Georgia Tech’s entrepreneurship ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Founded in 2014, CREATE-X has fostered the founding of more than 650 student-led companies valued at more than $2.4 billion. In 2022, SUSTAIN-X arrived to provide additional resources and community for founders who want to create positive environmental or social impact through their startups.
Founders can apply to join the CREATE-X Startup Launch – an intensive summer program that prepares participants for getting their companies off the ground. The program leads successful applicants through the details of launching a startup – from capital acquisition and customer discovery to market research and prototype development.
Scale Lab, launched in 2024, offers yet another level of support, serving startups that aim to solve environmental and societal problems. Picking up where Startup Launch leaves off, Scale Lab is a six-month long program with monthly sessions that include skills development, case studies from sustainability startups, and peer-to-peer problem solving. Virtual team coaching sessions offer additional support for founders and team members.
Scale Lab is organized by SUSTAIN-X, which is a partnership between the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business and CREATE-X as well as an initiative of the Sustainability Next Institute Strategic Plan. SUSTAIN-X is directed by Andre Calmon, associate professor of operations management, with support from Kjersti Lukens, the Center’s program manager. Scale Lab is facilitated by Jackie Stenson, who contributes a wealth of experience as a serial social entrepreneur.
An all-virtual version of the program piloted in Spring 2024 with four top teams that competed in the 2023 SUSTAIN-X Pitch Competition and successfully completed Startup Launch in Summer 2023. Those companies and the services they offer include: In Good Company (creating more inclusive workplaces), WheelChariot (improving the lives of people with disabilities), Raccoon Eyes (reducing cafeteria food waste), and Reflex (delivering first aid via drones).
The fully developed program officially launched with the Scale Lab Kickoff on November 16, 2024. At the event, Calmon said, “SUSTAIN-X is a set of experiments created a couple of years ago to help students, faculty, researchers on campus, and the broader community of investors. The idea is to accelerate the ecosystem around social and environmental impact.” He explained that startups aiming to be more profitable and sustainable than the status quo often deploy radically new business models or technologies. Therefore, these startups might need more experimentation. Scale Lab is intended to help fulfill this need.
The organizers want to provide continued support for a company after it comes out of CREATE-X Startup Launch. Calmon told participants, “The first two years following the moment you come out of launch are critical. We are providing an opportunity for you to proactively think about your own journey as a founder. We’re creating a network of companies that are in the same boat, all trying to survive the beginning stages of the founder journey.”
Program Manager Kjersti Lukens said, “Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming and lonely. Through Scale Lab, we’re helping to form a community for people working through similar challenges.”
Sessions scheduled for 2024-25 focus on business models and systems for scale, how to raise funding and refine a pitch, building a team for scale, and building sustainability metrics.
Tarek Rakha, associate professor of architecture and director of the High Performance Building Lab, previously participated in VentureLab and Startup Launch. Rakha is founder and CEO of Lamarr.AI. He describes the company’s products as being akin to giving a building an MRI scan using drones, infrared imaging, and their own AI. They ensure that building exterior components are safe and performing as expected, especially if under warranty, and simulate the impact of retrofitting on energy efficiency and ROI. Rakha says of his experience in Scale Lab: “We have the opportunity to connect with various stakeholders, mentors, and other startup cofounders who share similar aspects of their ventures. We’re sharing the experience of scaling our companies rather than working in isolation.”
Scale Lab is pleased to introduce 2024-25 Startups and Fellows (all are students or employees at Georgia Tech unless otherwise noted):
AI solution for power grids
Mathieu Tanneau – research engineer
EnergyEase
Majid Ahmadi – PhD student in public policy
Flight X
Rishabh Goel – PhD student in computer science, research assistant in Ka Moamoa Lab
Lamarr.AI
Norhan Bayomi – research scientist at MIT
Tarek Rakha – associate professor of architecture, director of the High Performance Building Lab
Ben Rocci – head of strategy and business development at Lamarr.AI
Metzev
Joseph Metzler Concepción – third-year electrical engineering major
Cooper Marx – third-year business administration major
Benjamin Proell – fourth-year computer science major
Mycorrhiza Fashion
Tyler Count – third-year civil engineering major
Julia Fleischman – third-year materials science and engineering major
Mya Love Griesbaum – third-year materials science and engineering major
Aaditya Rajiv Hingoo – fourth-year mechanical engineering major
Eric Samelo – third-year materials science and engineering major
Olivia Trask – third-year mechanical engineering major
Hannah Xiao – fourth-year electrical engineering major
Rivalia Chemical Company
Laura Stoy – PhD EnvE ’21, CEO and Founder of Rivalia Chemical Co.
Article and photos by Jennifer Holley Lux.