Positron Ventures

When I met Estelle last year and she told me about the problem of PFAS, I didn't even know how much our convenient lifestyle—non-stick pans, rain jackets, and food packaging—impacts the environment and our health. Curious and concerned, I dove deeper into the problem. I spent the following weeks reading papers and speaking with PFAS manufacturers, wastewater managers, and scientists (and throwing out my non-stick kitchenware). The more I learned, the clearer it became: this problem is too big to ignore. A sustainable, scalable solution is urgently needed. CellX Biosolutions is tackling this challenge with a biological solution to degrade PFAS and other toxic chemicals. I’m incredibly excited that Positron Ventures led their pre-seed round and that we get to support such a great team of scientist-entrepreneurs! Huge congratulations to the CellX Biosolutions team on closing their 1.7M CHF pre-seed round! 🚀

We are excited to launch the Positron PhD Fellowship, a 6-month, part-time, remote program for PhD candidates and PostDocs to explore emerging scientific domains with breakthrough potential. Fellows will conduct deep-dive research, analyze key market drivers, and learn how to identify investment opportunities alongside with the Positron Ventures team. 🔍 What will you do? - Conduct 1-2 deep-dive projects on scientific areas of your choice or from our topic list to uncover breakthrough opportunities for startups - Research scientific approaches, challenges, and market potential through literature reviews, expert interviews, and attending scientific conferences - Publish insights as a report, blog post, and if you want, as a review paper - Learn on a bi-monthly basis from the Positron team and invited founders/experts/scientists about the VC industry 🎯 Who are we looking for? - PhDs & PostDocs in Physical or Life Sciences - Curious explorers who enjoy going down rabbit holes and focussing on physical, hardware-driven innovations rather than pure software - Scientists eager to expand their VC & entrepreneurial network 💡 Why join? - Freedom to deep dive into your chosen scientific topic and uncover breakthrough opportunities - Learn how deep tech investments are made and what it takes to translate science into a startup - Join a network of entrepreneurial scientists and explore shared  insights into the VC industry - Expert mentorship & feedback from the Positron team to sharpen your investment skills - Monthly learning sessions on conducting deep dives and identifying investment opportunities 👥 Fellowship Details 📅 Duration: 6 months (remote, ~6h/week) 🗓️ Apply by: March 11 (4pm CET) 💰 Stipend provided 🔗 Interested? Apply until March 11th. More information can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dv5PKMKe

We are excited to launch the Positron PhD Fellowship, a 6-month, part-time, remote program for PhD candidates and PostDocs to explore emerging scientific domains with breakthrough potential. Fellows will conduct deep-dive research, analyze key market drivers, and learn how to identify investment opportunities alongside with the Positron Ventures team. 🔍 What will you do? - Conduct 1-2 deep-dive projects on scientific areas of your choice or from our topic list to uncover breakthrough opportunities for startups - Research scientific approaches, challenges, and market potential through literature reviews, expert interviews, and attending scientific conferences - Publish insights as a report, blog post, and if you want, as a review paper - Learn on a bi-monthly basis from the Positron team and invited founders/experts/scientists about the VC industry 🎯 Who are we looking for? - PhDs & PostDocs in Physical or Life Sciences - Curious explorers who enjoy going down rabbit holes and focussing on physical, hardware-driven innovations rather than pure software - Scientists eager to expand their VC & entrepreneurial network 💡 Why join? - Freedom to deep dive into your chosen scientific topic and uncover breakthrough opportunities - Learn how deep tech investments are made and what it takes to translate science into a startup - Join a network of entrepreneurial scientists and explore shared  insights into the VC industry - Expert mentorship & feedback from the Positron team to sharpen your investment skills - Monthly learning sessions on conducting deep dives and identifying investment opportunities 👥 Fellowship Details 📅 Duration: 6 months (remote, ~6h/week) 🗓️ Apply by: March 11 (4pm CET) 💰 Stipend provided 🔗 Interested? Apply until March 11th. More information can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dv5PKMKe

This is a great opportunity to join a fantastic team working on a breakthrough in plastics!

