Issue 3 / 2020–21

The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur First #InventedAtImperial co-founder Alice Meet the Imperial teams shaking Bentinck MBE lets us up the status quo with their world- in on the secret of changing ideas creating the perfect co-founding team Fighting COVID-19 From vaccines to ventilators and from testing to transport, Imperial’s community are tackling the pandemic head on

The The ‘Accidental Entrepreneur’ Imperial alumna Riham Satti talks about how serendipity led her to launch an award-winning startup founder Three years of Imperial Venture Mentoring Service Founders and mentors tell us formula why IVMS is one of a kind 02 Welcome

Get in touch:

D/srupt is brought to you by: Welcome Imperial’s Enterprise Division A warm, socially distanced We would love to hear your feedback. Please get in touch if you welcome to the third issue of D/srupt. have content suggestions, would like more copies or are interested The last year may governments around the world on in commercial opportunities. have panned the pandemic. out more like We know that the current situation means something from a many of you will be reading this from further Editor: sci-fi film than we afield than West London, but that doesn’t Jennifer Mills had hoped, but mean you can’t join Imperial’s thriving [email protected] our community entrepreneurial community. Head to page 24 of innovators and to see all the entrepreneurial support on offer. Designer: entrepreneurs has … We hope you enjoy reading the Matthew Hart (in epic movie trailer voice) … risen to the inspirational stories from our startups, alumni www.designedbymatt.co.uk challenge and had impact we could only have and staff, as well as from leaders in the global imagined a year ago! startup ecosphere, and we look forward to Published October 2020 On page 08 you can read about the seeing what the next year will bring – just ways the Imperial community has pivoted to please not another virus! support frontline workers and led the charge in creating ventilators, a rapid COVID-19 test Jennifer Mills, and a potential vaccine, as well as advising Editor of D/srupt,

Talk from the top

Professor Alice P. Gast, President of We support Imperial College London students and

Whether you are staff to use their a new or returning student, staff talents in new, member or alumni, and reading this in print or online, I would like entrepreneurial, to welcome all of you to this year’s edition of D/srupt. creative and There’s no denying that the global COVID-19 pandemic has presented practical ways. extraordinary challenges and had a huge impact on many aspects of our lives. But it has also highlighted the fantastic work and entrepreneurial spirit of the Imperial community – from the rapid development community members are vital to this mission. of a potential COVID-19 vaccine to mass We are committed to ensuring that students 3D printing of protective face masks for key and researchers have the freedom to pursue workers. Innovation and entrepreneurship new ideas, the expert mentorship to guide permeate everything we do, and our ability to their explorations, the spaces to work on their quickly turn these ideas and innovations into development, and the funding to turn them real solutions has been very impressive. into successful ventures. This is the Imperial For the past five years, Imperial has been difference: we support students and staff Please pass forward named the UK’s most innovative university to use their talents in new, entrepreneurial, or recycle : ) by Reuters, and our inventive and energetic creative and practical ways.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 In this issue 03

12 42 08 18 36 32

28 22 In this issue #InventedAtImperial Features

06 The Shellworks 08 Imperial’s COVID innovation 16 Treeconomy 14 From bioengineering to breaking down bias 32 Multus Media 18 The founder formula 41 Planera 24 Entrepreneurship at Imperial 28 The M-Factor: Why startup success starts with mentoring 34 The UK’s 70-year innovation itch 35 Entrepreneurship essentials How to … 36 Creating a climate for change 12 Make an impact on camera 40 Professor Chris Toumazou – coming full circle 22 Perfect your pitch 42 Testing business ideas 23 Get investor ready 44 Superior: The Return of Race Science 46 Finding ‘weak signals’ from the future

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 04 Community

DASH Adapting to provided Mayor’s transport COVID-19 for key Entrepreneur workers

Competition Meat the team Before the onset of coronavirus in the UK, the team at DASH was This year, Imperial won three of the four Following a stint on the Venture Catalyst Challenge focused on providing businesses top prizes at the Mayor’s Entrepreneur and developing their lab-grown meat alternative at and employees with e-bike cycle- Competition and had 21 teams in the semi- the Hackspace, Multus Media has moved into the to-work subscriptions that aim to finals! The competition aims to use student White City Incubator to further develop their product. improve the affordability and ideas to support London’s future across The team has had a very successful year – they were sustainability of commuting. four award categories: environment, smart named London regional final winner of the Hult Prize, Amidst challenges, DASH cities, creative industries and health. Well won the Female Founders Award supported by the worked to prioritise done to The Tyre Collective, Unhindr and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, and embarked supporting transport for Toilets4London who took home on the EIT Climate-KIC accelerator. You can read more key workers. Find out £20k each. about their journey on page 32. more on page 11. COMM UNITY Going remote

At Imperial, changing to virtual ways of working has opened new doors of opportunity. Since going virtual, more Expert-in-Residence sessions have been held and many of our talks and events, such as the ‘How-to’ series, were no longer limited by space! This has given our community the chance to grow even larger and we hope some of the benefits of a more virtual world continue to help expand community. We’ve even had a few surprise visitors at our team meetings … we’re not KIDding ;)

The device is designed to promote healthier Closing the gap living with light

LYS Technologies’ wearable device was featured in The Guardian for helping to close the gender bias gap in medical research and data. The device monitors light levels to help improve sleep, energy levels and productivity, and was designed with women in mind, enabling the team to capture accurate data for both men and women.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Community 05

Safe and Silicon Valley? Y sustainable (Combinator) not!

Petit Pli has adapted its Winner of the 2019 IB Pitch patent-pending technology, competition (now known as the usually used for sustainable Summer Accelerator), Refund children’s clothing, to make Giant has left the Enterprise protective face masks from Lab basement for the dizzying recycled plastic bottles. heights of Silicon Valley! Now that’s what we call a Founders Alex and Shawn were trendy transformation. accepted onto the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator. Refund Giant makes it easy for tourists The masks are safe, in the UK to claim back VAT on stylish and sustainable their purchases. Well done guys! COMM UNITY Treemendous Jelly Drops new forest have landed

Over 300 individuals have purchased trees to The hydrating treats are now available in the UK, helping create a new forest in Bath using Treemendo. those living with Alzheimers. You can see their many The pilot project saw over 428 trees planted happy customers on their Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/ over 2.5 hectares of land, which will capture 114 JellyDrops_ You can meet the team and find out about their

tonnes of CO2 by 2050. The next reforestation entrepreneurial journey in last year’s issue of D/srupt. project will take place in Edinburgh.

The Enterprise Third Eye gets Lab gets a third win

makeover A huge congratulations to Sam Tukra whose AI-powered organ failure Whilst the E-Lab has been left empty during prediction tool, Third Eye Intelligence, lockdown, the community team has been hard at not only won the AI and Robotics track work making some improvements to the space. The in the Venture Catalyst Challenge, Green Room is now actually green, we have brand but also won the IGHI Student new desks and a bar has been installed! Find out Challenges competition and the more at www.imperialenterpriselab.com/co-working Ideas 2 Impact Challenge!

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 06 #InventedAtImperial: The Shellworks

#InventedAtImperial The Shellworks This year’s Venture Catalyst Challenge winners, The Shellworks, have created a plastic alternative from seafood waste that breaks down in any natural environment, allowing consumers to throw away their waste worry-free.

Insiya Jafferjee, CEO (MSc Innovation Design Engineering 2019)

Amir Afshar, CPO (MSc Innovation Design Engineering 2019)

Edward Jones, CTO (MSc Innovation Design Engineering 2019)

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 #InventedAtImperial: The Shellworks 07

The problem The Shellworks creates materials as The Shellworks aims to alternatives to plastic, that break down tackle two global crises, in any natural environment. plastic pollution and shellfish waste. Plastic pollution is a growing global problem, with eight million tonnes entering our oceans annually, threatening marine life. Recently, plastic pollution has started seeping into our waterways, impacting human health as well as the health of future generations. In addition, dependence on petroleum plastics perpetuates a model built on extracting fossil How Imperial has be burned. And they are fit of people who wanted What’s been your biggest fuels, which accelerates supported the team cost competitive at scale, to make an environmental success so far? climate change. While there which stems from using raw impact but also genuinely The team. Flexibility is key are some biodegradable materials that are essentially enjoyed making and pushing in a startup, and every solutions, they require treated as waste resources. the boundaries of what was day could be a success or specific conditions to ‘seemingly’ possible. failure. I think our biggest degrade, which are often 2019 Where did the idea success is building a team not met or require separate originate? Do you have any advisers? environment where we waste management. As a Experts-in- As a team, we knew we We have worked to surround enjoy problem solving, so result, they cause just as wanted to work on a project ourselves with mentors it starts to feel like there much harm as traditional Residence that created a social impact. and advisers who fill gaps aren’t any big failures, just plastic if they enter our In fact, when we started, we we may have personally, different problems we need waste streams. Furthermore, probably investigated every and also meet the startup’s to overcome. they are derived from plants single one of the world’s needs at different stages as which start to compete with biggest issues, but we we evolve. We found two What’s been the biggest human food production and 2019 always seemed to gravitate of our favourite mentors challenge? land resources. back to ocean plastics. through IVMS, a programme I don’t think there has been Finally, up to eight million IVMS As we dove deeper into provided by the Enterprise one big challenge. I believe tonnes of crustacean (crabs, the topic, we realised we Lab, which really helped us the challenge is actually lobsters, crayfish etc.) waste should use our strengths, get off the ground and build building resilience; the is produced every year by which were materials and a real company. ability to not see things as the seafood-processing manufacturing. As a result, Beyond that we’ve had challenges but more industries. Crustacean shell 2019 we began deep-diving into a more targeted approach as areas that we could is widely cited as solely different material solutions, of looking for people who innovate in. being a waste stream and Climate-KIC which is when we discovered are often retired ex-CEOs of must either be landfilled or Chitosan, a biopolymer that the companies we aspire to What advice would returned to the ocean. comes from shellfish waste, be like, who have a really you give to aspiring that can be used to make a deep understanding of the entrepreneurs? The solution replacement for plastics. industry and the potential Speak to customers and The Shellworks creates 2020 pitfalls and opportunities. build what people want, not materials as alternatives to How did your team meet? what you think people want. plastic, that break down in Venture Our team met through What stage is the any natural environment, Catalyst the Innovation Design business at and what Support from Imperial allowing consumers to Engineering course, a joint are your plans moving Upon graduating from the throw away their waste Challenge Master’s between the Royal forward? Master’s programme, we worry-free. We do this winners College of Art and Imperial. We are just coming out were accepted into the by using a biopolymer We identified each other of our first year of the Climate-KIC Accelerator found in shellfish waste. in our first year as the last journey, which was filled programme, which was Our products have three people in the studio, often with a number of pivots really helpful, not only key advantages: they are finding ways to work on to help identify where because we received sustainable, which means our projects even after the we should focus. We are funding and mentorship, they break down in marine university was closed. For now entering the stage of which were crucial for us and soil environments in Get in touch: context, Amir was trying to early commercialisation to keep going, but it also a timely manner. They are build a chair out of slime, combined with continued introduced us to a number Website: www. truly circular, which means Ed was working on creating R&D. We are refining our of other startups in the theshellworks.com our product is actually made a beehive to help socialise material and running early space that we could Instagram: from waste and we can use bees and Insiya was working pilots, so that in a year we learn from. @theshellworks resources that otherwise on tiny robots with feelings. have a product that we can would end up in landfill or It seemed like the perfect confidently scale.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 08 Imperial’s COVID innovation

Imperial’s COVID innovation

As the name of this magazine testifies, disruption is a common theme in innovation, with many entrepreneurs striving to transform their industry or the system in which they are working. But what happens when disruption is external and on a global scale? How do we innovate when our systems are shaken by something bigger and more uncontrollable than we can imagine?

he COVID-19 pandemic advances in vaccination, diagnosis, a leader in this field and when the “We have dealt with a lot of has brought change to treatments and ways to return to World Health Organization (WHO) infectious disease crises, clearly T everybody’s lives and, ‘normal’ life. was informed of the first cases of none quite on the scale of this,” says for some, redirection. Within Behind this agility has been the pneumonia from an unknown source Professor Ferguson. “But we exist to weeks of the UK going into organisational machine of Imperial in China, researchers begun working provide quality support and we have lockdown, several teams from itself, which has kept core labs to track and model its spread. an established process for creating Imperial’s entrepreneurial and open, connected teams to industry Led by Professor Neil Ferguson, teams that work together.” academic community adapted, and government, provided funding, the Imperial College COVID-19 Across the globe, the team is redeployed and pivoted their and enabled the acceleration of Response Team were the first to providing insight into the pandemic research and technology to innovation, all the time working accurately predict the scale of the and working with governments to help face the multi-pronged within safe boundaries. outbreak in China and the team support their responses, adapting challenge of the pandemic. produced the landmark report that their approaches to answer Brilliant and innovative minds PREDICTING THE VIRUS modelled the impact of public health continually changing questions and have come together to understand Mathematical models offer the measures in the UK. To date they ensure learning for the future. and fight this coronavirus, with opportunity to provide powerful have produced 30 online reports teams applying their skills to project predictive analyses of the spread in seven languages and seven its spread and to develop new of infectious disease. Imperial is publicly available planning tools.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Imperial’s COVID innovation 09

