For Stanford PhD student Capella Kerst, the path from lab bench to space station was paved with careful legal steps and a dash of courage. Her breakthrough in bio-inspired adhesion led to the formation of geCKo Materials, now scaling its sticky solutions across industries.
To spin out a product from academia, Kerst advises reaching out to prior contributors, ensuring compliance with licensing processes, forming a company, and transitioning fully into the founder role. Stanford’s support was crucial, providing legal guidance that helped secure a fair deal for future growth.
Today, geCKo Materials’ technology is not only found on Earth but also orbiting the International Space Station, revolutionizing attachment methods across various industries. The company envisions replacing traditional systems like Velcro with more reliable adhesives, setting the stage for innovations yet to come.
In true startup spirit, Kerst encourages founders to apply to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield and attend TechCrunch Disrupt, where the future of tech is forged among 10,000+ participants. Who knows? You could be the next geCKo!
