Title: From Dorm Room to Customers at 24: A Materials Startup Journey

At just 24, Swarna transformed a dorm room idea into a patent-pending company with enterprise pilots, revenue, and over $250K in funding—without a science background! This talk shares the unconventional journey of building application-driven science outside academia: the challenges of gaining credibility in a technical field, the pivots that led to enterprise pilots, and the lessons learned bridging research and commercialization. Whether you’re a researcher considering your first startup or an entrepreneur exploring deep tech, you’ll walk away with practical insights on validating ideas and taking the leap from concept to company.