- Login to Portal
At Georgia Tech, innovation lives inside the academic experience. Students apply theory to real world challenges and develop the skills to create impact. CREATE-X, a Georgia Tech entrepreneurial initiative, helps students become founders through various pathways before they graduate. They also gain the confidence to tackle hard problems that can lead to impactful startups.
In this episode of ATDC Executive Bytes, Chris Nedza speaks with Rahul Saxena, director of CREATE-X, about how Georgia Tech integrates entrepreneurial thinking into education and prepares students to solve meaningful problems.
CREATE-X develops confidence in students through hands on learning. intentional programming allows them to learn how to identify problems, talk with customers, test assumptions, and refine solutions through structured courses and mentorship.
Saxena explains that innovation remains a defining characteristic of Georgia Tech. Each year, more students seek opportunities to apply what they learn outside the classroom. CREATE-X meets this demand by embedding entrepreneurship directly into academic pathways.
Instead of beginning with “What should we build?” CREATE-X teaches students to start with deeper questions about human behavior and unmet needs. Saxena illustrates this using music consumption: Rather than asking how to build a better MP3 player, a stronger question becomes, “Why do people listen to music?” When students understand that people seek music to relax, escape, and enter a flow state, they design simpler, more intuitive experiences. The same problem-first mindset helps students create solutions that truly matter.
CREATE-X structures its programming around a Learn, Make, and Launch framework that guides students from idea to execution. Through courses such as Startup Lab, students learn how to validate problems, conduct customer discovery, and understand real market needs. They then move into the Make phase, where they prototype solutions, test ideas, and refine products through hands on experimentation. For teams ready to move forward, Startup Launch provides a clear pathway to company formation by offering mentorship, milestone driven support, and direct connections to Georgia Tech’s commercialization ecosystem.
CREATE-X positions entrepreneurship as a mindset that strengthens every discipline. Students across engineering, computing, design, business, and the sciences apply entrepreneurial thinking to research, product development, and problem solving.
Saxena emphasizes that success does not require forming a startup. Many students take these skills into industry, research labs, and corporate innovation teams, extending CREATE-X’s impact well beyond campus.
As startups mature, founders often continue their journey with ATDC, where they access mentorship, funding networks, and growth-oriented programming. CREATE-X and ATDC work together to support founders from early exploration through scalable growth.
