Academic scientists play a critical role in creating inventions, but often lack the business acumen necessary to commercialize their discoveries. This study introduces a process model of how, why and when academics can utilize the entrepreneurial capability of technology-market matching (TMM), thereby facilitating the creation of impactful academic spinoffs. While prior research has focused on a simplistic view of product-market fit for commercialization, we explore the more nuanced approach of TMM in the years prior to firm formation through a data-rich, longitudinal case study of the commercialization journey of a star scientist entrepreneur and his lab, theorizing how academics scientists engage in iterative learning and adaptation. At the heart of the process are three dynamics: first, cyclical “nexus switching” between a platform technology and multiple markets to systematically refine technology and narrow market focus; second, transitions in academic scientist’s market awareness leading to the creation of a market-oriented academic spinoff; third, academic scientists iteratively engaging in selective targeting, deliberate excluding, or simmering prospective markets to achieve the right technology-market fit.