NOVEL AND SCALABLE VACCINATION The Imperial COVID-19 The development of a successful, Response Team safe and accessible vaccine is key The Imperial COVID-19 to dealing with the global challenge Response Team consists of of COVID-19. Amongst the many researchers from the MRC teams trying to achieve this goal is Centre for Global Infectious an Imperial immunology lab led by Disease Analysis (MRC GIDA), Professor Robin Shattock that has Jameel Institute (J-IDEA). developed a particularly innovative Initially a team of about 10-15 vaccine. The team has done this in people, it has grown to over a way that is very different to the 50 researchers ranging from standard pharma pathway and, experienced epidemiologists importantly, lends itself to rapid through to PhD students manufacturing scale-up. and spanning disciplines “In some ways what we’re doing that include statistics, is state-of-the-art but very simple,” mathematical modelling, says Professor Shattock. “Our epidemiology, genetics, approach is different because we’re intervention science and using genetic material, so we’ve health economics. taken the code of just the surface protein of the virus and used that as Vaccination development a genetic vaccine. There’s nothing of the virus in there. Just genetic code.” TESTING FOR “I would say repurposing DnaNudge and Social Care announced an order Looking to the future, Imperial THE VIRUS for COVID-19 detection was one of for 5.8 million test kits to be used has formed a new social enterprise The Imperial spinout DnaNudge the most straightforward things I’ve in NHS hospitals and out-of-hospital to bring this COVID-19 vaccine to launched its consumer genetic- ever done,” says Professor Toumazou. settings from September. The test the world when it is fully developed. testing service at the end of 2019 “It ticks every box for this application also recently obtained a CE mark, Alongside that, a separate startup to provide consumers with DNA of rapid testing: the disposability of enabling its additional use in non- company will develop the self- analysis to inform their dietary the cartridge, the speed to result, and clinical locations, including care amplifying RNA platform technology decisions. When the COVID-19 no need for a lab.” homes and other public services. to treat other health conditions pandemic hit, Co-founder and CEO Following successful clinical At the time of the COVID-19 beyond the pandemic. Regius Professor Chris Toumazou trials, the test was authorised by the outbreak, the team behind Lacewing “These new enterprises are the saw the need for increased testing Medicines and Healthcare products were planning to trial their handheld most effective way for us to deliver capacity and speed, and he and Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and mobile phone-linked molecular COVID-19 vaccines quickly, cheaply his team immediately set to work in April the test began roll-out in diagnostic technology in rural Ghana and internationally, while preparing adapting the technology into a rapid, eight London hospitals, including for malaria. When the pandemic was for future pandemics,” explains lab-free, RT-PCR (polymerase chain in urgent patient care settings. In announced, they rapidly repurposed Professor Shattock. reaction) COVID-19 test. August, the Department of Health their technology for COVID-19. They set about validating the test with samples from Charing Cross Hospital and showed it could produce results RNA amplifying vaccine in less than 20 minutes. Lacewing uses basic, cheap The Imperial vaccine team is working on an RNA amplifying technology that will inject a genetic instruction set electronics so can be scaled into the muscle to create the spike protein of the virus which will then trigger an effective immune reaction relatively easily and, alongside its to protect against infection. The use of synthetic RNA means a large amount of vaccine can be produced in rapid turnaround of results, it has facilities with a small footprint. a built-in capacity to geo-tag the “What’s different about the vaccine is that it’s completely synthetic,” says Clinical Lead Katrina Pollock. “So, infections it detects to enable the if you think about the flu vaccine, you would have the protein injected and the body recognises that, whereas in mapping of disease spread. this case the cells are making it themselves. This is the first time this has been done in this way, and if it works it Working with the Imperial could be a game changer.” Enterprise Lab Division, the team One small team, spearheaded by Senior Researcher Dr Paul McKay, has carried out all the steps that are is in the process of spinning out typically conducted by a large pharma company to bring the vaccine to clinical trials. the technology in a new startup, ProtonDx, whilst reaching out to potential partners to see how best to scale up production and translate the technology to the next level. “We know there is going to be a 14 2M 4 huge need for frugal technologies Fourteen days from receiving Two million doses produced Four months from like ours in low to middle income the genetic sequence of from one litre of the vaccine – a animal trials to the countries (LMICs),” says Pantelis the virus to producing a conventional vaccine approach first human trials Georgiou, Reader in Biomedical vaccine candidate would require about 10,000 litres Electronics at Imperial, who pioneered the approach. “Especially

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 10 Imperial’s COVID innovation

DnaNudge The COVID Nudge test uses the gold-standard RT-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique to test for the presence of the genetic material of the COVID-19 virus. The cartridge extracts RNA from a sample which is then inserted into the NudgeBox for analysis and reverse transcribing to DNA, producing results within 90 minutes. The cartridge has 72 tiny wells in its assay, known as a multiplex. This means the technology can detect the presence of human RNA, as well as viral RNA to eliminate ‘false negatives’, and can also assess the presence of several of the COVID-19 genes – including assays from both the WHO and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – to improve accuracy. The technology is also able to detect other viruses such as type A flu, type B flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). ICAH Visor Project

JAMVENT MediSieve

When he took his idea system to directly remove pathogens Throughout the pandemic, Imperial to Imperial’s Department of from the blood. The team was Bioengineering, they responded in the process of developing the initiatives and startups have helped within hours and a team, led by platform to treat sepsis through the NHS workers, the public and industry Dr Joseph Sherwood, took up the extraction of the harmful cytokines task. Three days later they had a produced by the human immune to stay safe. prototype and five weeks later the system. When the pandemic hit, design was available as open source they decided to redirect their R&D to as Lacewing has the potential to by Dr Jakob Mathiszig-Lee, who on the Imperial Consultants website, help treat COVID-19 by removing the conduct combined diagnostics was working on COVID-19 wards at with the ultimate goal of allowing cytokine IL-6 that, in severe cases, and detect, for example, malaria Royal Brompton Hospital during the JAMVENT to be produced around can lead to organ failure and death. alongside COVID-19.” outbreak and was acutely aware of the world at low cost to bring high- This treatment could ultimately the requirements of an emergency quality ventilation to all who need it. replace the current approach which TREATING PATIENTS ventilator and the need for a less Based at the Imperial White City uses immune suppressants to At the height of the pandemic, expensive but equally effective Incubator, MediSieve has been reduce cytokine levels. healthcare systems were being model. developing a magnetic filtration “We want to use our technology overwhelmed, not just by the so we can remove IL-6 at the time number of patients, but the complex it is causing harm,” says Cristina combination of symptoms that they Blanco-Andujar, Chief Technology were presenting. Faced with this Lacewing Officer at MediSieve. “But then challenge, several teams at Imperial stop this process as soon as The Lacewing technology is the first prototype of ProtonDx, a company started working on ways to improve cytokine levels are manageable so created by Imperial researchers to help fight infectious diseases in low current treatments. the patient’s immune system can to middle income countries. JAMVENT is a low-cost continue to function normally.” Dr Nicolas Moser developed the microchip and platform as part of emergency ventilator that performs his PhD at Imperial, was part of the Imperial Techcelerate programme, all the tasks required of an intensive PROTECTING AGAINST and is now on the MedTech SuperConnector. “From early on I’ve had care unit (ICU) ventilator but with a INFECTION the opportunity to innovate alongside studying,” says Dr Moser. “And design based on simple, affordable Throughout the pandemic, Imperial the insight from these programmes has proved invaluable during this components. initiatives and startups have helped time of development for the Lacewing technology.” The project to create an NHS workers, the public and industry emergency ventilator was triggered to stay safe.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Imperial’s COVID innovation 11

JAMVENT Safeguarding Twenty per cent of hospitalised COVID-19 patients require ventilation but standard ventilators cost £35,000 to our NHS workers manufacture. JAMVENT’s hardware is easy to manufacture using simple, low-cost components with no need for is essential in a specialist or medical supply chain. JAMVENT has applied for emergency approval from the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and they plan to connect with manufacturers who can offer the necessary support for fighting COVID-19 in-country distribution. and several Imperial-based initiatives have £1,500 5 383 contributed to manufacture compared to Five weeks from concept downloads of the design £35,000 for standard ventilators to full functionality from the website to this.

DASH is a mobility startup which, MAINTAINING AND before the pandemic, was growing SUPPORTING INNOVATION its business to provide e-bikes During the pandemic, the Imperial to industry using large facilities. College Advanced Hackspace When the pandemic took hold, the has remained active, supporting company redirected its endeavours. students and projects remotely. The Initially DASH provided e-bikes to Hack at Home sessions run by the those working at Imperial on vaccine Hackspace fellows were launched development and are now providing to provide an opportunity to discuss e-bikes to those companies planning projects and connect people. As a to return their employees back to the means to inspire innovation, the workplace safely. The scheme is by team set a number of challenges subscription and covers repair and that included finding a better way to maintenance. secure surgical masks and designing Co-founder David Watkins is on an adapter for ventilators using CAD. the Imperial MBA programme and More recently, the ICAH has part of the Enterprise Lab Summer launched sessions on prototyping Accelerator. “We’ve had support for research, aimed at enabling from the Experts-in-Residence at those back in the lab to accelerate DASH the Enterprise Lab for about six projects with design support from months,” says Watkins. “This has the Hackspace team. And, supported been fantastically helpful in enabling by the Enterprise Lab, the week-long us to pivot at a crucial time.” COVID-19 Recovery Challenge Protecting Hackathon took place in July, the NHS PROTECTING THE NHS bringing together 200 students Safeguarding our NHS workers is from universities around the world essential in fighting COVID-19 and who made up 43 teams working to several Imperial-based initiatives devise sustainable solutions to post- 3,000l have contributed to this. In April pandemic challenges. of alcohol donated by 2020, craft gin pioneers Sipsmith The pandemic has highlighted Sipsmith to make enough donated alcohol to allow a team from the importance of innovation, medical-grade hand sanitiser Imperial’s Department of Chemical entrepreneurship and agility in to wash up to 1.2 million Engineering to make medical-grade deep science technology to counter hands across hospitals in hand sanitiser across hospitals in current and future global crises. From North West London North West London. small startups to interdisciplinary Meanwhile a project led by research teams, Imperial has FreshCheck Imperial College Advanced nurtured what is needed to respond Hackspace (ICAH) and Imperial quickly and effectively to COVID-19, 38,500 Alumnus of the Venture Catalyst College Healthcare NHS Trust took ensuring teams can continue to work visors made for NHS staff from Challenge FreshCheck have developed over an entire floor of the I-HUB and translate their research and March until June on the ICAH an affordable spray that detects the to produce visors for NHS staff. technology into real, effective and visor project presence of biological and chemical The project developed, optimised timely solutions. contamination by simply changing and evaluated the visors to ensure colour when applied to a surface. they were appropriate for use, and Originally targeted at the food industry, Imperial volunteers assembled them, 60 FreshCheck is now receiving interest producing 50,000 over the spring volunteers from Imperial from a broader range of industries and summer months. The visor design working on the ICAH as surface contamination becomes a has recently been tested by BSI and is visor project priority for everyone. now CE marked.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 12 How to ... Make an impact on camera

HOW TO … Make an Choose the video conferencing tool that best suits your needs: The word Zoom entered the impact on everyday lexicon in 2020 as droves of people flocked to with Anne-Marie Tomchak the video conferencing tool while working and studying remotely. But remember camera that there are so many other options available. Think Anne-Marie Tomchak is a journalist and mid all the uncertainty of about the objectives of your 2020, one thing was for presentation, bearing in mind filmmaker who spent over a decade A sure: people spent a lot the number of attendees, broadcasting for the likes of the BBC before more time on camera. As someone duration of the session, who has worked in many different importance of security and moving into senior roles in tech and fashion presentation environments, I’m no ease of use, etc. stranger to being on screen. But at Mashable, British Vogue and Glamour UK, like many others I found myself respectively. Anne-Marie shares her top tips adapting to the ‘new normal’ with basic equipment at home. Just me, on how to make video calls work for you. my laptop and my living room. Here are my tips for what to consider for that all-important video call or presentation.

