{"id":19255,"date":"2025-11-10T15:50:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/snt-en\/?post_type=news&#038;p=19255"},"modified":"2025-12-11T13:49:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T12:49:59","slug":"from-researcher-to-ceo-how-one-founder-learned-to-stop-coding-and-run-a-company","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/snt-en\/news\/from-researcher-to-ceo-how-one-founder-learned-to-stop-coding-and-run-a-company\/","title":{"rendered":"From researcher to CEO: How one founder learned to stop coding and run a company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-free-section section\"><div class=\"container xl:max-w-screen-xl\">\n<p>A few weeks ago,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gnain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gregory Nain<\/a>&nbsp;started coding again&nbsp;for the first time in two years. Originally a software engineer, now&nbsp;co-founder and head of operations of the eight-year-old University spin-off&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/datathings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DataThings<\/a>, he does everything but code.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DataThings&nbsp;develops AI software systems that transform data into actionable and valuable insights. For the business&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;critical that his&nbsp;three&nbsp;other&nbsp;co-founders, also software engineers and data scientists, stay on the&nbsp;cutting-edge. \u201cThis is why we each have distinct&nbsp;and complementary&nbsp;roles.&nbsp;This way&nbsp;we can protect the skills that are needed for our products to be competitive&nbsp;while growing as a business, which is my role.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-dev4-reusable-blocks-image  object-fit--cover\">\n    \n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-image unilux-custom-image-block\"\n                alt=\"Office setting with people actively working. Datathings team members. \"\n            src=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154555\/DataThings-in-Action.png\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154555\/DataThings-in-Action-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154555\/DataThings-in-Action-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154555\/DataThings-in-Action-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154555\/DataThings-in-Action.png 1500w\"\n                style=\"object-position: 50.00% 50.00%; font-family: &quot;object-fit: cover; object-position: 50.00% 50.00%;&quot;; aspect-ratio: 16\/9; object-fit: cover; width: 100%;\"\n        loading=\"lazy\"\n\/>    <\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-unilux-blocks-heading\"        id=\"listen-and-adapt\"\n    >\nListen and adapt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As head of operations,&nbsp;Nain&nbsp;is responsible for&nbsp;the tasks of any CEO type, driving business development, communication, administration, and people management. Now a company with 13&nbsp;employees, he&nbsp;stopped&nbsp;coding&nbsp;on a regular basis a&nbsp;few years ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe started the company in&nbsp;2017&nbsp;and we grew into a profitable business within three years,\u201d said Nain. Adapting his company\u2019s marketing approach to the current tech trends has become a new skill for him. \u201cBack then what we were doing would have been referred to as cyber-physical systems, but now digital twins and AI are&nbsp;trending topics. You need to continuously listen and adapt your terminology so that people understand enough to agree to that first meeting.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-unilux-blocks-heading\"        id=\"from-niche-technology-to-trusted-partnerships\"\n    >\nFrom\u00a0niche\u00a0technology to\u00a0trusted\u00a0partnerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That first meeting has been crucial for a company like&nbsp;DataThings, as it is&nbsp;operating&nbsp;in a market with established players. \u201cOur product,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/kopr-twin.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kopr twin<\/a>,&nbsp;is quite niche because&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;serving&nbsp;companies that&nbsp;transmit&nbsp;or distribute electricity. Everything is&nbsp;kind of sensitive&nbsp;because&nbsp;it&#8217;s&nbsp;critical infrastructure.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kopr&nbsp;twin was launched following their first round of investment funding in 2020&nbsp;alongside&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/greycat.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreyCat<\/a>,&nbsp;the core technology of&nbsp;DataThings.&nbsp;They&nbsp;enable companies, and&nbsp;software engineers&nbsp;more generally,&nbsp;to process data&nbsp;in-house.&nbsp;\u201cWe are&nbsp;delivering&nbsp;10x to 100x better performances than the&nbsp;competition, so we have something that is quite unique, and I would say is five years ahead&nbsp;of the market&nbsp;in the energy sector.