create a product, have it ready to sell, Kickstarter it at a higher price; be both sides of the market. This is what successful research groups do: get an indu

create a product, have it ready to sell, Kickstarter it at a higher price; be both sides of the market. This is what successful research groups do: get an industrial customer, invent some tech in the process (but you won't have neither time nor desire to do the boring work of academic writing), and when the project is complete, get some funding for the results you already have. Everybody's happy, just don't forget to negotiate rights to retain the basic (not application-specific) technology.