Avoid presentation software that relies on a live internet connection: Unless it’s a critical element of your demo, using live slides can be unpredictable. Give clear instructions on how to join and ensure there is no ambiguity about timings.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 How to ... Make an impact on camera 13

Make the most of natural light: Generally speaking, artificial light creates a stable and contained environment but it can take time to set up. If you want to have the flexibility to move location, then understanding how to make the most of natural light is the most straightforward option. Position Dress from the waist Embrace the your device so that the light is shining on you rather than behind you. up but don’t take that transformative Improvise using things like stacks of books and pillows to get your too literally: power of fashion device to the best light source. If you’re in a room with very little natural In a studio news environment and beauty: light, make use of table lamps. Avoid spotlights and venetian blinds as we tend to see news anchors There is no doubt that what they can be unflattering and distracting. in tailored, structured clothing you wear can change how you in block colours based on feel. So if putting on a pressed ‘what works’ on TV. Stripes shirt or some lipstick gives you are best avoided as they can a pep in your step, embrace it. strobe and be distracting. And Pin your hair back if you think remember, although you may it’s going to be a distraction only be visible from the waist and try not to wear anything up, things can erroneously that will rattle while you’re appear in shot. So best to presenting (like bangles). The avoid pyjama bottoms or fewer distractions, Be aware of your bermuda shorts unless they’re the better. Stabilise your listening face: relevant to the topic! environment: Think about what you look Test your internet connection, like when you are listening. charge your device, switch off Physical cues like nodding notifications and background can be more effective than noise and notify your house- Apply the fundamentals of filming verbal cues to show you and photography: hold to avoid unwanted are engaged. If you need Framing and camera angles make all the difference. interruptions. to interrupt, make use of For example, with the rule of thirds, your eyes are the questions or comments in the top third of the frame ensuring that you have function before taking yourself sufficient headroom and aren’t cropped out. Similarly, the camera angle off mute. Keeping the channel matters. Tilt it too low and it will be below your chin. Tilt it too high and it of communication as smooth can appear like you are looking down at the other participants. as possible is a priority.

If all else fails, Take your time: consider accessories: Sitting up straight makes you feel alert and signals that you are present. Take a deep breath A ring light and tripod can and remember to slow your delivery down. We tend to speed up when we are nervous. be a cost-effective way of Speak in your own voice and accent. Start the session with energy and be prepared with elevating your presentation notes or bullet points to fall back on. to a more polished aesthetic without needing to set up multiple lights. They are flattering and uniform.

Be selective with Maintain the what you show in End the meeting momentum: the background: gracefully: It can be a challenge to sustain Think about what is As with the real world, first charisma when speaking appropriate to show in the and last impressions count. to a virtual room of people background. Plants and Familiarise yourself with how you can’t see. Make use of paintings can soften the to hang up the call ahead of audio/visual assets and guest aesthetic. Decluttering the time so that you can leave speakers and structure the area so that it is non-descript the room as clearlyand as session with interludes of can also work. And if you really organised as you entered it. participation, if possible. want to have fun you can make a bespoke background.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 14 From bioengineering to breaking down bias

“Don’t be afraid to From bioengineering to fail. When you’re an engineer you’re trying to be perfect, when in breaking down bias entrepreneurship it’s the opposite.” Growing up, Riham Satti knew one thing was for sure – she wasn’t going to be an entrepreneur …

nd yet, she is now CEO and Were there any other influences thought, okay, a PhD might be the co-founder of MeVitae, a that inspired you to get into way to go, I could answer some of A tech startup on a mission to these fields? those questions. remove cognitive and unconscious I have a medical condition, it’s bias from recruitment. She’s also a cardiac-related, and I always When did you move into business mentor at London Business wondered, how can I fix me? How entrepreneurship? And what School, a top 100 influential UK tech do I get better? How do I do it made you decide you wanted to business leader and a TEDx speaker. effectively? How do I build the next start your own business? Funny, how things turn out. pacemaker? I thought: I’m going to As I said at the very beginning, With a background in be my own cure. I was driven to build I wasn’t interested in bioengineering (including a Master’s technology to solve big challenges entrepreneurship; that was the one from Imperial, no less) and an MSc and help society. thing I knew I didn’t want to do, so (Res) in Neuroscience (from Oxford that’s fate for you! – we’ll forgive her that one), Riham Why did you choose to study It came as a pure accident. At the aims to understand how things work at Imperial? time, my co-founder was talking to and then make them better. Being a Londoner, I wanted to be in some friends and discovered that Following “a bunch of mishaps London. Reputation and academic every student finishes university and serendipities,” Riham has excellence were also key as I wanted with a whole bunch of stuff that they become a startup founder, champion to go into academia. I wanted to do don’t want or need. A friend had a of diversity and mentor to young a PhD so I knew I needed to get into flat-screen TV, which back then was entrepreneurs. a top institution to do that. pretty expensive, and I was like, “You It was also the lecturers don’t want that?” Growing up, what made you want that Imperial had. I’m still in He was willing to give it away for to be a scientist and engineer? communication with quite a few free, and I thought: how many other I wanted to be everything; you name of them because they were a true students are willing to give up stuff it, I wanted to be it. One thing I didn’t inspiration. These are people I’ll never that they didn’t need? I said to him: want to be was an entrepreneur. forget, who showed me the beauty “Why don’t we just build a website I had doctors in my family, I of technology and medicine. To be out of it and see what happens?” had engineers in my family, but honest, those are the reasons why I We built Swapplr and had people no hybrids. Medical engineering picked Imperial. You had the best! trading on there. I bought a bike at the time was such a new space. there. But it was purely an accident, There weren’t that many medical You went on to do a PhD in pure serendipity. I wasn’t planning engineers, right? Some clinical Neuroscience at the University on starting a company out of it. engineers were working in the NHS, of Oxford. How did you go from but medical engineers were rare at bioengineering to neuroscience, Did you enjoy being an the time. and what was the career path you entrepreneur? At 16 I started to think, what were looking to go down? Yes, it was contagious. When you’re am I going to do when I grow up? When I was at Imperial, doing a PhD, you specialise, then Medicine and engineering were neuroscience was one of the things you specialise some more and then both on that list. Is there something that always crept up. I like to answer specialise again. One thing I didn’t out there that combines both? big questions or try to answer big know back in the day was I’m not Amazingly, Imperial had that questions. I never can, but always try! a specialist, I’m a generalist. I’m combination – I was so excited Understanding how the brain one of those people that likes to because biomedical engineering works was a very big question in do different things. Having studied was such a hybrid role. I got to my head (excuse the pun). It’s a bit medical engineering, I would have understand anatomy as well as how like astrophysicists who are trying to thought I’d have learned that. It isn’t to build electronic stuff and robotics, understand the universe. The brain is until you’re building logo designs, it was ... a dream! like the universe to me, and I always doing some marketing and getting wondered: how do these wires work? involved in the tech, that you realise How do they connect? Is there a that actually, I want to do a bit of circuit? Some of the projects that everything. I did in my undergrad drove that. I

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 From bioengineering to breaking down bias 15

How did you go from Swapplr bunch of mishaps and coincidences. You end up with a sanitised profile. I think the answer lies in the to MeVitae? Diversity kicked in a couple of years This kind of blind recruiting technique organisation’s culture and its values. We needed to make revenue. I ago when I realised that things allows organisations to decide who A lot of people talk about fit, right? considered advertising, but didn’t weren’t equal in the hiring world and to take through to the hiring process They say you need to have a good want a bunch of adverts on my that the solutions to try and make without having these biases. fit between the employer and the website! Investors would ask: “How it equal weren’t technical solutions. The second is a decision-making candidates, for example. Now, to are you going to make money?” Unconscious bias training wasn’t system or a talent detector that retain top talent you have to first hire and I came up with the most stupid always effective. I thought: how do takes the CV and job description and the right talent. There’s a study by answers, like: “Facebook doesn’t we use our expertise in this space? uses the web to try and understand Harvard Business School that says make money, they’re fine”. I was so Our team members, like building what skills that candidate possesses 80 per cent of employee turnover naive, and I think they were just like: tech and solving problems, and without them explicitly saying it. It’s is due to bad hiring decisions, “Okay, this girl is not serious at all.” I that’s how diversity and inclusion a matching tool that will analyse so you have to hire the right had to go back to the drawing board. started to come into play. Now it’s university website information, books people to retain them. Assuming We were debating, do we become the core of what we do and articles to try and funnel out the that’s done, the way companies continue with Swapplr? Do we go and what we stand for – fairness, top talent. We’re trying to refocus engage with employees is very, get jobs? At that time Vivek, my co- equality, truth and problem-solving. employers’ and recruiters’ eyes, so very important. Employees want a founder, had just finished studying they spend less time on the biased sense of belonging, a sense that computer science and wanted to get How did you find the process of information and more on what counts. they don’t feel like human capital. a job at Microsoft, which turned out going out to get investment? If you treat people like people, they to be the start of MeVitae. Raising investment is hard. I’m not What is it about having a diverse are more empathetic, they’re more We were thinking: how do you going to lie. It takes a lot out of team that makes it more efficient sympathetic, and they’re more loyal get a job at Microsoft? How do you. At the time we were raising or perform better? as well. you go through the non-traditional investment and trying to get clients Because we all think differently – routes to get a job? We thought: as well, I would go into a meeting, some people are strategists, some Is there a standout bit of advice Vivek knows how to build tech so meet an investor, then I’d spend are more statistical and some are that has been imparted to you? could he build an app for your CV? the train trip back home thinking: more creative. When you group Don’t be afraid to fail. When you’re Where you can just put your CV in an what have I done people together an engineer you’re trying to be app format, put it on the Windows wrong? What who have different perfect, when in entrepreneurship Store and see what happens? He have I said? What “Imperial strengths and it’s the opposite. You experiment, did that initially, and Microsoft came haven’t I thought weaknesses, you you try new things, you push the back and said: “This app serves no about? How do I lecturers showed can have stronger boundaries, and you try and do it purpose to anyone at all, we can’t improve? me the beauty of benefits just as quickly and fail fast. publish it.” We opened it up to the You have to a result of that. I love the phrase: FAIL = First public so they could put their own do that over and technology and That’s just purely Attempt In Learning. If you’re CVs on there, and thought maybe over again, so medicine.” how our brains are learning fast, you can execute faster. then it’d be accepted. you need to build wired. Everyone I got an email from Microsoft up a thick skin to thinks differently What’s the most rewarding thing saying: “Your app has been ranked push yourself forward. If you can’t and everyone adapts differently to about being an entrepreneur? the top Windows Store app” and take criticism, then it’s a big problem different situations. Bringing those I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur we had 50,000 downloads in a few in the investor world. But do you people together to brainstorm and now I love being an weeks. Before you know it, we’re at know what? I grew the most in that solutions and to come up with entrepreneur. I wouldn’t change Microsoft’s offices to discuss what time. It’s so important not to just ideas can create a lot of innovation a thing. I’d do it all over again if I we’ve built. Being an academic, the take money for the sake of money and solutions within organisations. could; it’s rewarding because you’re first thing you do is research, so I but to take money because people That’s excluding all the bottom-line doing what you love. I know it’s so started researching the market, to believe in what you’re doing and benefits organisations receive. cliched, everyone says that, but understand what it looked like, what you stand for and that they can when you’re building your company and realised how fragmented contribute directly to your growth. When starting a company, how do with your ideas and objectives, you’re it was. There are companies you make sure you’re building a in control and you have a sense of on one side, candidates on How does the tech aspect of diverse team? what you’re contributing to society. the other and recruitment MeVitae work? As you start scaling, tapping into You can’t get better than that. agencies in the middle In the HR world, there are things different networks and making and it was just a big called application tracking systems, sure that you’re building a strong What’s the one thing you know pipeline mess. With and that is how a lot of organisations team that has different areas of now that you wish you had known an engineering manage their hiring processes. expertise is crucial. You also need when you were starting out? background, MeVitae plugs into those systems to make sure you surround yourself Oh, I could write a book on that! you think: “This and then sits in the background with advisers and mentors who I needed to believe in myself. I needs fixing,” trying to debias everything. We do have done it before, and those wasn’t a risk-taker before I was very so that’s when this in several ways. First is what people should be diverse – not risk-averse. I was always doubting MeVitae kind of we call blind recruiting. The system necessarily in terms of prescribed myself: am I doing the right thing? Is started. takes someone’s CV, analyses it characteristics, but diverse in terms this the right track? using natural language processing of their experience and expertise. Sometimes just a bit of So, the initial technology, and analyses things confidence, even if it’s the “fake it ’til idea wasn’t based on a CV that can relate to a bias – Once they’ve created a more you make it” kind, is all it takes to get around diversity and someone’s name, gender, location, diverse workforce, what should you started and make a difference. inclusion? activities, hobbies – then the companies do to create a culture And don’t forget to remain true That’s right! My entire journey is a software will redact all of that stuff. where staff want to stay? to yourself.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 16 #InventedAtImperial: Treeconomy