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-quote-people\">\n    <div class=\"quote-people\" role=\"group\">\n        <figure class=\"quote-people__body\">\n            <blockquote class=\"quote-people__blockquote\">\n    <span class=\"quote-people__quote\">\u201f<\/span>\n    Yet,\u00a0because our competitors are such established\u00a0companies,\u00a0we\u00a0still\u00a0have to\u00a0prove that we will be around tomorrow,\u00a0even after eight years,\u00a0as longevity is so important for our market.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-wrapper quote-people__visual\"><figure class=\"wp-block-dev4-reusable-blocks-image  object-fit--cover\">\n    \n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-image unilux-custom-image-block\"\n                alt=\"Profile picture of Gregory Nain\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025.png\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025.png 500w\"\n                style=\"object-position: 50.00% 50.00%; font-family: &quot;object-fit: cover; object-position: 50.00% 50.00%;&quot;; aspect-ratio: 1\/1; object-fit: cover; width: 100%;\"\n        loading=\"lazy\"\n\/>    <\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-wrapper quote-people__figcaption\">\n<p class=\"quote-people__author wp-block-unilux-blocks-plain-text\">Gregory Nain<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"quote-people__position wp-block-unilux-blocks-plain-text\">Head of Operations<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-simple-cta\">\n    <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gnain\/\"\n        title=\"View Profile\"\n        class=\"link-text link-text--icon quote-people__link\"\n        target=\"\"\n    >\n        <span class=\"link-text__body\">\n            <span class=\"link-text__name\">View profile<\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"icon icon-outline icon--arrow-right \"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/themes\/unilux-theme\/assets\/images\/icons\/icons-outline.svg#icon--arrow-right\"><\/use><\/svg>    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n        <\/figure>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<p>To manage this dynamic, Nain focuses on partnerships with companies that are already serving his market,&nbsp;either as IT implementors or consultants,&nbsp;and can act as third-party providers of&nbsp;DataThings&nbsp;products.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul Wurth,&nbsp;Cebi,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Creos&nbsp;were some of the first customers of the company, providing momentum in those early days. \u201cIt was proof that the technology was&nbsp;needed&nbsp;and&nbsp;solved real problems,\u201d said Nain. Now the team is thinking about a second round of investment, and a new flagship partner is needed. \u201cWhat&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;probably missing&nbsp;today is someone on&nbsp;the&nbsp;board who would vouch for the core technology.&nbsp;Someone with more footing in the software development industry or consultancy.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking confidently of boards and partners, Nain is clearly settled into his new role, but it&nbsp;hasn\u2019t&nbsp;always been smooth sailing. \u201cAs we have set-up the company and grown our business, the challenge I didn\u2019t expect was to know enough on a variety of subjects to avoid being scammed.\u201d Following their trademark registration, he was contacted by a company demanding he pay a fee of&nbsp;\u20ac500&nbsp;for&nbsp;monitoring&nbsp;the trademark. \u201cThe first&nbsp;time&nbsp;you&nbsp;receive something like this,&nbsp;you&nbsp;second guess if you missed&nbsp;something in the process,\u201d Nain reflected. \u201cBut&nbsp;now&nbsp;I have experienced this kind of thing for all aspects of the business.&nbsp;I have spent a lot of time on&nbsp;Legilux&nbsp;and Guichet, to learn&nbsp;for myself&nbsp;what is true,&nbsp;as there can be so many different versions. The only source of truth can be yourself or your team, which is why having co-founders is so important.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He and his co-founders have&nbsp;a strong foundation&nbsp;to weather such storms together. They worked together for five years&nbsp;as&nbsp;researchers at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) of the University of Luxembourg. As one of the first spin-offs from SnT, their business grew naturally from their research.&nbsp;It began as&nbsp;an idea that was nurtured by SnT,&nbsp;and&nbsp;later&nbsp;became&nbsp;part of an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fnr.lu\/funding-instruments\/jump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FNR funded Proof of Concept (POC) programme (today called the FNR JUMP programme)<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-unilux-blocks-heading\"        id=\"researcher-co-founder-mentor\"\n    >\nResearcher, co-founder,\u00a0mentor\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Today,&nbsp;SnT has an established process to support researchers with this process:&nbsp;the SnT Venture Programme, where Nain is a regular speaker and mentors upcoming SnT entrepreneurs. He and his co-founders&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;close ties with their original research home, even&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/en\/news\/university-spin-off-datathings-partners-on-computer-vision-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">setting up a partnership for a few years in 2020<\/a>.