SheEIC episode 3: a practical look at taking research into business

Brussels, May 7th 2025

Summary

›The EIC Women Leadership Programme released SheEIC episode 3 focussing on the move from academic research to entrepreneurship.
›Host Sara Jud speaks with Catarina Custódio of Metatissue and business coach Orily Pratt about tech transfer, spinouts and early commercialisation.
›The podcast is available now on the EIC Community YouTube channel and will be added to Spotify and the European Commission Audiovisual Service.
›The episode is part of a wider EIC effort to support women in deep tech through coaching, mentoring and the Women TechEU grants.
›EIC materials list programme-level impact metrics but these are self reported and do not establish direct causation at company level.

SheEIC #3: From researcher to entrepreneur

The European Innovation Council Women Leadership Programme has published the third episode of its SheEIC podcast series. Episode 3 focuses on the concrete steps researchers must take to convert laboratory results into a viable business. The show aims to combine practical recommendations with personal stories from women already navigating the transition.

What the episode covers

Host and guests:Sara Jud, Project Adviser for the EIC Women Leadership Programme, hosts the episode. Guests are Catarina Custódio, Co-founder and CEO of Metatissue and an alumna of the EIC Women Leadership Programme and Women TechEU awardee, and Orily Pratt, an EIC business coach, mentor and strategy and marketing expert. Together they discuss tech transfer, company formation, pitching and early market validation.

The conversation mixes practical tips with lived experience. Topics include recognising commercial potential in research outputs, early customer discovery, the role of intellectual property, and the mindset shifts required to move from a research environment into leadership of a commercial endeavour.

Where to listen:The episode is available now on the EIC Community YouTube channel. The EIC says the series will be added soon to Spotify and the European Commission’s Audiovisual Service. The organisation asks listeners to monitor the EIC page for updates about new streaming options.

Tech transfer explained for practitioners

Tech transfer is an umbrella term that describes the set of processes that move an invention out of a research environment and into products or services that generate market value. That journey typically requires decisions about intellectual property, organisational form, commercial partnerships and regulatory pathways where applicable.

Technology transfer office role:University and public research technology transfer offices, also called TTOs, usually handle patenting, licensing and negotiation with industry partners. They can advise on disclosure timing and commercialization routes. However, their incentives are not always aligned with researchers aiming to found start-ups, and approaches vary significantly across institutions and member states.

Spinout versus internal commercialisation:A spinout is a separate legal entity created to commercialise a specific technology. It allows focused fundraising and governance but requires founders to take on operational roles. Internal commercialisation via licensing keeps the technology within the parent institution but can limit control and upside for the research team. The choice depends on IP ownership, time to market, capital needs and founder ambitions.

Intellectual property trade offs:Patents can protect commercial value but they are costly and take time to secure. Early disclosure to potential partners may accelerate development but can jeopardise patentability. Many founders balance provisional filings, defensive publication and targeted licensing strategies depending on sector and investor expectations.

The EIC Women Leadership Programme and wider EIC services

SheEIC is produced by the EIC Women Leadership Programme. That programme sits within the EIC Business Acceleration Services which positions itself as providing non-financial support to EIC beneficiaries and related communities. The Women Leadership Programme combines training, mentoring and business coaching intended to strengthen leadership and commercial skills among women researchers and founders.

Programme mechanics:Typical elements include weekly live training sessions, an in-person kick-off bootcamp linked to EU R and I Days, personalised mentor matching, and up to three days of dedicated business coaching. Participants do not receive direct financial grants through the Women Leadership Programme. Travel and accommodation for in-person events are expected to be covered by participants.

EIC BAS metric	Reported figure	Note
One-to-one meetings since 2021	+20,000	Matches between awardees and corporates, procurers and investors as reported by EIC
Deals reported	595	EIC counts direct deals arising from its matching activities
Investor outreach funds raised	EUR 350 million	Funds reported as connected to EIC outreach
Funds raised by EIC Scaling Club members since joining	EUR 1.2 billion	Self reported by Scaling Club membership
Turnover from trade fairs	EUR 42 million	Data tagged as 'since 2024 only' by EIC
Innovation procurement funds raised	EUR 7.7 million	Out of EUR 28.4 million in submitted tenders since March 2024 only
Coached awardees and applicants	+2,400	Includes a broad set of coaching and mentoring activities
WLP alumnae reporting increased entrepreneurial skills	90%	Survey result cited by EIC

These metrics appear in EIC materials as indicators of scale and impact. They provide a sense of reach but do not on their own establish causal impact at the level of individual companies. Where organisations publish aggregated success figures it is important for readers to note the difference between correlation and attributable impact.

Context in EU support for women founders

Women focused schemes are a growing part of Horizon Europe and associated innovation programmes. Women TechEU provides targeted grants and coaching to early stage deep tech start-ups led by women. The EIC also highlights that in 2024 30 percent of companies supported by the EIC Accelerator were women led. Across EIC instruments the share of projects coordinated by women varies but has been rising in recent years according to the EIC.

Women TechEU:Women TechEU offers an individual grant of EUR 75,000 coupled with mentoring and EIC Business Acceleration Services support. The scheme is administered under the European Innovation Ecosystems work programme and aims to help female founders close early funding and scaling gaps.

Practical takeaways for researchers considering the leap

The episode and the EIC programme materials combine tactical advice you can act upon and reminders about the non technical aspects of founding. Key practical points include the need to validate customer problems early, to understand regulatory and reimbursement pathways where relevant, to plan IP strategy with time sensitivity, and to build a founding team that complements academic expertise with business and operational skills.

Podcasts and leadership programmes are useful for orientation and network building. They are not a substitute for tailored legal, technical validation or market access work. Founders should treat these resources as part of a wider toolbox that includes local accelerators, competent TTO advice and commercial pilots.

Caveats and questions to watch

Public programmes and communications understandably highlight success stories and aggregated impact figures. Readers should remember three realities. First, success rates for deep tech spinouts remain low compared with other types of start-ups because of long development cycles and capital intensity. Second, aggregated metrics do not prove that a particular training event or coaching interaction caused an eventual funding round. Third, access to funding and markets continues to vary across EU member states which means outcomes are not evenly distributed.

Policy makers and programme managers should continue publishing disaggregated follow up data where possible. That would help understand which activities most reliably improve transition rates from research to sustainable companies and which structural barriers remain.

How to follow up

Listen to SheEIC #3 on the EIC Community YouTube channel. Watch the EIC pages for the episode to be posted on Spotify and the European Commission Audiovisual Service. If you are interested in the EIC Women Leadership Programme or Women TechEU, check the EIC Community Platform and the EIC Business Acceleration Services pages for open calls and newsletter subscription options. For programme specific queries the EIC Women Leadership Programme points listeners to an email contact and to the EIC Community contact page.

Contact and next steps:Subscribe to the EIC BAS newsletter for updates on calls and events. For direct questions use the EIC Community contact page and select the 'EIC Women Leadership Programme' category. Keep an eye on planned open calls as the EIC indicates the next WLP cohort will be announced ahead of early spring 2026.