Since then, we’ve supported the launch of hundreds of startups which, combined, have raised over $1.5B in investments. A recent study ranked VentureLab #2 worldwide among university startup incubation and support programs.

The VentureLab team is comprised of engineers, entrepreneurs, and educators with decades of experience in a wide range of industries and startups. We’d be happy to meet you, learn more about your work and interests, and explore ways we can help. If you’ve got questions, and would like to learn more about commercializing research at Georgia Tech, please email any of us to get the conversation started.

Not sure who to reach out to? Email us at info@venturelab.gatech.edu or fill out our contact form, and we’ll get you connected.


Keith McGreggorKeith McGreggor

Director

keith.mcgreggor@venturelab.gatech.edu

Keith McGreggor, VentureLab’s director, also serves as the lead instructor for the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program for Georgia Tech, a founding node in the I-Corps network. He is also a member of the NSF I-Corps curriculum committee, and gives frequent invited talks on the foundations of evidence-based-entrepreneurship philosophy.

Keith has been an entrepreneur for the last three decades. His first company, Artificial Intelligence Atlanta, was the first AI company in the southeast, which led to a gig in robotics for Lockheed. He has been a founder or co-founder of six software companies.

Keith wrote and shipped the first 3D program and first color paint program for the Macintosh. He developed the color architecture for the Macintosh, wrote substantial portions of the graphics system, and managed the graphics group at Apple Computer in Cupertino. A stint as co-founder of an internet company in the mid 1990s led to Keith becoming a director of engineering at Yahoo! in 1999.

Keith holds a BS, MS, and PhD in computer science from Georgia Tech, and is an instructor of Georgia Tech’s new StartupLab for undergraduates in the College of Engineering. In addition to his role at VentureLab, Keith holds an appointment as Professor of the Practice in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech and is the Associate Director of Georgia Tech’s GVU.


Melissa HeffnerMelissa Heffner

Program Director

melissa.heffner@venturelab.gatech.edu

Melissa Heffner creates, modifies, and implements programs centered around evidence-based entrepreneurship and the Lean Startup methodology. The vast majority of her time is spent executing the I-Corps South Node award, which is housed at VentureLab, and on internal commercialization programs. Melissa merges her education and classroom experience with strong writing and editing skills to develop custom curriculum for various clients, such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In addition, she teaches customer discovery and business model development at Georgia Tech (Scheller College of Business and GT1000 Startup), Institut Lafayette Georgia Tech (Metz, France), and Grupo Guayacán (Puerto Rico).

Prior to joining VentureLab, Melissa spent her time in curriculum development and manuscript editing with organizations such as Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, CDC, and Georgia State University Department of Biology.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Birmingham-Southern College, and a Master of Arts in Teaching English from Agnes Scott College.


Sara Martin HendersonSara Martin Henderson

Program Director

sara.martin@venturelab.gatech.edu

Sara joined VentureLab and I-Corps South after pursuing professional opportunities focused on human-centered innovation and experience design. She has consulted a variety of Fortune 500 businesses on cultivating intrapreneurial behaviors and has trained teams on Design Thinking and Service Design. She has also worked on a number of corporate innovation projects that applied customer-centric practices and iterative prototyping techniques. In addition, Sara got a feel for entrepreneurial life while spending time managing a car-sharing start-up in New York.

She holds a BS in Business Administration with areas of focus in Business Economics and Entrepreneurship from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, and a MA in Design Management (Design Thinking) from the Savannah College of Art and Design.


Nakia MelecioNakia Melecio

Principal

nakia.melecio@venturelab.gatech.edu

Nakia helps researchers commercialize their Biotechnology, Energy, Defense, Military Technology, Education, Government Technology, and Aerospace technology. He also helps them secure investments from a network of federally funded laboratories, universities, and corporations. Throughout his career, he has worked with industry, academia, and government. As a result, Nakia has a unique and deep understanding of the early-stage innovation ecosystem and technology transfer, proven scientific and technical expertise, and decades of operational experience in technology-driven, high-growth companies. He has successfully helped startups and develop businesses worldwide in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Nakia’s passion as a business advisor, deep-tech, deep-science mentor, and startup coach inspires and helps entrepreneurs and startups spun out of university research. A seasoned entrepreneur, Nakia allows entrepreneurs to execute their ideas while guiding them in the total startup journey — from product development and selling to the government, to their go-to-market strategy and customer discovery to scaling a company and getting capital. He has worked with more than 700 startups worldwide, with more than 15,000 hours of classroom time working with entrepreneurs.