The PhD Founder Brief is published weekly by Edunomix, providing commercialization intelligence for research-backed founders and the institutions that support them. Each issue covers a specific topic in the deep tech commercialization journey: a geography, a funding mechanism, a negotiation, a regulatory pathway, or a structural decision. All issues are anchored in the Evidence-Based Venture Framework and the PROVE sequence.
#17 — Asian Deep Tech: An Honest Map for Spinout Founders (Forthcoming)
South Korea, Japan, China, and Singapore — four ecosystems, four entry points, one sequencing logic.
[Read on Substack →]
#16 — Brilliant Science. Empty Chair.
In a university spinout, the co-founder decision involves three parties — not two.
[Read on Substack →]
#15 — Your University Signed First. Now Your Investor Wants To.
Most founders negotiate the valuation. Focus on everything else.
[Read on Substack →]
#14 — China: The Most Misread Deep Tech Market
Most founders either romanticize China or avoid it entirely. Both are costly mistakes.
[Read on Substack →]
#13 — The Evidence-Based Venture Framework
The commercialization sequence built specifically for research-backed ventures — and the PROVE sequence.
[Read on Substack →]
#12 — The Regulatory Roadmap
Your compliance strategy is your funding strategy.
[Read on Substack →]
#11 — Your Patent Is Not Your Moat
The TTO filed the base patent. The moat you build on top of it is yours.
[Read on Substack →]
#10 — Leveraging The Venture Client Model
Run the pilot before you set the equity terms.
[Read on Substack →]
#9 — MENA, Israel and Your University’s Deep Tech Door
Gulf capital, Israeli venture infrastructure, and the research alliance most PhD founders have never activated.
[Read on Substack →]
#8 — The 63-Year Clause
What one term sheet taught me about structure before capital.
[Read on Substack →]
#7 — The Spinout Negotiation
What your TTO negotiation determines — and what most PhD founders never read carefully enough.
[Read on Substack →]
#6 — The Deep Tech Angel
Who funds deep tech at the earliest stage — and what they actually need to see.
[Read on Substack →]
#5 — The World’s Top Deep Tech Spinout University
ETH Zurich’s 192-startup model and what it means for every other institution.
[Read on Substack →]
#4 — The Non-Dilutive Playbook
$6.3B SBIR/STTR, €1.4B EIC, $5B+ MENA. How to stack the capital before you need it.
[Read on Substack →]
#3 — Lost in Translation
The investor fluency gap is structural. Here’s how to close it.
[Read on Substack →]
#2 — The Sovereign Lab: Why Singapore Wants your PhD
Singapore’s $37B RIE2030 plan and what it means for deep tech founders.
[Read on Substack →]
#1 — China Just Redefined the PhD. The Rest of the World Hasn’t Caught Up Yet.
What China’s “practical” PhD means for innovation and deep tech.
[Read on Substack →]