Meet Four Wolfpack Women Who’ve Launched Research-based Startups

No matter who you are, running a startup company is rarely easy. And being a woman who forms a startup is relatively rare. Only 20% of startups worldwide have one or more female founders, according to the global data platform Statista.

In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we spoke with four women in the Wolfpack who’ve launched and led startup companies based on NC State research. All four women graciously shared their insights and perspectives as researchers and startup founders.

Continue reading to learn more about these four Wolfpack women, their companies and their advice for aspiring startup founders.

Ericka Ford

Ericka Ford, an associate professor in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, founded Nicelle Technologies. Nicelle aims to help onshore the manufacturing of acrylic fibers. 

“Acrylic fibers have great importance in protective textiles and are also used as a precursor to carbon fiber,” Ford explains. “And we’re making it in a greener way.”

Nicelle offers sustainable textile manufacturing solutions that can reduce the industry’s carbon footprint overall, while meeting growing demands for advanced materials — starting with acrylic fibers, Ford says.

Ford, who holds a joint appointment with The Nonwovens Institute (NWI), had plenty of experience working on industry-focused research projects before she decided to start a company of her own. She says it was a close friend’s advice and confidence in her that ultimately convinced Ford to become a business owner.

“You work so much with startups and small businesses to help them with their ideas. This is something you’re passionate about; why don’t you try it on your own?” Ford recalls them telling her. As part of Ford’s work with NWI, she’s been part of many research projects funded by or in partnership with industry members of NWI’s Consortium.

In addition to that close friend of hers, Ford credits a couple of National Science Foundation (NSF) programs she completed as a graduate student with not just inspiring her but also preparing her to enter entrepreneurship. 

“I give a lot of credit to the NSF IGERT program, which was geared toward giving graduate students experience in entrepreneurship,” Ford says.

Founded in 1997, the Integrative Education Research Traineeship (IGERT) program was NSF’s flagship interdisciplinary training program, which educated U.S. scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training.

After completing her IGERT project at the University of Southern Mississippi, Ford later had the opportunity to participate in Georgia Tech’s Technology Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) program. TI:GER was also supported by IGERT, which transformed into what is today the NSF Research Traineeship program. 

Ford says these NSF programs introduced her to two important concepts: interdisciplinary research and research commercialization.

“Both of those programs introduced me to interdisciplinary research, and then also thinking about how to develop a new product and get it onto the market,” Ford says.

At NC State, she’s thankful that she would again earn the chance to learn even more about how to turn an idea from the lab into tangible products that meet the needs of customers — and also benefit society. In 2020, Ford was one of six annual winners of the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF). As its name implies, one of many ways the CIF provides support is financially; the funding Ford received allowed her to scale her proof-of-concept.  

“We could actually make this fiber at industrially relevant scales,” Ford says. “We started those pilot runs on our equipment within Wilson College, then we were able to make more samples in conjunction with The Polymers Center in Charlotte.” 

Now that she’s on the other side, as a startup founder herself, Ford’s advice for fellow faculty researchers who hope to become entrepreneurs is the same thing she tries to drill into her students; it’s not enough to merely be “sound on the science and technology,” she says, you have to be a good communicator and know how to work with people.

Ford is fond of a principle Booker T. Washington always preached — which, as we spoke during Black History Month, she felt was especially appropriate to share.

“His approach was really about not only learning a skill and a craft, but also about being able to use that craft to contribute to industry and economic development,” Ford says. 

Working as an educator in the manufacturing discipline, Ford says she shares this approach. She wants to make sure her students not only understand their craft but also the real-world impact they can make with their knowledge. By founding Nicelle, Ford hopes she’s leading by example.

“Sometimes when you’re in these roles, you may not realize how important it is to be a first or how important it is to represent — and you can take it for granted,” Ford says. “But people are watching, and they can be inspired by your unique story.” 

Jeanine Fry

Jeanine Fry, a Ph.D. candidate in textile technology management at NC State’s world-renowned Wilson College of Textiles (WCOT), founded LOOM3D. Her startup spun out from Fry’s master’s and doctoral research here at State.  

“We’ve been working to develop a process for weaving seamless apparel — specifically, pants,” Fry says. 

Throughout the history of textile manufacturing, nearly every garment has been made the same way — by cutting and sewing. In recent times, advancements in technology have led to the proliferation of clothing like leggings and other knit athleticwear, which are typically seamless. But the way we make woven apparel hasn’t fundamentally changed all that much since the invention of the loom.