#InventedAtImperial Treeconomy

Harry Grocott, (Founder/CEO) Robert Godfrey, (MSc Climate Change, (Co-founder) Management & Finance (MSc Environmental (2020) Technology 2020)

Treeconomy The problem accuracy and scalability. We package over time as the price of carbon The Committee on Climate Change this as carbon offsets and sell these appreciates. The current carbon provides an income has a target of 30,000 trees to be high-quality offsets to corporates – price varies from single digits for landowners planted annually as part of the providing a strong financial incentive up to £24 in the UK, but UK’s legally binding Net Zero 2050 and reward to our ‘carbon farmers’. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate by planting trees, strategy, but last year only 13,000 Our corporate offset purchasers Change (IPCC) estimates suggest measuring the carbon were planted. Farmers manage get a higher quality carbon offset that future carbon pricing could be 71 per cent of the UK’s land area due to our technology advantage north of $100 per tonne. captured with new and will clearly be involved in this and are willing to pay a premium for drone technology and planting but many are cash poor and these offsets, particularly as they How did your team meet? struggle to justify the opportunity are domestically sourced, but also We met through a sustainability selling this as carbon cost of tree planting. Farmers want to because we can guarantee that the masterclass held at Imperial in June offset packages to maintain the lifestyle of farming, but carbon we sell has actually been 2019. Treeconomy had just joined unless they can sustain themselves captured and stored. That means the Climate-KIC LaunchPad and I had corporates looking to financially, they won’t be able to. more money for our carbon farmers, been invited to the soft launch of the hit net zero targets. On the other side of the coin, and a virtuous circle. White City Campus as part of that. companies are increasingly setting During the networking I met David net zero carbon targets, and are Where did the idea Wheeler (co-founder at Academy finding there simply aren’t many originate? for Sustainable innovation, and UK-domestic carbon capture projects Harry was working in wealth Principal at Sustainable Transitions), from which to buy offsets. management but couldn’t find a who liked the sound of Treeconomy credible investment that would and invited me to present the The solution provide both a financial return and idea at his masterclass that week, At Treeconomy, we provide a service a positive climate impact, which is called the Academy for Sustainable and marketplace to landowners what a lot of high-net-worth clients Innovation. I presented, Rob was in who plant trees and woodlands. were interested in. Trees and forests the masterclass and we went We use drone-based LiDAR to could provide a great investment from there. quantify the carbon captured which profile: plant trees, quantify carbon differentiates us from the rest of our captured, sell the carbon yearly, Do you have any advisers? potential competitors. Current project receive income. It would provide a Our main adviser is Dr Irina developers use tape measures to very credible income-investment, Fedorenko, previous co-founder of provide a best estimate, which limits and one which should increase BioCarbon Engineering, a drone

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 #InventedAtImperial: Treeconomy 17

How Imperial has supported the team 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 Climate-KIC Experts-in- Venture Catalyst IVMS Imperial Residence Challenge Innovation Fund analytics and tree-planting during the programme. The company. She has a PhD Trees and other nature-based community aspect of it is from the University of Oxford great, as you are surrounded and is currently working on solutions can provide more by some very creative and a number of great projects motivated individuals in including as Managing than a third of the cost-effective semi-competitive, semi- Director of Caux Dialogue on collaborative environment. Environment and Security. mitigation between now and 2030 I found it incredibly We are fortunate to motivational, and I think now have a number of even if you aren’t naturally other advisers through the competitive, just being in the Imperial Venture Mentoring environment and learning Service, as well as through from others is incredibly an AgriTech accelerator valuable. The programme programme, Shake Climate given us a great platform! other avenues that could Enterprise Lab with an idea is very clearly structured, Change, who have connected Our previous success support growth. and some research, but the with weekly masterclasses us with a few advisers with came in November 2019 business coaching has really on specific topics and domain expertise relevant where we pitched in the What advice would helped us to crystallise the subjects. It gave Treeconomy to agriculture and land Climate-KIC LaunchPad global you give to aspiring business case. The coaching great structure to lean on management. final in Amsterdam with entrepreneurs? has provided the frameworks for our development and teams from all over the world. Get uncomfortable. Accept we needed to channel our informed our focus in our What stage is the that you don’t know enthusiasm constructively own meetings. The access business at and what What’s been the biggest everything at this stage and and efficiently, through to 1-2-1 pitch coaching and are your plans moving challenge? ask others for help. We have practical sessions on feedback from investors in forward? Matching the need to the benefitted massively from business model design and the buildup to the final was We are still pre-seed. Our business case has been other people’s support and timeline setting. We have also very valuable. It is very main project is currently the hardest part for us. We our best meetings have also had support through easy to lose sight of the core designing a few test sites, all know that action has to come when we have been Experts-in-Residence on commercial direction of the where we will be planting up be taken to mitigate and honest about what we do the legal side, specifically business, and to focus on to 100 hectares of forestry adapt to climate change, and don’t know. Secondly, with intellectual property short-term details. Speaking and testing our drone-LiDAR and that it has to happen I would say to research and trademarks. Lastly, to the investors was a good system. The great thing with fast. But building the opportunities – there we have had a number of reminder of the core focuses LiDAR is that it gives us a business and investment are loads of grants and pitch practice sessions, to become an investable 3D map of the planted area. case has been challenging. accelerator programmes some in person and some, proposition. Current carbon calculation Especially because we focus where you can learn a lot. more recently, remotely via It’s also great to have still uses tape measures and on trees and nature-based We have done well just Zoom. It’s been great to been asked to list for the means you have to have a solutions and there is often through putting ourselves get feedback on different Imperial Innovation Fund. very rigid, grid-like planting a perception that it is a out there and building some pitch ideas, especially It feels like a great bridge regime. Using LiDAR means limited and flawed method. awareness through our as we have moved from and opportunity for us to we can be more flexible This couldn’t be further from personal networks and the in-person pitches to online, showcase to investors the with our planting types, the truth; trees and other networks of accelerators we as the method of delivery opportunity that Treeconomy so we will be testing both nature-based solutions can participated in. Included with for an effective presentation represents, and to “hard ecological innovation as provide more than a third of the knowledge and networks changes a lot. launch” our business as well as the technology. the cost-effective mitigation is grant funding, which The Venture Catalyst we graduate and take the between now and 2030. is pretty key to get some Challenge was hugely business on full time. What’s been your biggest Building both the traction, and is pretty much important to Treeconomy’s success so far? awareness of how effective a pre-requisite now before development. It’s quite Winning the Venture Catalyst nature-based solutions considering equity funding intense alongside your Get in touch: Challenge People’s Prize can be, as well as tailoring – if you can prove customer studies, but it means that Website: was great for us! We’ve it to a specific customer demand, or build a very you can really pick up some www.treeconomy.co actually had a lot of interest need and want has been a basic prototype with grant momentum and it forces Twitter: stemming from it, with three very difficult balancing act. funding, it will speed up your you to tackle some very @Treeconomyltd potential angel investors We are confident now that development massively. specific areas which are LinkedIn: reaching out specifically we have at least two core vital to success – including Treeconomyltd citing they saw us win and customer needs and are Support from Imperial customer discovery which wanted to talk further. It’s looking into a number of We approached the was a big push for us

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 18 The founder formula

Founder fall outs are all too common. We’ve all seen The Social Network and Mark Zuckerberg’s spectacular million-dollar fall-out with best friend and co-founder Eduardo Saverin, so finding the right co-founder to share your entrepreneurial journey is vital. Talent investor Entrepreneur First, have found the formula …

ounded in 2011, Did you always want to Entrepreneur First has be an entrepreneur? F turned the standard The thing that really accelerator model on its cemented it for me was head, investing in people doing Young Enterprise in with ‘the edge’ rather sixth form. My family weren’t than big ideas. They bring particularly businessy, together cohorts of the having military and medical world’s brightest future backgrounds, and I didn’t founders and allow them really know anyone who time to develop co-founding was in business, but doing relationships, and a Enterprise in sixth form, business idea, whilst on suddenly I was like: oh wow! the cohort. This ‘inorganic’ This is really interesting The founder relationship and being able to create building, was the brainchild something from scratch of Entrepreneur First co- that’s creative and new and founders Alice Bentinck MBE exciting, and having the and Matt Clifford, and it has opportunity to sell it and successfully nurtured over make money from it really founder 2,000 people to create more opened my eyes. I think that than 300 companies worth was probably the moment over a combined $2 billion. where I realised that I Alice Bentinck definitely wanted a career, not just in has ‘the edge’. She quit business, but in doing my her job as a management own thing. formula consultant at McKinsey and turned down a role at Where did the idea Google to start Entrepreneur come from? First, challenging the After a couple of years investment status quo, working at McKinsey, Matt and has gone on to receive and I both realised that we numerous accolades weren’t going to be lifelong including a place in the Top management consultants. 50 Most Inspiring Women At the time, around in European Tech, an MBE 2008/2009, there really for services to business and wasn’t much infrastructure was named one of London’s around starting a startup, most Influential People by and the new Silicon the Evening Standard. Roundabout was being D/srupt spoke to Alice heralded by the government. about finding people with McKinsey did a piece of work ‘the edge’, striving for on how to build Tech City diversity in tech and why and one of the footnotes founder break-ups aren’t said it would be great to necessarily a bad thing … have a graduate scheme for entrepreneurs. We took that, having recently been graduates ourselves, and thought: okay, how do we turn that into a business?

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 19

How do we bring this to life? relationships. Largely and a half people during same problems and you And that was the original because when somebody that eight-week period end up with very crowded idea for EF. joins EF they have the before they find the right spaces. So what we say opportunity to pick from 99 co-founder for them. to our founders is, what is Has the concept changed other individuals who are all the problem that you have over the last nine years? committed and ready to start What makes the perfect a unique edge in solving? So many things have a startup at the same time as founder? We’re asking them to think changed about the business them. We then do a bunch The two things that we look about what skills, expertise and I think anyone starting of training, provide loads of for are somebody’s ability and knowledge they have a company knows that your support around how to find relative to their peers, and that is different, unique and first idea is never your last the best co-founder for you somebody’s skills relative valuable compared with and even now, almost ten and how to build the right to their peers. And skills, in other people. We call this years in, it’s still iterating dynamic. So after we invest, many ways, is the easier one their edge. We’re looking and changing all the time. we see very few co-founder to assess; you either have for individuals who have an The thing that has remained break-ups. the skills or you don’t. The edge in solving a problem the same is this idea of ability stuff, which is more compared to others. talent investing: finding What do you mean by around personality, is where very ambitious, high-impact breaking up with a co- it gets really interesting. So How do you know if you’re individuals before they’ve founder and how do you we like individuals who have ready to jump in and start started anything and manage those difficult a very strong rise to action. a business? really taking them on that discussions at such an We want to see individuals You’re never ready. You’ll journey, helping them find early stage? who, in the past, have made never have enough a co-founder and develop The first part of the things happen. They have experience, enough cash, an idea. programme is all about usually set up stuff in the enough network, enough One of the things that EF experimentation and I think past, maybe an organisation, proof that your idea is going really challenged in the early this is one of the unique a society, but they have that to work, but one of the days was this idea that you things you can do at EF that personality where they are things that I used to think needed a team, an idea and you can’t do in the wild, willing to drive something about whether I should a company to be able to get where most people come forward even if there’s no start EF or not – I had a job any investment or support. into founding a startup with one pushing them forward. at Google, and was sort of We flipped that on its head a preconceived idea about One of the other choosing between doing EF – and we had a lot of push the kind of person they want characteristics we look for is and doing Google, and Jeff back – to say, actually, to found with. We find often somebody who is an outlier, Bezos has this thing called you can take amazing people end up co-founding we want somebody who the Regret Minimization individuals and teach them with somebody who is the has done things and taken Framework, which is why how to develop an idea, complete opposite to what decisions that are different he established Amazon, you can help them find a they were expecting. So compared with their peers. and basically, the idea is co-founder, it doesn’t have really, the first eight weeks It could be turning down you should do the stuff that to be somebody that you’ve of the programme is just an a traditional career path you’re going to regret not known since kindergarten or opportunity to experiment or that they’ve challenged having done when you’re your best friends. Actually, with different individuals. within their career some 70, and I think there are a Anyone that doesn’t necessarily You have the opportunity to dearly held status quo and lot of people out there who always work and this model spend two weeks working pushed for an alternative. talk about founding a startup starting a of inorganic team building together, see what it’s like, The final bit is the idea of and most people won’t. So, that we’ve created has now and then you can break up. followership; so not only if it’s something that you’ll company become the default in many You can have an honest are you an outlier, not only regret, take the plunge, the ways. In the same way that conversation with each are you somebody who is best way to learn how to knows the dating world has moved other and say, actually, driving towards action, you do it is to do it. I still think from being about meeting this isn’t working and then, take people on that journey, the biggest thing stopping that your somebody through friends amazingly, there’s someone you can make people follow people from starting startups or at a party to now online else for you to test with. It’s you, you can lead people. is themselves. They won’t let first idea dating, where you have a the difference between, out themselves take that risk. much bigger selection of in the wild or, in organic Having the idea’s almost Actually, the nice thing is never potential partners and I team building, maybe the hardest bit, how do about starting a company in suppose what EF does is there’s one person, maybe you encourage that? 2020 is that the downside your last. very similar. two people if you’re lucky It’s something we’ve spent is so low, even if you fail that you could co-found a long time developing and it doesn’t work out, the What’s the success rate of with, so you’ve really got to frameworks around. If you contribution to your CV will inorganic team building? make it work. Whereas at EF, go online and read about make you more employable I think this is one of the you can have a very honest where to find an idea, lots and the skills and the things that was really difficult and real conversation about of people talk about solving mindsets that you develop, for people to get their heads whether this is the right a problem that you have in having gone through the around when we first started. co-founder for you because your day-to-day life. Now, founder process, will make Co-founding relationships you have other options. So the challenge with that is you more attractive as an are stronger than organic key people go to about two that most people have the employee. →

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 20 The founder formula

Founders on the EF cohort Plan to succeed ...