Join our team as a Founders Associate and shape the future of plastics at aevoloop GmbH! We’re looking for a driven individual with an entrepreneurial mindset to help us bring next-generation plastics to market and make a real impact on reducing plastic waste worldwide. Sound exciting? Let’s talk! Why this role? - You’ll work closely with our CEO and founding team, taking on critical projects and responsibilities that directly influence our success. - You’ll gain firsthand experience in what it takes to build and lead a startup, ideal if you plan to found your own company one day or aim to step into a leadership role long-term. - You’ll benefit from the guidance of experienced serial entrepreneurs and award-winning scientists. We offer flexible remote options or on-site in Leipzig or Konstanz. We’re looking for a highly motivated person with a background in Business Development, Finance, and/or Organizational Development. If you’re ready to accelerate your career and drive innovation, check out the full job description here: https://lnkd.in/edh2MKNA We look forward to your application! Sharing is caring! Thank you for spreading the word! Positron Ventures, SPRIND - Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen, Universität Konstanz, Kilometer1, chemstars, Startup Netzwerk Bodensee, CIRCULAR REPUBLIC, Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC), Blackboat, Dr. Thorsten Lambertus und ESMT Berlin, Peter Frischknecht und Startfeld, Adrian Thoma, Kai Blisch, June Nardiello und NXTGN, farm - Gründung & Innovation, Start-up BW, ZU | PioneerPort, IST Innovationsinstitut, move+ Accelerator,

♠️ Did we create a card deck for a festive evening with family and friends? Not quite. But we did create a card deck—just not for poker. So, why did we create it? It’s a practical way to kickstart a conversation in your team about ‘who is responsible for what’. In young organisations (ours included! 🫣), we’ve noticed that responsibilities often lack clear ownership. That’s where our ‘game’ comes in: a set of 30 cards representing (hopefully all) the key areas of responsibility within an organisation. Once the stack is empty and all cards assigned, every responsibility has an owner. Bonus? You can easily compile a job description from the cards you hold. Are you an early-stage, science-based startup tackling the challenges of team building? Think this card deck could help? Drop us a note, and we’ll happily send you one. P.S. This is a beta version, so your feedback would be much appreciated! Co-created with BR-ND People - B Corp / Ayu Koene

♠️ Did we create a card deck for a festive evening with family and friends? Not quite. But we did create a card deck—just not for poker. So, why did we create it? It’s a practical way to kickstart a conversation in your team about ‘who is responsible for what’. In young organisations (ours included! 🫣), we’ve noticed that responsibilities often lack clear ownership. That’s where our ‘game’ comes in: a set of 30 cards representing (hopefully all) the key areas of responsibility within an organisation. Once the stack is empty and all cards assigned, every responsibility has an owner. Bonus? You can easily compile a job description from the cards you hold. Are you an early-stage, science-based startup tackling the challenges of team building? Think this card deck could help? Drop us a note, and we’ll happily send you one. P.S. This is a beta version, so your feedback would be much appreciated! Co-created with BR-ND People - B Corp / Ayu Koene

One last blog post to end the year - one last post on tech transfer negotiations. Which are sometimes fraught with misunderstandings and accusations. I think we can absolutely get to a smoother negotiation process if we understand the different sides involved better. So today, I'll take a look at the obvious points of friction between research organization/TTO and startup - and think about: what could each side do to tackle them better? https://lnkd.in/ehyd_hNx More on scientists as founders, building teams, communicating to a non-technical audience, different financing strategies,... coming up in 2025 at https://lnkd.in/esTbW7fe

🌟 At Positron Ventures, we like to dive deep into frontier science topics. From now on we are sharing some of our findings on our blog. 👉 If you’re curious about the potential of different methane capture technologies, check out our first blog post:  https://lnkd.in/djjrPRGz ✉️ Reach out to Julia Wagner if you are working on methane capture research. We’d love to hear your thoughts! 

'The incentives in academia and research are stacked against transferring technology via startup companies' Read Anna-Lena Schindl's latest take on tech transfer agreements.