Modern sewing machines and industrial manufacturing equipment are much different in many ways, but several age-old challenges remain, namely waste. Fry says, on average, 15-25% of fabric goes to waste in apparel production. Seamless weaving promises to alleviate — if not eliminate — that waste. And one of Fry’s Ph.D. advisors, professor Abdel-Fattah Seyam, has been “working on seamless weaving for decades.”

 “By weaving a garment seamlessly, you eliminate all that offcut waste,” Fry says. Plus, it streamlines the process and shortens production time because “you get rid of the assembling that needs to happen.”

In turn, companies could rely more on just-in-time production. 

Fry says that, in addition to Seyam, the most influential people in her journey of launching LOOM3D have been Janie Woodbridge, an assistant professor in WCOT who’s Fry’s other Ph.D. advisor, and Lisa Chang — who ran the Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (TEC) program when Fry was working on her TEC MBA graduate certificate. 

“It’s because of Lisa that I now have a team for LOOM3D,” Fry says.

She’s also grateful for all the assistance she’s gotten along the way from the Office of Research Commercialization. Fry specifically thanked Brian Eller, who’s now the interim assistant vice chancellor of technology licensing, and Bradley Aycock, the assistant director of licensing for physical sciences in the Office of Technology Licensing, for the support they’ve provided her and LOOM3D. Without all their help, Fry would’ve faced a much tougher road to founding a startup. That’s not to say, however, that she didn’t overcome her fair share of challenges since deciding to pursue this path.

First and foremost, after working several years in industry, Fry says the prospect of applying to graduate school and becoming a full-time student again was a bit daunting. She had to take a leap of faith — and, perhaps even more scary, she had to study math again.

“I was not excited about the GRE,” Fry recalls, laughing. “I hadn’t taken a math test in over a decade, probably not since my freshman year of undergrad.”

While her decision turned out to pay off, Fry admits it was a gamble to leave her job and go back to school. 

“It really changes the trajectory of things. I was taking that bet on myself. And in retrospect, it was the exact decision I should’ve made,” Fry says. “I’ve gotten more out of it than I could’ve expected.”

Her best advice to others who might be contemplating a similar change is to stay confident in your decision.

“A lot of it is just having the confidence that you’re going to figure it out and that you can do it,” Fry says. 

Once you’ve decided to venture into the business world, Fry says customer discovery is the most important thing for founders to do early on — and throughout the life of the company. Make sure you’re actually listening to the customers and stakeholders so you know what they really want, Fry suggests, rather than pushing what you think they need on them.

“That’s something I have to circle back to on a regular basis,” Fry says.

Tahira Pirzada

Tahira Pirzada, a research scholar in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, cofounded Soteria Formulations. Soteria wants to revolutionize agriculture by replacing petrochemical-based delivery systems in pest-control formulations with biodegradable, plastic-free platforms derived from upcycled agricultural residues.

“By adopting our seed coatings and granular formulations, manufacturers can mitigate regulatory risks associated with the overuse of toxic chemistries and accelerate new formulation registration. Beyond optimizing agricultural efficiency, our innovation seeks to safeguard food security, support farmers’ livelihoods and promote ecological sustainability,” Pirzada says. “For me, this work is personal. Coming from a background where food scarcity and agricultural challenges were visible realities, I understand firsthand the importance of creating accessible, science-driven solutions that empower communities.”

Originally from Pakistan, Pirzada first traveled to America as a visiting scholar at NC State when she was completing her doctorate. Pirzada, who holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan, came to visit the lab of Saad Khan, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Professor Khan ended up becoming one of Pirzada’s co-advisors in graduate school, and after a short stint teaching in Pakistan, Pirzada ventured back to the U.S. — this time, to work as a postdoctoral researcher at NC State. As a postdoc here, Pirzada worked on a Gates Foundation-funded research project to improve food security in Africa. 

She didn’t think she’d stay in the States much longer after that — let alone at NC State — but Pirzada’s postdoc work introduced her to research commercialization. Pirzada quickly realized that Raleigh, and the greater Research Triangle area, was the perfect place to try and transform her research into real-world solutions.

“At NC State, I was very lucky to find mentors and advisors,” Pirzada says. “My Ph.D advisor Saad Khan pushed me to try entrepreneurship. He said, ‘you are made for it, just go and try.’”

Before launching Soteria, though, she consulted the Office of Research Commercialization (ORC). Pirzada says she can still remember her first conversation with Amy Parker, who’s now the assistant director of research commercialization programs. 