→ What do you see happening Many Imperial graduates go on to whether it’s Bill Gates or Mark for the startup ecosphere in the join EF. What is it about Imperial Zuckerberg. The UK is becoming so next ten years? graduates that makes them good at building these deep tech Globally, the speed that startup successful? companies that have defensible, ecosystems are changing and Two things that combine beautifully. cutting-edge technology at their developing is just insane, it’s One is the quality of the education, core, actually, to be the leader of a fantastic. I think this idea of people the students we work with are company like that you do need to changing their career aspirations leaders in their field and are understand what’s being developed, globally to see founding a startup as incredibly talented. What makes what’s being created, and we find the number one thing they can do, Globally, the Imperial students different and that individuals who have technical is one of the most important global really stand out is their level of backgrounds do make excellent trends at the moment. One of the speed that startup commerciality and willingness to CEOs for those kinds of companies. knock-on effects of this is that for the ecosystems are step out of academia and apply One of the things we do at EF is a lot last decade Silicon Valley has been what they’re doing and turn that of training on how to be commercial the undisputed king, or queen, of changing and into something that can impact and how to communicate, and I startups. All the talent, all the money, developing is millions of people across the world. think that’s often invaluable for the in a very tightly concentrated area. Imperial students seem to have that technologists that join us. Now, even Silicon Valley is just insane, it’s level of ambition, risk-seeking and beginning to acknowledge that the fantastic. willingness to take that kind of leap. You also set up Code First Girls. next wave of unicorns are probably Was that because of the lack of going to come from outside the What are your top tips for going diversity in tech? Valley, and that it’s unlikely that any from an academic or technologist Oh, yes, when we first started, I other hub is going to become an into a founder? was really appalled by the lack equivalent size. There’s going to be We get very excited about CEOs who of diversity. The tech world really lots of smaller, denser, distributed have a technical background. If you struggles with this and it starts at hubs across the world that different look at many of the best CEOs of university level, unfortunately, where talent pools can access. startups and scaleups in the world, it’s about 16 per cent female at the they have technical backgrounds, undergraduate computer science

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 The founder formula 21

Founders on the EF cohort don’t plan to fail. level and, unfortunately, that just If you could recommend one continues the whole way through. book to aspiring entrepreneurs, We’ve always seen a very poor what would it be? gender ratio at EF and it’s something I think it would have to be Reid that we’ve been trying to tackle for Hoffman,The Start-up of You, which many years. Code First Girls was our helps you understand how to take first attempt to help young women, that plunge and how to frame your at the point where they’re making life in an entrepreneurial way. But decisions about their career, upskill I think if you’re just at that very themselves so they can have a beginning stage, it’s a really career in technology. good read. Over the last six/seven years, we’ve had almost 20,000 women Is there a standout piece of go through Code First Girls. It’s our advice that you’ve been contribution to try and address given along the way in your the gender imbalance within the entrepreneurial career? technology space. There’s still a Plan to succeed, don’t plan to fail. huge amount of work that we need It’s really interesting watching Magic Pony to do at EF to encourage more who does well on the programme, Magic Pony was created by two Imperial graduates who met at EF. One women to consider being a founder and it’s often the individuals who was a Master’s student, one was a PhD student and within 18 months an attractive career path. And as don’t allocate any brain space to they had built Magic Pony and sold it to Twitter for a reported $150 a female founder myself, it is the mitigating downside risk. They million. What’s really interesting about that story is that both Zehan most exciting, challenging, flexible in put all their energy and effort into and Rob, the founders, were hugely entrepreneurial but weren’t sure many ways, career path, but I think succeeding and only thinking about how to turn that entrepreneurial ambition into a career. By joining EF often women hold themselves back the future and what’s ahead of them, they were able to meet each other, experiment with different ideas and from considering it as an option they’re not second guessing and pursue the business that would eventually be very lucrative for them. because it’s perceived to be protecting their back just in too risky. they failed.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 22 How to ... Perfect your pitch

HOW TO … Perfect your pitch

Think of the last pitch competition you attended. Do you Want to practice your pitch? Sign up for the next Pitch ‘n’ Mix event remember what they pitched? I often catch myself having a hard at www.imperialenterpriselab. time telling people about the business I’ve just seen pitch a com/pitch-n-mix couple of hours before that.

By Lisa Makarova, Pitch Expert-in- Residence, Imperial Enterprise Lab and Emma Sexton, Design Expert-in- Residence, Imperial Enterprise Lab

sually, by the time I get home, most of them are forgotten. U You could, of course, say I need to train my memory, but you could also think whether there is something the founders could have done better. Think about the ones you do remember. Why do you think that is? I remember them because they created a picture in my mind. And so should you.

Tell them a good story It’s early days – you’re probably pre-revenue and maybe even pre-product. You might think you have the best thing in the world but ultimately the only thing you have is an idea. You have to convince make sure to use the words they Tip: When creating a design for Then adjust the size of text or the people this is a great one and understand. And understand them your pitch deck ask yourself: layout so that you have three very get them excited about it. With a the same way you do. “What do I want my audience clear levels of communication. limited track record, you’re trying to to think and feel when they see convince people – be that potential Tip: Avoid jargon at all cost. And if my deck?” Read the room investors or mentors or any other you can’t find a way to do without, The best pitches aren’t just the ones stakeholders – that you are worth make sure you use it right. Saying Think like a designer with the best storytelling or slide their time and money. You have to it’s AI when it’s not might be a fatal When visual design is used design – they are the ones who also paint a picture of the bright future for mistake for your company. in its purest form it is there to know who is in the room they are your business and for them if they communicate. A good visual presenting to. were to join you. Convince them it’s Perception is everything designer is not making things look To be engaging and memorable possible, connect the disconnected You have about three seconds to pretty but thinking about how they you need to connect with the dots. Tell them a good story. make an impression. How your pitch are communicating the content. audience by making the story deck looks can play a huge role in One of the items in a designer’s relevant and meaningful to them. Tip: Think of your pitch as a story. the perception you want to leave in toolbox is knowing how to use visual Does it have a clear storyline? people’s minds. Your audience will be hierarchy. This is the arrangement Tip: Before you present your Does it flow? Or are you losing thinking: “Can I trust you?”. We trust and presentation of the elements on pitch deck take a moment to people halfway? well-designed things. Visual design is page in relation to their importance. create a ‘pen portrait’ of who something you can get to work really It is also about influencing the order you will be talking to. What do Make it very simple hard for you in those early stages. that you want the human eye to they need to know? What are The story doesn’t only have to Do you want to look like a credible navigate through your content. they motivated by? Now review flow well. It also has to be told business? Do you want to position your deck – how can you in a language that people will yourself alongside the big players Tip: Once you are happy with the change it to connect with understand. Investors are smart and already in your market? Investing in a content on a slide, stop and think this audience? don’t like it when someone makes professional brand designer can help about the first, second and third them feel stupid. So you better you to achieve all of these things. thing you want people to see.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 How to ... Get investor ready 23

Top tips for getting HOW TO … ‘investor ready’: Get investor ready 7. Engage in conversations With Brijesh Roy, Seed Investment Manager, Imperial College London with investors with confidence The term ‘investor-readiness’ is widely and a positive attitude whilst used, but difficult to define. It’s not being responsive surprising that founders are unsure to feedback and 6. Every investor requests for more is different and how to approach raising investment. information. looking for different things. Make sure you hey have to think about every aspect do an initial evaluation to decide if your company seek advice of their business and often rely on their is a fit for their interests and worth investigating and opinions T common sense and existing networks to in more detail. Many startups get this far with a on investment make progress. Few, however, will have had any polished pitch-deck or video, but then get stuck if 5. Prepare a data strategy from exposure to startup finance beyond TV shows like an investor says they are interested to know more. room with all your multiple sources. Dragon’s Den or HBO’s Silicon Valley. Investors are likely to ask a series of questions important company As Seed Investment Manager at Imperial, I about specific areas of your business and want to information support founders from the College’s staff, student see much more detailed information. Founders eg, business and alumni community to raise investment for need to be prepared with relevant information plan, financial their startups. In the six months since joining about your business’ history and future plans, projections and the College, I’ve met over 100 Imperial startup particularly detailed financials. The amount of legal documents – founders and their teams to offer them advice on information and the level of detail will vary hugely investors will want 4. Provide details financing strategy and raising investment. We’ve for each business. A sensible rule of thumb is to see detailed of how you will use discovered fun and driven teams in seed-stage that if something is critical to your business information for the investment, companies from deep technology to consumer- then an investor will want to see it and if one evaluation and due when you expect driven services and have made introductions investor wants to see something, then others diligence – be ready to raise further to over 100 investors that make up the growing invariably want to see it too. If an investor decides to share details. investment Imperial Startup Investor Network of angel and to make an investment offer, then subsequent and give a clear venture investors. steps will involve signing legal agreements, and rationale why One of the questions I am invariably asked I recommend all startups get legal advice before their shares will by founders is whether they’re ‘investor-ready’, going any further. increase in value. and on the other hand, I regularly hear concerns This summer we launched the Imperial College from investors asking why so few early-stage Innovation EIS Fund 1, raising £2 million, and from 3. Be prepared companies are ‘investor-ready’. There’s a vast September will make investments of £100,000 to tell investors amount of fundraising advice available for to £250,000 into startups founded by College how you will startups, but many founders I speak to feel staff, students and alumni. We plan to make two identify and reach confused and find the advice is often conflicting. investments every two months until the fund is your customers This is mostly because startup investors are a fully invested, and I am lucky to have the principal 2. Tell your startup and who else is diverse bunch making decisions on different role identifying companies and making investment story in under chasing these same criteria. proposals for the fund. For companies shortlisted, five minutes – customers – your Imperial’s Startup Investor Network ranges we will work with them to ensure that they are what have you competitors. from high-net-worth individuals seeking to invest ready to present to our committee of seasoned achieved and what £10,000 of their own money after a few meetings investors, entrepreneurs and senior academics. are your plans to the professional venture capital investors who Any Imperial startup founder that is considering for the company do months of detailed due diligence ahead of raising investment in the next year is welcome – remember, making a £10 million investment. Unsurprisingly, to register via our website for individual advice, investors are what each individual investor is looking for is access to the investor network and to apply to the buying a share of different and what each means by ‘investor-ready’ Imperial Innovation Fund. 1. Remember your company, not is correspondingly different. you are raising your service or When it comes to early-stage investing, all the investment – technology. information is provided directly by the company start by telling Find out more: itself. Founders need to clearly present the story investors how www.imperial.ac.uk/enterprise/ of why they are raising investment, what they will much investment business/industry-partnerships-and- do with the money, and explain why the investor you are raising and commercialisation/investment should expect to make a profit. A five-minute slide when you want it. presentation should be sufficient for an investor to

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 24 Entrepreneurship at Imperial

Entrepreneurship at Imperial

At Imperial, we have a thriving ecosystem of workspaces, events and programmes all designed to support you on your entrepreneurial journey. Whether you’re looking to expand your network and be inspired, validate your idea and win some initial funding, secure lab space for research and development, or get the ideal mentors to help you raise funding, the Enterprise Division has the support for you.

