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The annual NYU Tech Venture Summit brings together the University’s most innovative minds — faculty, PhDs, postdocs, and researchers — to explore how groundbreaking research can drive real-world impact and commercial success.

This year, we invited our Venture Fellows (current PhD students embedded across NYU’s research ecosystem) to share their unique perspectives on the event. As researchers themselves, they offer a firsthand look at how the Summit connects academic discovery with entrepreneurship, and how NYU’s innovation community is opening new doors for scientist-founders. Check out their honest reflections and favorite moments below:

Meet the Fellows:

• Tiffany Tsou is a PhD candidate focusing on Genome Engineering from NYU School of Medicine. Since the start of spring semester, she’s worked at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute as an Innovation Ecosystem Fellow, where she helps bridge communication and opportunities between the Institute and Langone. 
• Seda Sarp is a PhD candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a Venture Fellow at the NYU Innovation Venture Fund, where she supports pre-seed and seed investments in startups founded by NYU students, faculty, and researchers.
• Thomas Kelly is a PhD candidate in Chemistry and an Innovation Ecosystem Fellow at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, helping activate startups at the intersection of cutting edge research and industry need.

How did the Summit align with your academic or professional goals as a PhD student?

• Tiffany: It was great to engage with the entrepreneurial community from all NYU campuses. I’m pursuing the BD and VC space after graduation, so it’s important for me to see the breath of innovation at NYU and develop relationships with early founders. 
• Seda: As a PhD student, it was really cool to see research translate into real life applications! In terms of professional goals, as I’m building experience in venture capital, the demo day at the summit gave me exposure to how investors evaluate early-stage technologies and helped sharpen both my scientific lens and my investor mindset!
• Thomas: One of the coolest things about being a fellow at the Summit is seeing teams I had engaged with prior come gain exposure with their research. Researchers always have many opportunities to discuss research within their field, but fewer opportunities exist to present and learn at such an interdisciplinary event with a focus on solving today's problems with tomorrow's tech.

What were the most valuable insights or takeaways from the Summit?

• Tiffany: The keynote with [Statespace Founder and CEO] Wayne Mackey was really incredible. Wayne led an unconventional journey to be a researcher and later a founder, which highlighted the unexpected turns in PhD research that can lead to a startup. He kept following his interests, and it continued to lead to new opportunities in the future. Wayne also touched on how early planning is so important in a startup, thinking about commercialization early on prevents future hurdles in funding the business. One of my favorite moments at the Summit was during the panel, [Vital Audio Co-founder and CEO] Nyamitse-Calvin Mahinda highlighted how it was difficult to play multiple roles at once and quoted a Tanzanian proverb, “One who rides two horses at once, is split in half.” Through the lens of a trainee, I think this also touches on staying focused on one problem at a time and not being spread too thin. I also found the founder's pitches so inspiring, since some were PhDs like me, but on the stage pitching Shark Tank style!
• Seda: I really enjoyed the keynote speaker! Wayne Mackey’s journey and his non-traditional background were especially compelling. He shared great advice for PhD students and founders. One point that stuck with me was how as an entrepreneur the pace shifts dramatically and what ultimately matters is your output, not the number of hours you put in. That’s such a contrast to academia, where effort and time can be valued more than results. It’s the kind of insight that can really shift how a PhD student thinks about their work!
• Thomas: The keynote speaker, Wayne Mackey, was incredible. He shared a compelling story about his journey as a founder, and I think many researchers could relate to the non-linear nature of his path. His talk really highlighted the parallels between the unpredictability of research and that of building a start-up. There’s a lot of myth-making around entrepreneurship; stories that suggest people had perfect foresight about trends or turning points. Whether or not that's ever true, Wayne’s talk helped humanize the experience. He acknowledged the inevitability of mistakes, but also emphasized how start-ups have the rare advantage of being nimble enough to adapt quickly. That, to me, was one of the biggest takeaways.

What did you learn about the venture ecosystem in NYU or beyond from attending? How did the Summit showcase the intersection between research and entrepreneurship?

• Tiffany: There is a lot of innovation in the health tech space, especially from NYU Langone and Tandon. The pitches, panel, and poster sessions all highlighted some health tech, such as mobile apps, medical devices, and new therapeutic strategies. It was clear that translating research findings to the market and clinic is challenging, so it’s important to have a supportive mentor and team for that journey.
• Seda: There were so many entrepreneurial spirits from all schools, mostly life sciences and engineering both in the poster session and the panel! During the networking sessions, I also met so many brilliant researchers who were eager to learn about the wide range of resources the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute and TOV offer to support anyone interested in starting their own venture. Key takeaway- NYU has so many ideas!
• Thomas: I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to bring innovation to commercialization at NYU. While there’s a lot of talk about AI replacing jobs, I believe the opposite is true. New AI tools are empowering founders to move faster, learn more, and overcome traditional barriers to entrepreneurship. That energy was on full display at the summit, which brought together people from across NYU’s innovation ecosystem; faculty, students, the Institute, the tech transfer office, and partners from across the university and the city.