Tom Boussie Set 50 Founders—and Our Fellowship—On a Path Toward Success
Managing director Tom Boussie joined Activate right alongside Cohort 2018. His first day on the job coincided with the cohort’s orientation retreat in Santa Cruz. In that relaxed atmosphere, and beautiful setting, he had time to get acquainted with the 13 new fellows and met the existing Cohort 2016 fellows. But, because it had been some months since his predecessor Dane Boyson left, Boussie was met with a lot of pent up demand for mentorship when he reported to his first day at Berkeley headquarters.
Tom Boussie
He had first visited and met fellows many weeks before. “I was unknowingly interviewed for the position during that first visit,” says Boussie, describing a talk that he gave with Vince Murphy, his co-founder at the bio-based chemicals startup Rennovia, which they had just shuttered. These events, called founder’s talks, give our fellows a chance to learn from more experienced science entrepreneurs.
“Vince and I were both pretty beat up after nine years in the startup trenches, and I worried that we were perhaps a bit too candid for the assembled audience,” he says, recalling the looks of horror on fellows’ faces as he and Murphy shared the sorrows—mixed with triumphs!—of their startup experience. “Despite this unpromising ‘interview,’ Ilan afterward approached me about joining Activate. I knew right then that this was going to be a good fit.”
He is, in fact, a great fit, and an invaluable resource to fellows, which comes through in both the hard data and in fellows’ reflections. “A good mentor is always championing you, always looking for opportunities where they can help, and that describes Tom,” says Tina Boville, Cohort 2019 fellow and CEO of Aralez Bio. “He cares so much about the fellows and the success of our companies. We always occupy his brain space.”
Though that will not likely change any time soon, Boussie is transitioning from his role as managing director of Activate Berkeley to our executive-in-residence, where he can pass the torch to a new managing director in Berkeley—for whom we are actively searching—and leverage his deep institutional knowledge to help with Activate's broader scaling efforts.
“A good mentor is always championing you, always looking for opportunities where they can help. [Tom] cares so much about the fellows and the success of our companies. We always occupy his brain space.”
Boussie left an indelible mark on the whole Activate community—one felt not just among fellows and the fellowship team, but also partners and investors.
Laura Smoliar, a founding partner of Berkeley Catalyst Fund, which has invested in a number of cohort companies, says Boussie has transformed Activate.
"Tom increased the quality of team presentations, helped fellows better understand the investment process, and worked tirelessly to connect them to well-matched investors," she says.
A Transformative Tenure
During his time as managing director, Activate went through a major transformation. Founded in 2015 to partner with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Cyclotron Road program for innovative science entrepreneurs, we grew from a Berkeley team of nine when Boussie joined, to a bi-coastal team of more than 25 today. (Cyclotron Road is now a Berkeley Lab division, helmed by Rachel Slaybaugh, and remains a key Activate partner.)
“Tom has helped set the mold for what an Activate MD is all about,” says Activate CEO Ilan Gur. “He put three new generations of science entrepreneurs on a path optimized for success. Whether it was running through pitches and scenarios to prep for meetings, offering feedback on the hard work of techno-economic modeling, helping fellows with their first hires, or supporting them through very real emotional tolls that come with being a founder, Tom always puts the fellows first and leaves everything on the field for them.”
Boussie also played a pivotal role in the first effort to scale Activate to multiple sites, based on the foundational work done in Berkeley, in partnership with Cyclotron Road. That work established an operating model for launching Activate Boston in 2020 and for expansion to additional locations in the coming years.
“The MD role...is a tremendous privilege and responsibility to shape a new generation of talent whose ideas push the boundaries of applied research and entrepreneurship.”
“Simply put, Activate Boston would not have been a success without Tom’s leadership in Berkeley and his willingness to train me on all aspects of the fellowship—not to mention the example he set for how to be an effective mentor,” says Activate Boston managing director Aimee Rose.
“He invested in me, and will do the same for the next managing director in Berkeley, as he serves EIR. And that work will multiply in the coming years, as we launch the next Activate fellowship sites, each with a strong managing director.”
The managing director role is a rare opportunity for an experienced science entrepreneur to mentor emerging founders through the earliest and often most transformative steps in their entrepreneurial journeys. Fellows work across nine industrial sectors and have gained remarkable traction through new products aimed at reinventing society’s physical infrastructure and industries to be sustainable, resilient, and equitable.
Activate Boston MD Aimee Rose (left) and Cyclotron Road Division’s Laboratory Operations lead Melanie Sonsteng joined Tom Boussie for a sail through the golden gate.
“The MD role is such a pivotal one at Activate, and in the science innovation ecosystem, more broadly,” says Gur. “It’s a tremendous privilege and responsibility to shape a new generation of talent whose ideas push the boundaries of applied research and entrepreneurship. It’s intense, but there are few things more rewarding than leveraging your own experience and lessons learned to support and elevate the success of others getting started on their path.”
Activate currently supports 20-30 new fellows each year at its Berkeley and Boston locations, but by 2025 we hope to welcome 100 new fellows each year at eight locations across the U.S. Managing directors at each of those locations will play a consequential role for the next cohorts of science entrepreneurs—individuals who are keenly focused on turning their research into products and businesses to address climate change and other massive global challenges.
Onward
“It’s been a privilege to play a role in Activate’s growth over the past three years,” says Boussie, who is helping recruit the next Berkeley MD and will help transition his successor into the role.
As EIR, he’ll focus on helping with the Activate expansion and do some deep-dive work with a few teams.
Deepak Dugar (Cohort 2015) and Tom Boussie (l to r) chat during an event.
“I’m excited to build on all that I have learned during my time as managing director,” says Boussie. “Going forward, I hope to get the chance to roll my sleeves up and help build more great, impactful, deep-tech companies.”
The mark Boussie made on the Activate community will last many years, as the
50 fellows and 36 companies that benefited from his mentorship continue on their paths.
“While the fellows’ technologies, products, and market foci vary widely, at their center is the scientist-entrepreneur,” says Boussie. “And from these amazing individuals I have learned far more than I have taught.”