GROW Ventures development — Experts-in-Residence   VALIDATE — IVMS   — Path to Growth   — WE Innovate   EXPLORE   KEY: — Summer Accelerator

1 Open to all — Venture Catalyst Challenge 2   Students — Idea Challenge   3 Postdocs INSPIRE — (VCC) 4   Staff — Idea Surgeries ƒ 5 Alumni — Techcelerate Ž   6 Researchers — How To Talks — Pitch ’n’ Mix 7 PhD Students — MedTech SuperConnector — Chain Reactions — Discovery Fund   — (MTSC) „ — Speaker Series Ž — Innovation Academy   — DTX-Lab   — Hackspace Demo Day Ž — Prototype Fund  — Hack Skills  — Hack Surgeries   — WE Activity Series   — Hack Ed  — WE Inspire Conference Ž Skills development

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Entrepreneurship at Imperial 25

Turn to the next page to find out more about the events, programmes and the teams that run them.

GROW Ventures development — Experts-in-Residence   VALIDATE — IVMS   — Path to Growth   — WE Innovate   EXPLORE — Summer Accelerator   — Venture Catalyst Challenge — Idea Challenge   INSPIRE — (VCC)   — Idea Surgeries   — Techcelerate ƒ — How To Talks Ž — Pitch ’n’ Mix   — MedTech SuperConnector — Chain Reactions — Discovery Fund   — (MTSC) „ — Speaker Series Ž — Innovation Academy   — DTX-Lab   — Hackspace Demo Day Ž — Prototype Fund  — Hack Skills  — Hack Surgeries   — WE Activity Series   — Hack Ed  — WE Inspire Conference Ž Skills development

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 26 Entrepreneurship at Imperial

Entrepreneurship at Imperial

Delivered by Imperial’s Enterprise Division

Imperial Enterprise Lab t Imperial Enterprise PROGRAMMES WE Inspire – An annual Pitch ‘n’ Mix – A monthly meetings with experts, Lab we’re passionate AND EVENTS: conference celebrating speed pitching session resulting in the grand final A about inspiring the achievements of where you can meet with a prize fund of over the next generation of Idea Challenge – Kicks women and women-led your fellow student £50,000. student innovators and off the academic year teams in leadership and entrepreneurs, practise your entrepreneurs. with an afternoon of entrepreneurship. Part of our pitch and meet new people. Experts-in-Residence Based at Imperial’s South brainstorming fun to solve a Women’s Entrepreneurship One-to-one access to Kensington Campus, the grand challenge, meet new series. Discovery Fund – A grant specialists in everything Enterprise Lab helps students people and develop your programme for early-stage from IP to marketing and think outside the box, break entrepreneurial skills. WE Activity Series – ideas, providing up to £500 team building to legal. boundaries and dare to be A combination of panel for students and recent different. Whether you want How-To Talks – Hear the discussions and workshops alumni to get out of the Imperial Venture to test an idea, develop new best speakers from the focused on leadership and building, find customers, Mentoring Service – A skills, start a business or startup world and beyond entrepreneurship to support design business experiments team-based mentoring just meet interesting new talk about topics relevant to women and women-led and explore their ideas. service bringing expert people, we’re here to help every entrepreneur at these teams to ideate. Part of our mentors to support Imperial you. From skills seminars to lunchtime talks. Women’s Entrepreneurship Summer Accelerator – A students and staff looking to competitions and co-working series. three-month programme for drive forward their startup. space to expert mentors, Chain Reactions – In students and recent alumni we offer all the support you partnership with the WE Innovate – Imperial’s to fast-track the commercial Get in touch: need, free of charge. Imperial College Business flagship programme for development of an idea, with www.imperialenterpriselab. School, Chain Reactions women-led teams looking to the chance to win £5,000. com brings in inspirational develop their business idea. Twitter: @ICEnterpriseLab speakers once a term to The programme takes place Venture Catalyst Challenge Facebook: talk about how they have over nine months with the – Imperial’s flagship @ImperialEnterpriseLab been a force for change and winner decided at the competition takes place Instagram: impacted society. WE Innovate Final. over seven intensive weeks @ImperialEnterpriseLab Part of our Women’s consisting of masterclasses, Linkedin: Entrepreneurship series. one-to-one coaching, and /imperialenterpriselab

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Entrepreneurship at Imperial 27

Imperial College Imperial Advanced White City Hackspace Incubator he Advanced Hackspace in White City, is Imperial’s prototyping hub. he White City Incubator is based at Imperial’s new research Three purpose designed prototyping and fabrication workspaces, a and innovation campus in White City. Early-stage businesses T team of hacker experts to support you, and all the latest equipment T from Imperial and beyond can take advantage of being in to help bring your ideas to life. close proximity to eminent scientists and experts in technology. Our community brings together inventive minds from all backgrounds, The Incubator offers office and laboratory space, incubation disciplines and levels of expertise to collaborate, experiment and innovate. and access to a range of events, networking and education From support and training to the latest prototyping equipment, it’s all here programmes to support business growth. under one inspiring roof. PROGRAMMES AND EVENTS: PROGRAMMES AND EVENTS: DTX-Lab – The White City DTX-Lab is a programme designed Hackspace Demo Day – Showcasing inspirational early-stage prototypes to support and develop lab-based deep tech startups through developed by Hackspace members across the College. learning modules, industry connections and access to leading academics and mentors. Prototype Fund – Grant funding to turn inspiring, inventive and entrepreneurial ideas into a reality. Participants can apply for £500 to Path to Growth Membership – The Imperial Enterprise £1,000 to develop a working physical prototype. Path to Growth membership provides Imperial teams and programme alumni access to a suite of Incubator support and Hack Surgeries – One-to-one access to Hackspace expertise. Booking a services as well as meeting rooms and communal working space. surgery slot is a great way to get started or to have a detailed discussion about a specific prototyping or research challenge. Innovation Academy – A selection of courses covering the key aspects of forming a business, protecting intellectual property, Hack Ed – Assessed teaching programmes that can be taken as part of a raising finance, and operating your new spinout. degree, depending on department, focused on upskilling participants on a range of novel technologies outside their area of study to inspire them in Get in touch: future ventures. www.imperial.ac.uk/enterprise/business/ white-city-incubator Hack Skills – A roster of workshops providing students an opportunity Twitter: @Imperial_INC to hone your inner hacker, maker or creator knowledge, learning valuable Instagram: @Imperial_Incubator hands-on practical skills and tools to kickstart a future project idea. Linkedin: /imperial-white-city-incubator Get in touch: www.imperialhackspace.com Twitter: @ICAHackspace Facebook: @ICAHackspace Instagram: @ICAHackspace Linkedin: /imperial-college-advanced-hackspace MedTech SuperConnector he MedTech SuperConnector, open to PhD candidates and Postdocs from partner institutions, is designed to facilitate the Techcelerate T early-stage development of innovative medical technologies, from devices and diagnostics, to digital healthcare solutions. MTSC echcelerate supports early career researchers to test out their will provide participants from Imperial and beyond with funding, business ideas in the marketplace and develop entrepreneurial training and access to industry partners to help fast-track the T skills. The three-month programme consists of our innovative translation of their research discoveries. online learning modules, venture review sessions and business coaching, providing participants with the opportunity to pitch for funding and Get in touch: showcase their venture’s entrepreneurial journey to a community of www.medtechsuperconnector.com investors and technology transfer industry. Linkedin: /medtech-superconnector

Get in touch: www.imperial.ac.uk/techcelerate Twitter: @ICTechcelerate Linkedin: /imperial-techcelerate

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 28 The M-Factor

The M-Factor: Why startup success starts with mentoring

By Victoria Nicholl, Entrepreneurship Development Manager, Imperial College London and Ben Mumby-Croft, Director Enterprise Lab, Imperial College London

Imperial offers a wide range of entrepreneurial support programmes and competitions for student founders and postdocs, from the Venture Catalyst Challenge to WE Innovate, and from the MedTech SuperConnector to Techcelerate and beyond.

ut what happens College Business School, Atherton concurs: “Most after these intense explains. “In a mentoring startups fail because of silly IVMS mixes scars B programmes are relationship, a mentor mistakes they make early over? After all, there is a big shares their knowledge and on: arguments between difference between working experience with a mentee founders, poor agreements, and networks on an idea, however far who’s in need of guidance poor customers, lack of advanced, and building and direction. The reason market demand for the – and the ideal a sustainable, profitable mentoring programmes product. IVMS mentors add business. This is where are important to the value by helping founders to mentoring comes in – more success of entrepreneurs avoid most of the common mentoring team specifically this is where the is that research shows pitfalls and mistakes. What Imperial Venture Mentoring us that mentoring makes makes IVMS unique is the is one of each. Service (IVMS) helps entrepreneurs more resilient, fact we have entrepreneurs founders navigate the ups builds their commitment to with scars and industrialists and downs of startup life the venture and increases with networks. IVMS mixes and ensure they continue their self-efficacy. Mentoring scars and networks – and to make progress on their communication strategies the ideal mentoring team is entrepreneurial journey. such as persuasion, one of each.” Founded just over engagement, criticism and Based on the MIT three years ago, IVMS is provocation have been Venture Mentoring Service an advisory service for found to be effective in (VMS) model, IVMS has two any student, alumnus mentoring relationships. So, foundational principles at its (within three years of for universities with a strong core. The first isteam-based graduation) or staff member entrepreneurial mission, mentoring. This means wishing to realise their having a mentorship ensuring objective advice entrepreneurial idea via the programme such as from two or three expert development of a startup Imperial’s IVMS is really a mentors or perspectives, company. Mentoring is key must to ensure the best shot with the opportunity to for early stage ventures at success.” switch mentors as the as Dr Harveen Chugh, IVMS Director, serial entrepreneur progresses Principal Teaching Fellow in technology entrepreneur through different Entrepreneurship at Imperial turned investor Dr Paul challenges.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 The M-Factor 29

IVMS Mentors 72 Current mentors 35% Female 26% Alumni 43% Entrepreneurs 1OO+ Exits by mentors

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 30 The M-Factor

The second is unconflicted advice. IVMS mentors aren’t looking to join or invest in the companies they mentor. They are looking to provide perspective, wisdom, experience-based advice and, when appropriate, introductions that would otherwise take a founder months to obtain (if ever). Commitment to these principles is key to the success of IVMS and marks it out as different to the ‘standard model’ startup mentoring and coaching services out there. As Dr Paul Atherton explains: “There are many coaches and mentors who aspire to give advice to startups, with good intentions. However, experienced advice is harder to find and is usually from people with expertise in the £2BN+ field which will inevitably lead to conflicts of interest. Raised by mentors Naive founders can then be exploited by the mentor – sometimes unintentionally – who might advise, for example, merging with one of the mentor’s companies, taking investment from 69 the mentor or paying the Imperial startups mentor as a consultant. And who can advise as mentored to whether this is a good decision? Unconflicted and experienced advice helps avoid these situations and IVMS has developed a strict code of conduct to ensure these kinds of conflicts don’t 43 arise.” From humble beginnings IVMS is constantly Current # of startups in December 2017, Dr iterating and improving Atherton and the Imperial being mentored Enterprise Division have to ensure that founders steadily grown IVMS and ventures gain more and it now comprises an incredible, diverse pool of 71 value as it matures. successful individuals with deep expertise and stellar one team by Google. IVMS they mentor, often £13M+ networks across all sectors. mentors typically stay with sitting on judging In that short time, the service teams between six and 12 panels for the College’s Funds raised by IVMS has also achieved some months, or until the team many entrepreneurial notable results helping has achieved a mutually competitions. Since March ventures (funds, teams to raise investment, agreed goal, and always 2019, IVMS mentors have secure places on leading leave when the venture they provided over 100 hours to grants, competitions) accelerator programmes, have been mentoring has a programmes such as the such as Y Combinator functioning Board. MedTech SuperConnector, since December and Tech Stars, and even IVMS mentors also Techcelerate, the Faculty of complete an acquisition of help beyond the teams Natural Science Make-a- 2017

