『Tony Atti and How Phononic Was Founded During the 2008 Financial Crisis| PART 1 of 2』のカバーアート

Tony Atti and How Phononic Was Founded During the 2008 Financial Crisis| PART 1 of 2

Tony Atti and How Phononic Was Founded During the 2008 Financial Crisis| PART 1 of 2

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 In this episode (Part 1), we cover the origin story. Tony walks through the decisions, failures, and inflection points that led to Phononic’s founding: leaving the Northeast for graduate school at USC, working on applied energy systems at JPL during the Mars rover era, and learning painful but formative lessons from a university spin-out that didn’t work.Then comes the moment you can’t script. In the fall of 2008, while the global financial system is actively collapsing, Tony presents a research thesis on why semiconductors transformed everything except cooling. He walks out that same day with a term sheet and a $2M commitment to found Phononic.Highlights from Part 1Growing up blue-collar in Buffalo and why that shaped Tony’s leadership styleThe career-defining decision to leave the Northeast for USCWhat JPL teaches you about rigor, testing, and humilityWhy most university spin-outs struggle with equity alignmentHow venture capital experience sharpened Tony’s founder instinctsWhy cooling is the last unsolved semiconductor frontierFounding Phononic the day Lehman collapsedWhy the Triangle, and NC State’s Centennial Campus, won as Phononic’s homeWhere to Find Tony Atti:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-atti-ph-d-316483/TradePending: https://phononic.com/Where to Find Scot Wingo: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/ Tweener Times: https://www.tweenertimes.com/ X: https://x.com/scotwingoTimestamps:01:40 — Scot tees up why Tony is a “special treat” + why Phononic matters in the Triangle03:50 — Travel / frequent flyer miles (4M miles + recent global sprint)05:10 — Why Phononic is a “quiet deep tech giant” more people should know05:23 — Tony background: blue-collar Buffalo + early “entrepreneur roots” (paper route, driveways, grass)06:00 — Parents + upbringing + being the only Italian family in an Irish neighborhood06:50 — “Boardroom to factory floor” comfort as a leadership superpower07:07 — College path: biochem → decides against med school → USC opportunity08:20 — USC + energy/sustainability roots before it had a name08:50 — JPL/Caltech work: solid polymer electrolytes + Mars-era applied R&D10:07 — JPL geek-out: what JPL does + Tony’s work context11:42 — Engineering culture: redundancy, testing, quality mindset11:56 — Funny JPL story: Tony’s dad jokes “it’s all fake, filmed here”12:26 — The Martian detail: radioisotope thermoelectric generator explanation12:59 — First startup failure: university IP / cap table misalignment lessons14:23 — Timeline bridge: how that failure pushed Tony into VC + founding MHI Energy Partners15:48 — The Phononic founding story starts: 2007–08 crisis + job search16:46 — Venrock mentor moment: “world doesn’t need another VC” challenge17:00 — Thesis: semiconductors transformed everything except cooling/heating17:41 — 3-month “liars and thieves” tour: universities + semiconductor ecosystem due diligence18:20 — Thermoelectrics vs vapor compression (what makes solid-state different)19:16 — The pitch day: Lehman collapse on the screens while Tony presents20:45 — Term sheet drop: $2M commitment + “founded the company that afternoon”21:33 — Why Venrock matters / halo effect (Scot commentary)21:59 — Why North Carolina: portfolio company move + Tony relocates23:26 — Why RTP/NC State won: Centennial Campus enabled fast lab/fab buildout--- This episode of Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by Triangle Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West. We couldn’t share posts like this without our amazing sponsors: Gold Sponsors: - Balentine: https://www.balentine.com/triangle-entrepreneurs - EisnerAmpner: https://www.eisneramper.com - Robinson Bradshaw: https://www.robinsonbradshaw.com Silver Sponsors: - Automated Consulting Group: https://automated.co - Bank of America: https://business.bofa.com/en-us/content/technology-industry-group.html 2025 Sponsors: - Extensis HR: http://www.extensishr.com/ ------Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/
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