Phd to CEO

Transformational resources for deep tech entrepreneurs.

Not your average startup advice, PhD to CEO is a resource to help scientists and engineers transform into entrepreneurs and leaders. Let’s explore the differences between the classic Silicon Valley hypergrowth playbook and the brutal reality of commercializing physical science innovations. Deep tech, hard tech, tough tech - call it what you want - this the place to find tips on alternative financing models, scientific de-risking, team-building, partnership formation and story-telling. Sign up below to receive my Five Most Common Pitfalls of Deep Tech Founders.

Hi, I am Raymond Weitekamp, the founder and CEO of polySpectra. I started PhD to CEO as a way of giving back to a community close to my heart: physical science startups. I wanted to share the lessons that I have learned through the arduous process of transforming my PhD thesis work into a commercial product. More importantly, I wanted to share stories of my personal transformation from PhD to CEO, to help you avoid the huge mistakes that I made along the way. I will teach you the tricks I’ve learned over the years – as a member of the founding cohort of Cyclotron Road, the groundbreaking hard technology innovation program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as a principal investigator securing millions of dollars in R&D funding from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, as an inventor struggling to transform myself into a manager and leader, as a CEO raising venture capital for a vision with huge technical risk, and (most importantly) as a solo founder trying to stay motivated, healthy and sane while working to realize a vision for how the world might work differently.