&nbsp; Their beginnings in a university work to their advantage. \u201cWhen we say we are a spin-off of the University, it proves that the research was excellent enough that we could create a company. Clients understand that&nbsp;immediately. They&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;question the technology when they hear that,\u201d said Nain.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next important milestone boost will happen soon, when&nbsp;DataThings&nbsp;turns&nbsp;ten.&nbsp;\u201cMost start-ups fail after two, three, or five years, and we are beyond that now. Every year we continue it gets easier to prove to our market that we have the longevity they&nbsp;require&nbsp;to work with us.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-dev4-reusable-blocks-image  object-fit--cover\">\n    \n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-image unilux-custom-image-block\"\n                alt=\"3D printed logos for DataThings and their product GreyCat \"\n            src=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154751\/DataThings-3D-Print.png\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154751\/DataThings-3D-Print-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154751\/DataThings-3D-Print-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154751\/DataThings-3D-Print-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10154751\/DataThings-3D-Print.png 1500w\"\n                style=\"object-position: 50.00% 50.00%; font-family: &quot;object-fit: cover; object-position: 50.00% 50.00%;&quot;; aspect-ratio: 16\/9; object-fit: cover; width: 100%;\"\n        loading=\"lazy\"\n\/>    <\/figure>\n\n<div class=\"py-48 first:pt-0 last:pb-0 wp-block-unilux-blocks-people-list\">\n    \n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-unilux-blocks-heading\"        id=\"people-in-this-story\"\n    >\nPeople in this story<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"flex flex-wrap -mx-16 wp-block-unilux-blocks-people-item-wrapper\">\n    <li class=\"w-full md:w-1\/2 p-16 wp-block-unilux-blocks-people-list-item\">\n    <div class=\"list-people bg-theme wp-block-unilux-blocks-people-item\">\n    \n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-wrapper list-people__container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-wrapper list-people__visual\"><figure class=\"wp-block-dev4-reusable-blocks-image w-full object-fit--cover\">\n    \n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-image unilux-custom-image-block\"\n                alt=\"Profile picture of Gregory Nain\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025.png\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10153921\/Gregory-Nain-Quote-2025.png 500w\"\n                style=\"object-position: 50.00% 50.00%; font-family: &quot;object-fit: cover; object-position: 50.00% 50.00%;&quot;; aspect-ratio: 1\/1; object-fit: cover; width: 100%;\"\n        loading=\"lazy\"\n\/>    <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-wrapper list-people__body\">\n<h3 class=\"list-people__title has-text-align-left wp-block-unilux-blocks-heading\"        id=\"gregory-nain\"\n    >\nGregory Nain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"list-people__description wp-block-unilux-blocks-plain-text\">Head of operations<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-unilux-blocks-simple-cta\">\n    <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gnain\/?locale=fr_FR\"\n        title=\"View profile\"\n        class=\"link-text link-text--icon list-people__link link-text link-absolute\"\n        target=\"\"\n    >\n        <span class=\"link-text__body\">\n            <span class=\"link-text__name\">View profile<\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"icon icon-outline icon--arrow-right \"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/themes\/unilux-theme\/assets\/images\/icons\/icons-outline.svg#icon--arrow-right\"><\/use><\/svg>    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Datathings co-founder Gregory Nain reflects on his eight-year entrepreneurial journey and what maturity means to a start-up in the critical infrastructure market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":19259,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.62,"y":0.31},"show_featured_caption":false,"ulux_newsletter_groups":"","uluxPostTitle":"","uluxPrePostTitle":"","_trash_the_other_posts":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"news-category":[4],"news-topic":[439,10],"organisation":[184],"authorship":[66],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized 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reflects on his eight-year entrepreneurial journey and what maturity means to a start-up in the critical infrastructure market.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/snt-en\/news\/from-researcher-to-ceo-how-one-founder-learned-to-stop-coding-and-run-a-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SnT EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-11T12:49:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/11\/10143854\/Gregory-Nain-PDay-2025.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1125\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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