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 The M-Factor 31

Difference competition and the Enterprise Lab’s What the mentors say: What the founders say: Summer Accelerator programme to name but a few. This is not only helpful “As an alumni who started his own company “The mentors really helped us understand to the programmes and shortly after leaving Imperial, I truly wish IVMS the potential commercial value. They helped entrepreneurs on them, was around back then. The breadth and quality shift the mindset from that of an engineer but also directly to IVMS, of the network of mentors is a real asset to to an entrepreneur. While an engineer can as these programmes Imperial entrepreneurship. It is hugely rewarding produce a cutting-edge piece of technology, are where the IVMS team to support and encourage hungry entrepreneurs an entrepreneur asks how that technology can finds the majority of to kickstart their new ventures, often for the first provide solutions to customers.” ventures who are invited to time, and I’m proud to be a small contributor to BeetleBox participate in the service. their inevitable success.” Founders’ performance Victor Dillard on the programmes and the assessment of their coachability and dedication by the programme managers carries a great deal of weight when being considered for “IVMS has really raised the bar in terms of “IVMS pushed us to sell our product when the opportunity to pitch for support provided to budding entrepreneurs we felt like we weren’t ready and I think that mentorship. at Imperial. It’s an incredible resource and an this has been a huge part of our success.” IVMS is constantly initiative I am very proud to support.” The Shellworks iterating and improving to Vanela Bushi ensure that founders and ventures gain more value as it matures. Like any crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to evolve, demonstrating “I really enjoy working with the companies that “The IVMS mentors have been invaluable that virtual mentoring can I mentor. It’s been great to see them develop to Jelly Drops’ success. Since we started be hugely practical and and mature over the time that I’ve worked with working together, we have raised £500k beneficial. Before lockdown, them. They all have great technologies that have investment, built a production facility in-person meetings were the potential to change the world and are fast and launched the product. It’s so valuable considered essential. Now, developing the business skills they need to thrive. to have impartial advisers that are not we plan for pitch evenings All the companies I work with have got a huge invested in the company and have a wealth and mentor meetings to benefit from the collective experience of IVMS and of business building experience.” continue virtually and are for me, it’s been very rewarding to be a mentor.” Jelly Drops actively recruiting mentors Ashley Unitt from outside the UK, to increase the diversity and reach of the network. With a generous philanthropic donation “It is so stimulating to help young startups tackle “The mentors aren’t afraid to tell us what recently secured from the problems of early-stage venturing, and a great we need to hear. The mentors are also Santander Universities of pleasure to follow history in the making for the completely independent and that means we £30,000 a year until 2023, next generation of British business!” receive exactly the right advice for us.” the plan is to grow IVMS to over 95 mentors so Dominique Kleyn Breathe Battery Technologies that a greater proportion of Imperial’s startup community can benefit. We can’t wait for more entrepreneurs than ever before to benefit from IVMS “Mentoring for IVMS is enriching in so many “IVMS has been the most powerful, biggest and look forward to helping ways. I gain insights into new technologies across value-add engagement that we have had even more teams benefit a wide range of domains. It’s energising to work to date.” from unconflicted advice in with such smart and motivated people. And Cheesecake Energy the coming year. there’s always the serendipity of such a wonderful group of mentors, students and faculty members who are all looking to improve the world we live Find out more: and work in.” www.imperial enterpriselab.com/ Shane Leonard ivms

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 32 #InventedAtImperial: Multus Media

The problem scaled to serve the emerging #InventedAtImperial Cultivated meat can take a cultivated meat industry as single animal cell and grow an engineering challenge actual meat, giving the as opposed to a scientific same taste and experience challenge. as conventional meat, By moving away from with only a fraction of the the strict regulation of the Multus Media environmental impact, and pharmaceutical industry, without the need to kill we can embrace new animals or use antibiotics. methods for streamlining One of the key the production process and challenges facing this explore more efficient ways industry is the cost of of providing cell nutrition, production, where the feed, using vegan ingredients. or growth media in this case, takes up more than How did your team meet? 80 per cent of production The team met through the costs. Traditionally, animal Imperial College Synthetic blood serum is used to grow Biology Hub, with many of stem cells for biomedical us being first- or second- research, but this is both year undergraduates. There very expensive and goes was a competition to win against the ethical and some money to start a sustainability aspirations of project in the Advanced the cultivated meat industry. Hackspace, so we rallied behind Kevin’s project of The solution producing next-generation Multus Media is developing growth media for the the technology for creating cultivated meat industry to completely animal-free kickstart the product and replacements for blood business development. serum. The challenge here is to develop high- Do you have any advisers? performing growth media We gained our first formal using ingredients that are advisers through IVMS inexpensive and scalable. and have also benefited We take care of growth from scientific advice from media, so cultivated meat the excellent academic companies can focus on staff at Imperial across bringing tasty, sustainable the departments of meat to everyone. Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Life Sciences Where did the idea and the Faculty of Medicine, originate? and we are grateful for their Globally, animal agriculture is Kevin Pan, our CTO, first continued guidance today. responsible for more greenhouse introduced the team to We also have an external cultivated meat back in late adviser, Tom Phillips, who gases than all the world’s 2018 and we were captivated is a former Sustainability transportation systems combined. by the possibility of eating Fellow at McKinsey & Co. sustainable, guilt-free meat. who helps us with assessing The science for growing real meat When we asked ourselves and establishing strategic without animals exists, but the why we weren’t able to partnerships. buy these products yet, remaining challenge is scale. Multus the cost of production, or What stage is the Media has developed an animal-free more specifically the cost of business at and what growth media, kept coming are your plans moving replacement for blood serum that can up as the major bottleneck forward? be used to feed the cells affordably holding this entire industry Right now, we have the back. Since growth media funding and lab space to and profitably. This will accelerate has been developed for develop our first proof of the forefront of an industry that will the biopharmaceutical concept and patent our and biomedical research technology, which we mitigate the devastating impacts of industries for decades, can use to create our first livestock agriculture. we saw the challenge of products and and bring producing an animal-free investors on board. Our goal growth media that can be is to launch our first product,

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 33

Media, and by working signed up to. Since this on pitching, customer is something we hadn’t discovery and developing done before, it definitely some of the business reassured us about taking plan, we recognised the that leap forward and Cai Linton, CEO value of commercialising made us aware of specific (MEng Molecular our technology and areas that we might not Bioengineering 2022) transitioned from a project otherwise have considered into a startup. The VCC also to be significant. Forming Kevin Pan, CTO introduced us to the broader good habits around (BSc Biotechnology entrepreneurial ecosystem properly preparing for 2021) within the Enterprise Lab and documenting these and set the foundations for meetings has also prepared Brandon Ma, CSO us to make best use of the us well for other external (BSc Biochemistry services available to us. meetings, such as those 2021) We have used the with potential customers

Experts-in-Residence and investors. Réka Trón, COO support to discuss things We have just moved (BSc Biological like how we approach into the Imperial White Sciences 2020) our funding strategy and City Incubator, which has competitions, protecting our great lab facilities and has intellectual property, reading given us the freedom to Proliferum M, in 2021 and The Enterprise Lab is a How Imperial has through legal documents, build our base for research expand our catalogue to great place to start. There supported the team and how we approach and development. Working service companies working you can meet like-minded important negotiations. alongside other startups is on mammalian cells, avian entrepreneurs, discuss with The Advanced Hackspace really beneficial, and there is cells and different types the experienced staff what 2018 was where we first worked scope for us to expand and of seafood as well to pave you might need to think Venture Catalyst on our science. Having grow in the future. the way towards making about next, and ultimately Challenge access to not only the lab The Old Centralians’ cultivated meat available to enter the first competitions space, but also the excellent Trust also supported us with everyone. that will propel you to 2019 staff and discounted lab some funding to attend develop your business idea. Imperial College consumables meant we were conferences and set up What’s been your biggest I would also recommend Advanced Hackspace able to advance far further our lab space, which is run success so far? making use of the than we would have if we through the City & Guilds Our biggest success has been Hackspace since the staff were just left alone. There is College. getting on to the IndieBio there can help you prototype 2019 also a community of other The Climate Launchpad New York Spring 2020 cohort, and test your product, which FoNS-MAD hackers that can be used is the world’s largest green which is a venture-back will serve you well when to troubleshoot specific business ideas competition, accelerator programme for pitching at competitions and 2019 problems, discuss new ideas supported by the European life science startups. This to investors. You can also Experts-in-Residence and socialise with. Institute of Innovation has given us the funding to join the Entrepreneurship We gained our first & Technology Climate really develop our product Society to gain some formal advisers through the Knowledge and Innovation and de-risk our company in inspiration and refine your 2019 Imperial Venture Mentoring Community. In 2019, we won preparation for raising our ideas. Climate-KIC Climate Service, who have been the UK national finals and next round of funding. Launchpad really useful in sharing their progressed into the global Support from Imperial experiences and advice on accelerator programme What’s been the biggest The FoNS-MAD competition 2019 many aspects relating to following our success in the challenge? in 2019 was what enabled Imperial Venture growing our business. What global final. Réka won the We had a number of us to work on our project Mentoring Service I’ve found most useful is Female Founders’ Award, setbacks with our lab over the summer through being able to speak openly presented by Women in space and access to the providing mentorship, lab to someone about the Cleantech & Sustainability. facilities and equipment space and funding to support 2020 challenges we’re facing Earlier this year we also we need, and a fair few buying the reagents and Imperial White City and some of the difficult won the regional final of failed experiments, but consumables for research Incubator decisions we have coming the Hult Prize, a global such is biology. Balancing and also for us to stay in up, and allowing them to social entrepreneurship studies and working on London with a bursary. Upon Get in touch: weigh in based on their competition to tackle the Multus Media has also been developing our first proof wide-reaching experience challenge set by former Website: stressful at times, but it of concept and ultimately and also what they think US President Bill Clinton of www.multus.media has allowed us to enjoy the winning the competition, will be best for our specific creating a positive impact on Facebook: good times when they come we had the funding and startup. Our advisers were the planet with every dollar /multusmedia around, and rally together confidence to carry on to especially useful when earned. We also won the Twitter: when the going gets tough. where we are now. we were navigating our McKinsey Venture Academy @multusmedia The Venture Catalyst first investment contract 2020 to receive continued Linkedin: What advice would Challenge (VCC) made and allowed us to better consulting support over the /multus-media you give to aspiring us consider the business understand the implications next year, and a £10,000 entrepreneurs? potential of Multus of the terms we eventually grant prize.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 34 The UK’s 70-year innovation itch

The UK’s 70-year innovation itch By Simon Devonshire OBE, serial entrepreneur, angel investor and former Entrepreneur in Residence for the UK Government

he good news is that pioneering innovation Given all the scientific evidence regarding the Right now, I think that is global. Innovation operates without world’s environmental issues, the overwhelming the innovation and T borders. The UK has some extraordinary priority is for radical environmental interventions home-grown entrepreneurial ventures, added to that: entrepreneurial ecosystem which it is also home to entrepreneurial talent that • exponentially reduce emissions; here in the UK is especially has commuted from all over the world. • substantially deliver decarbonisation; No country has monopoly on invention. • vastly accelerate the realisation of “net-zero”; vibrant. Looking to the future, I suspect every nationality can legitimately lay • deliver significant environmentalrestoration . I see some remarkable new claim to globally iconic innovation. As a patriotic Brit, two innovations pioneered in A contrived 70-year deadline for innovation is technologies on the verge of the UK that I am especially proud of are: not a reason in itself to push through invention. breaking through. Looking • In 1880 the UK made education compulsory for However, it would be a regretfully missed children up to age ten. opportunity not to recognise and maintain back, the UK has a long • Almost exactly 70 years later, in 1948, the NHS the UK’s remarkable 70-year track-record of history of innovation and was founded. innovation. Especially so in the face of such overwhelming need for reformation. entrepreneurialism: it was Universal education and healthcare – what I am concerned that the UK is sleep-walking the birthplace of the first makes these innovations so remarkable is that without note through a momentous opportunity in 2020, astonishingly, stubbornly, still neither of to powerfully launch its next big breakthrough Industrial Revolution. these services are ubiquitous across the world – innovation. I hope that the UK Government can worryingly, not even so in the developed world. intelligently apply its resources and funding Whilst education and healthcare in the UK are as a catalyst to seize this 70-year innovation far from perfect, what they highlight is that there opportunity and scratch the UK’s 70-year is still so much scope for improvement. According innovation itch. 1880 to the World Health Organization, apparently Perhaps this could form the basis of an Education made approximately two billion people on earth still innovation competition/challenge fund: a compulsory for don’t even have access to a proper toilet, let alone £70-million fund for the UK’s next big 70-year children up to free access to classes, books, teachers, medicine innovation? The “Megatrend Megatrend” is great age ten and doctors. place to start for those looking for inspiration. Having celebrated the NHS’s 70th birthday, I One thing that is absolutely certain: new hope that by 2028 so much progress has been innovation that societally is as significant as made that the nation is compelled to celebrate the education and healthcare will not happen without NHS’s next big birthday even more euphorically. conviction and purposeful pursuit. Which got me thinking … It’s not just the environment that needs • 1880 universal education – 1948 universal attention. Despite record levels of employment, health. career anxiety and financial inequality also seem 1948 • 1880 education – 1948 health. dangerously high too. • 1880 - 1948. New technologies are driving an urgent need The NHS is for reformation. founded Seventy years apart (give or take a couple Historically, the UK has admirably of years). Perhaps the UK has a 70-year demonstrated that governments and regulators innovation itch? can be a massively positive force of change if 2020 – this year – is 70 years since the UK they have the courage to lead. And that’s why launched the NHS. I think that this represents an entrepreneurs are so important. Entrepreneurs opportunity. recognise opportunities and more importantly, My point is: if the UK is to maintain a 70-year entrepreneurs are activists – entrepreneurs cycle of delivering societally transformative make things happen. innovation – then the UK’s next big innovation ? 2020 is now overdue. The next logical exam question this provokes Follow Simon’s blog at is: how (and with what) could the UK follow the www.tallmanbusiness.com creation of schools and the NHS?

