tool sets for looking at innovation. The many frameworks for thinking about and understanding markets, industries, and business models have given my research a more meaningful, richer context, which has motivated me to focus and to become more productive in the lab. The skills have also translated to improving my impact as a speaker, subject-matter expert, and leader."

"TI:GER armed me with the mental models and frameworks to pursue and excel in a career within corporate venture capital. I’ve found a new love for evaluating and advising startups because of the high technology and innovation fundamentals I gained from TI:GER."

"TI:GER helped me develop my startup, NanoCliq, an early-stage vaccine company. I gained all the tools necessary and joined my startup team through the TI:GER program."

"I not only learned to collaborate with PhD, JD, and MBA students but I also made lifelong friendships. I was always passionate about working in an intrapreneurial environment, and TI:GER taught me how to develop a startup, design and develop a product, and talk to decision makers to obtain the required funding and approvals to transform my visions into reality."

"Receiving the TI:GER fellowship was a highlight of my graduate career. The opportunity to work with graduate students from law and business helped me develop skills and knowledge that I use to this day;just yesterday in fact."

"TI:GER pushed me to step beyond the classroom by putting MBA course theory into practice. I not only learned how to develop a complete business plan for my startup but also to speak confidently to potential investors."

"The concepts and experience in TI:GERhave given me the ability to insert startup and business principles into my client presentations. This skill gives me a unique competitive advantage over others in my field."

"TI:GER came up in every interview I had they really liked my experience in the program. Without TI:GER, I'm not sure I would have gotten the job [strategic consulting position with McKinsey & Company]."

"TI:GER was the best academic experience of my life. It not only provided me with the fundamentals of how to start a business and what to look for – it was the primary reason that I decided to take a stab at a startup of my own after graduation! In addition to spurring my inner entrepreneur, TI:GER allowed me to connect with some people that have been influential in helping me get to where I am in my career."

"TI:GER helped me discover my passions in business in order to best chart my path. To this day, I've been using the skills learned in the program at every step in my career progression...from start-up to corporation."

"TI:GER enabled me to gain a solid understanding of the different steps in the entrepreneur journey from a prototype to a product launch. But more fundamentally, TI:GER taught me how to better present my product to investors, which not only led me to win a prestigious international business pitch competition, but to be more prepared and confident when talking about my business idea to others."

"The TI:GER program was the most valuable of my MBA program as it allowed me to pull everything together in a practical way. I learned how to create a business plan and launch a product which has helped me tremendously throughout my career."

"TI:GER was one of the most valuable components of my MBA experience.  Although I work in a large fortune 100 company, the experience I gained in developing and presenting business plans is relevant to my career every day!"

"The TIGER program helped our team to understand the basics of financing a startup and how to sell your vision to investors and other stakeholders. TCPoly has gone on to raise nearly $1M in mostly non-dilutive financing and is now part of the Atlanta based Venture Capital firm Engage Ventures, a relationship that started due to TIGER related activities. The combined educational elements and access to resources (and most importantly, local investors and experienced entrepreneurs) helped TCPoly to successfully transition to a full-time, funded endeavor."

"I learned a lot from all the different aspects of TI:GER, but what ended up being the most important for me as a Ph.D. was getting experience with intellectual property protection through the partnership with Emory Law. This allowed me to work with the in-house patent attorney at my first role to build a patent portfolio that was instrumental in the later acquisition of the company."

"As a PhD student, TI:GER exposed me to the many different components, other than the technology itself, that go into commercializing a product idea or research platform. By understanding the broader context of how many business decisions are made, enabled me to work on broader, more important problems compared to my peers. Now I'm applying these same concepts learned in TI:GER to get my own venture off the ground."

“The TI:GER program was the best part of my MBA experience and the skills and relationships I developed during the practicum continues to make an impact on my career to this day. The program’s emphasis on business valuation has really helped me in my corporate role working with biomedical companies to determine the value of medical devices at different stages of development”.

"The TI:GER Program gives PhD students the opportunity to see how their technology will impact people. Understanding the stages required for commercialization helps gives the research focus and purpose. The program has helped me clearly articulate my research and its benefits to nonscientists, so vital to making science and technology successful in the real world."

"The skills I learned in TI:GERhave given me the versatility to blend the worlds of technology and business. This rare value-add has allowed me to effectively launch user-centered products with real-world impact."

"TI:GER is a highly valuable program. In the classroom, I learned multi-disciplinary subject matters in both areas of Business and Law and applied them in the real-world. Today, I work in Banking and have started my own company, leveraging skills and knowledge that I acquired from TI:GER. In addition, TI:GER provides networking opportunities and deepen relationships among peers and colleagues. Thanks to TI:GER, I've gained not only invaluable skills, but also amazing network of colleagues and strong friendships. "

"- Learned how to evaluate a market and technology together to understand a path to commercialization.
- Learned how to build a team with diverse skills and experiences to best take a product to market.
- Gained experience in the nuts and bolts of corporate formation and contracts, as well as patents and licensing, that lay the foundation for a startup and fundraising.
- Built a network that has helped me in the years since I left Georgia Tech."