Parker recommended that Pirzada apply to take part in the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program. She’d eventually get accepted into both the regional and national I-Corps programs, and today Pirzada credits the customer discovery interviews her team had to conduct during I-Corps with showing her how her own research expertise could translate to commercial applications. Pirzada says that since then, there’s been “no looking back.”

“ORC has been with me as if they were family,” she says. “They’re always supporting us and putting us in touch with the right people.”

“It’s hard to believe that in this short period of time, we have explored all these amazing opportunities”

The N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative, headquartered just up the road from ORC on Centennial Campus, has also been very supportive of Soteria, Pirzada says. As part of their Seed2Grow incubator program, the startup is one of several with NC State ties that has exclusive access to the Plant Sciences Building — a five-story, 185,000-square-foot facility with state-of-the-art lab, greenhouse and office space.

Pirzada is also grateful for the support Soteria has received from the NC Biotechnology Center, as well as the First Flight Venture Center.

“It’s hard to believe that in this short period of time, we have explored all these amazing opportunities available in this area,” Pirzada says.

Looking back, if Pirzada could give her former self advice, it would be simple: “Don’t let them tell you cannot do it. Because you can.”

As for specific recommendations to other aspiring startup founders, Pirzada says it’s crucial to have a polished value proposition. And to get your proposition polished, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

“If you’re thinking of commercializing a technology, just try to start getting advice from people in the business world, Pirzada says. “Talk to as many people as you can. Don’t limit yourself, your thinking, your circle, or your questions. You will have so much feedback, and people are more helpful than we think.”

Jennifer Warrillow

Jennifer Warrillow co-founded Fathom Science, an NC State spinout company.

“We’re an Ocean Intelligence company. We take observational ocean data from many different platforms, and put that into our models,” Warrillow says. “The result is a complete picture of what’s going on, from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean.”

Most of Fathom’s competition focuses on either the atmosphere or the ocean — not both. 

“You really can’t model one accurately without considering its interaction with the other,” Warrillow explains.

From a young age, she loved both science and fish. So Warrillow always thought she’d grow up to be a marine scientist. She never thought she’d become the co-founder of a tech startup. 

“But when the opportunity came along, I said ‘Now that’s something challenging. I want to give it a try,’” Warrillow recalls.

About six years after finishing her master’s degree, Warrillow gave birth to her son. Like many parents, she faced the challenge of balancing family and career. Warrillow figured she’d have to take off significant time after giving birth — but she ended up needing to stay out of the workforce for much longer than expected. 

Throughout much of his childhood, Warrillow’s son — who’s now fully grown and thriving — battled a series of health concerns.

“I took 10 years off because he needed me full time,” Warrillow says.

When she could eventually return to working full-time, Warrillow found a job at NC State in the lab of Ruoying He, the Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. Little did she know that, four years later, she’d help Professor He found Fathom Science.

Warrillow, He and Joe Zambon realized when they entered the business world that at least one of them needed to quickly get their business savvy up to speed. 

“The three of us formed a company, and we’re all scientists. We needed to know something about business,” Warrillow says. So she enrolled in NC State’s Poole College of Management’s Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization program, which at the time offered a certificate course. 

“It connected scientists with business people to learn each other’s languages,” Warrillow says. “Scientists need to know the language that business people speak — and how they think.”

Not long after Warrillow completed her TEC certificate, the Fathom team was selected as one of six annual winners of the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund. The financial support they received through the CIF, which comes with fewer restrictions than federal or state grants, gave them the flexibility to adapt their proof-of-concept as they learned more about their customers’ needs.

Warrillow learned the importance of listening to customers when, in 2018, she first participated in the NSF I-Corps program. A self-described “hard-core introvert,” Warrillow says the 30-some cold calls she had to make forced her to step outside her comfort zone. When she began to connect with prospective customers, it surprised her how straightforward it went from there.

“If you ask customers what they want, they’ll tell you. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to just ask people,” Warrilow says laughing. “But I-Corps really gave us that training and impetus — and we got valuable insights for our first go-to-market product.” 

That effort paid off, with several major companies now interested in offering that product nationally. 

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

All four of the Wolfpack women we featured this year have their own story and, accordingly, had very different experiences and faced unique challenges. However, there were still common themes among their advice. Some of the key takeaways for aspiring startup founders are: 

• Conduct thorough customer discovery
  • Don’t assume you know what they want/need
• Network and find business mentors
  • Don’t be scared to ask something or reach out to someone — you’d be surprised how many people are happy to help
• Learn to speak the language of business
  • Have a clear, concise value proposition

And of course, if you can, make sure to take advantage of all that the Office of Research Commercialization has to offer.