On a Thursday in mid-March, the Technoport conference room was buzzing with anticipation. Barnik Mandal, freshly minted PhD in hand, stood before a panel of investors.
Just months ago, he was a materials scientist buried in lab data; today, he’s developing DELVE, a data exploration and visualisation platform for R&D teams, into a spin-off, backed by a €300,000 grant from Luxembourg’s National Research Fund (FNR) Jump programme.
From PhD to Problem-Solver
Mandal’s journey began in India, where he earned a bachelor’s in electronics engineering. His move to Europe for a master’s and, eventually, a PhD at LIST in Luxembourg set the stage for an unexpected pivot. While his PhD focused on experimental physics, his daily grind, generating and wrestling with lab data, revealed a gaping inefficiency.
“I learned that scientists spend more than 50% of their time organising data, cleaning data, not doing science, not doing discoveries.”
His background in computer science and programming, combined with his scientific expertise, gave him a unique lens. But turning an idea into a business? That required a different skill set.
The Catalyst
Enter LIST Ventures Academy, a six-month coaching programme designed to bridge the gap between lab innovation and market viability. Launched by Alexander Godlewski, a venture veteran, the Academy targets first-time founders: scientists with groundbreaking ideas but little business acumen.
For Mandal, the Academy was a game-changer. Workshops on market validation, pitch decks, and investor storytelling transformed his scientific rigour into entrepreneurial agility. “I learned to simplify my message, to think like a customer, not just a scientist,” he says.
The Breakthrough
In February 2026, Mandal’s hard work paid off. His FNR Jump proposal, a meticulously crafted document honed during the Academy, secured the €300,000 grant. The funding validated DELVE’s potential and gave Mandal the runway to assemble a team.
He tapped into LIST’s network, bringing on Bruno Monfils, a seasoned entrepreneur, as Entrepreneur in Residence, and German Castignani, an AI expert from LIST’s data unit. “I needed people who could guide me on sales, marketing, and tech,” Mandal explains. “LIST made that possible.”
The Challenge
The transition hasn’t been seamless. “In science, you dive deep into details,” Mandal reflects. “In entrepreneurship, you zoom out. You listen to customers, pivot fast, and sometimes abandon ideas.”
His recent pitch to investors at LIST was a crash course in this shift. “They challenged me, so that I understand what investors look for,” he says. “So it was very constructive.”
The Vision
With the FNR grant, Mandal’s immediate goal is to refine DELVE’s go-to-market strategy. Over the next two years, he’ll test the platform with R&D teams in academia and industry, iterating based on feedback.
“This is just the beginning,” he says. “I’m not officially an entrepreneur yet, but I’m on the path.”
For LIST Ventures, Mandal’s story is a blueprint. “We’re trying to bust the spin-off myth that you need to be a business professional,” says Godlewski.