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Entrepreneurship essentials 35

Entrepreneurship essentials

Looking for a inspiring podcast, a handy collaboration tool or a page-turning book to fuel your entrepreneurial fire? Check out these recommendations from Imperial’s Entrepreneurship team.

REBECCA COVEY EUAN BELL RICHELLE MCNAE CAMILLE RELTIEN Community & Marketing Manager, Entrepreneurship Support Officer, Entrepreneurial Programmes Innovation & Entrepreneurship Imperial College Advanced Imperial Enterprise Lab Coordinator, Imperial White Manager, Imperial Enterprise Lab Hackspace City Incubator WeCrashed: The Rise and Stanford Seminars – Found & Flourish Fall of WeWork The Full Ratchet Build the Right It “Found and Flourish connects “This podcast is an insightful and “This is a great podcast to get some “Search for this talk on YouTube. You female founders and women in entertaining look at WeWork and its insider knowledge on how the top won’t regret it! This is my favourite talk business in what can sometimes be enigmatic CEO, and how everything investors across the world make this year, both funny and educational, a lonely landscape. A community went wrong for the company. The decisions – everything from how from ‘Doctor of Failosophy’ Alberto offering support, friendship and short, sharp episodes also mean they find deals to hot industries and Savoia, Innovation Agitator Emeritus empowerment.” you’ll be through it in no time!” tips on how they evaluate startups.” at Google.”

FREDDIE ODELSTIERNA VICTORIA NICHOLL FERDINAND ORLEANS-LINDSAY BEN MUMBY-CROFT Community Support Officer, Imperial Entrepreneurship Development Community Manager, Imperial Director, Imperial Enterprise Lab Manager, Imperial Enterprise Lab Enterprise Lab Enterprise Lab Salt in my Soul: An Unfinished Mural.co The Hood Entrepreneur The Founder’s Dilemmas Life by Mallory Smith “Virtual collaboration has rocketed “People often forget that by Noam Wasserman “Written by my good friend before in the past year and finding ways entrepreneurship is not just about “A fantastic overview of the she passed away from Cystic Fibrosis. to make it engaging without a success but about dealing with common pitfalls founders face Mallory Smith was a Stanford grad massive learning curve isn’t easy. failure and overcoming it. I can and how to avoid them based and author in healthcare advocacy Much more than simply a virtual personally relate to this, growing on quantitative data from almost and social justice issues. I think white board, Mural is both scalable up in a London estate, as well 10,000 founders. People problems entrepreneurs can learn from how and tailorable and will make visual as many people from similar are the leading cause of failure she overcame extreme challenges in communication and decision backgrounds that refuse to be in startups. This book offers her life to still remain optimistic.” making much easier.” a victim of their environment.” evidence-based solutions.”

HITEN THAKRAR Programme Manager, MedTech SuperConnector The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington “Being more effective and the ability to execute against your goals is the difference between achieving success and just a pipe dream wish. The 12 Week Year takes a ‘no excuse’ approach to practically deliver against your biggest goals and ambitions.”

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 36 Creating a climate for change

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Creating a climate for change 37

Creating a climate for change

Imperial prides itself on using the power of its world-class research and innovation to combat global challenges, and there is no bigger threat to the future of humankind and our planet than climate change.

t’s been 30 years Imperial has been at the At the heart of Imperial’s since the detrimental forefront of the global fight work on climate change effects of climate against climate change, is the Grantham Institute change first became using relationships across – Climate Change and the front-page news. industry, government Environment was set up This was the result and civil society to find in 2007 with the support of over a century meaningful solutions to of Jeremy and Hannelore of accumulating scientific climate change. It has done Grantham. The Granthams’ Iresearch and changing this through collaborating contribution comprised perceptions. But despite on new technologies, the largest sum of private knowing the increasing influencing behavioural funding given to climate damage being done to our change, and sparking change research in the UK at planet, targets set by the conversations that challenge the time. 2015 Paris Agreement are conventional thinking and still not being met. initiate new debates.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 38 Creating a climate for change

“The Granthams had offers business coaching, been, and remain, very workshops, masterclasses, Meet the teams concerned about climate and networking change, especially about opportunities over a 12–18 the distortion of the science, month period, and also Here are just some of the teams supported by the and the fact that leadership provides the startups with Grantham Institute. You can also read about The around the world was not around €50,000 in equity- getting on with the things free grants.” Shellworks (pg 06), Multus Media (pg 32) and that really mattered,” says Naveed Chaudhry, Treeconomy (pg 16) throughout the magazine. Professor Richard Templer, Accelerator Lead at the Director of Innovation at the Grantham Institute, explains Grantham Institute. more. “The programme Professor Templer has spans 12–18 months, and been at the Grantham consists of three stages. Institute since its inception, Stage one is about coming and felt passionate about up with a credible business how Imperial should be model and business combatting climate change: plan. Stage two is about “People kept on arguing customer discovery, i.e. about the science of climate going out into the real change, and I found that world and getting feedback frustratingly irrelevant, on the idea, iterating and when it was clear that the modifying it, and then scientists were saying this getting feedback again. This was happening. I thought we is a circular process that Addionics need to turn our attention to needs to be repeated until www.addionics.com actions. Imperial is a huge the founders are confident We’re creating the next generation of energy storage by focusing on battery physics and treasure trove of knowledge that they have a product are enabling higher energy density, lower charging time and improved heat safety, with and creativity, from staff or service that their target the largest markets in mind. through to the students, and customers are willing to Currently, we are working with European automakers and American original equipment we should really be doing pay for and use. The final manufacturers as design partners for a proof of concept. Our plan is to have our battery something about this.” stage is commercialisation, in electric vehicles and other electrical devices and to be the world’s number one battery The Grantham Institute whereby startups ‘graduate’ architecture designer and provider of energy applications. has now been running for from the programme. To over 10 years, and “has do this they typically need grown into something that to raise around €100,000 you dreamed of, but didn’t in external funding and/or think was going to happen. revenue. It has become this incredible “The equity-free model connective tissue across the has a number of benefits, College bringing together including eliminating everything that we do in potential barriers to entry; climate change,” Professor engendering a very ‘open’ Templer explains. relationship between As well as connecting the coaches and the research and innovation startups; and ensuring across Imperial, the the founders are not Grantham Institute has also distracted by termsheets Climate Edge been hugely successful or valuation considerations www.climate-edge.com in supporting startups at this early stage. It also Climate Edge is a SaaS platform which automates the delivery of third party advisory tackling climate change means that they are much services to smallholder farmers in emerging economies. Delivering services to the and environmental issues. more attractive to future smallholder market is gaining a lot of traction, and there is an extremely exciting high It does this through the commercial investors, as growth opportunity in bringing these services to the global market. Service providers are Climate-KIC accelerator the startup founders have chasing the $5 billion annual revenue opportunity, agrochemical companies see services which supports early- not been diluted. We want as core to differentiation in a saturated market and big tech firms like Microsoft and IBM see stage clean-technology the teams to focus on their the opportunity in using services to deliver supply chain insights to big enterprise customers businesses, and Climate businesses full time, with such as Unilever. Launchpad, the world’s programme objectives of But there is currently a bottleneck in taking services from pilot to a national or global biggest green ideas achieving product-market scale. The drivers behind this bottleneck are clear and consistent. Taking a mathematical competition. fit, and ultimately raising model and turning it into a scalable product requires a series of key steps to be taken. Imperial currently accepts enough external funding or Models must be converted into operationalised code, the outputs must be translated into an annual cohort of up revenue to then continue on multiple languages and there needs to be a seamless medium to deliver these outputs to to 10 startups, attracting their own.” farmers, at scale. But the institutes generating this IP are experts in scientific modelling, applications from across The success of the not scalable software. And without scalable products multinationals cannot leverage their the country. The accelerator accelerator speaks for significant distribution channels.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Creating a climate for change 39

Climate Edge is solving this problem by building a SaaS platform which automates itself. It has supported 95 will be in London’s West these key steps required to turn scientific research into replicable services, making it easy new cleantech companies, End, positioning it at the to take them to market. We work closely with the service providers, and partner with and helped 64 of them heart of the city’s cleantech gatekeepers in the value chain to support services providers reach scale. raise more than $250 revolution, with the Royal The idea originated from James Alden and Paul Baranowski’s MSc thesis whilst million of investment. Academy of Engineers, the studying Environmental Technology within the Centre for Environmental Policy. James and These companies have also Royal Society of Chemistry, Paul partnered on the thesis with renowned coffee and smallholder expert Dr Peter Baker, created over 1,000 jobs, and the government as its who went on to found Climate Edge alongside James and Paul in a non-exec role. Peter and are having real, direct neighbours. It will also be was an external supervisor for the thesis, working as a senior scientist for a number of impacts on climate change at the heart of London’s high-profile coffee development projects. mitigation. investment community. We came across Climate-KIC on the Imperial website in 2015. They have supported Despite the success Naveed explains that the us immensely in taking us from two very academic students to competent business of the programme, the new centre will “provide leaders. So much so that we still have very positive and close relationships with our funding partnership with a focal point for climate previous mentors. Climate-KIC will come to an change innovation, and end this year. However, the serve as an inspiration for Grantham Institute team similar models around the has worked tirelessly in world”. the COVID environment to Professor Templer has find new partners to allow dedicated the last decade it to continue supporting of his career to driving cleantech entrepreneurs. forward climate change This has resulted in the innovation. His work with award of £1.9M from Climate-KIC attracted the the European Regional attention of the then Mayor Development Fund and of London, Boris Johnson. £2.5M from HSBC to run the “I ended up being asked Accelerator for a further five to be a Commissioner for years. Sustainable Development, Even more excitingly, the which covers clean Pelation accelerator will be housed in technology innovation a new centre, to be known clustering, and which I now www.pelation.co.uk as the Centre for Climate do for the current Mayor Road transport is the main cause of cities’ air pollution and accounts for on quarter of EU Change Innovation (the Sadiq Khan. London’s clean greenhouse emissions. Cycling is a low-carbon/cost-effective solution but currently only ‘CCCI’). The CCCI will not technology businesses are three per cent of people in the UK cycle because cyclists feel unsafe on city streets. Our only house the accelerator, fragmented across London. product is designed to tackle the behavioural psychology of those moving around cyclists but will also run a Master’s We need an identity. Our with a proven neurological “watching eye” to nudge safer behaviour on the road. Our programme in climate ambition is to quadruple the camera uses connected and self-learning technology to allow cyclists to easily bookmark change entrepreneurship; growth rate by the end of incidents and road issues with a click of a button. With this information, we are able to run innovation programmes this decade.” generate a database of accurate near-miss data, allowing authorities and planners to and investment events; run When asked why more efficiently design out collisions before they happen. exhibitions of the latest Imperial is leading the Having met during our MBA at Imperial as passionate cyclists, the two of us have always climate change innovations; charge against climate discussed ways to increase sustainable transport in cities. We truly believe that cycling is the hold engagement, change, Professor Templer best way to get around an urban area: it’s faster, cheap, and emission free! However, the education, and networking says he believes: “It’s our safety issue was a huge barrier for many of our friends to take up cycling and an equally events, and many more students! Our students big problem for the existing cyclists in London. We found that until we could get existing activities. are bloody amazing! They cyclists to start feeling safer and more confident on the road, we were not going to be able The CCCI is in the final genuinely, genuinely to reach the cycle city dream we both envisioned. stages of agreeing an stand out. We produce We dove into the cycling world with a very rigorous and customer-centric approach in exciting partnership and technical entrepreneurs ensuring we are creating solutions that tackle the right problems in the market and meet iconic home for all of this and innovators, and they’ve the needs of all cyclists. Our idea was born out of extensive customer and market research activity. “We are hoping got, it’s like a really sharp in different areas of the cycle community of London and the UK, taking in insights from to both announce the blade. They just cut straight conversations we had with different stakeholders, ranging from commuters, city planners, partnership and the CCCI’s through the nonsense, and police, policy makers, and more. new home at London they learn really fast. We heard about Climate-KIC through Imperial Enterprise Lab’s weekly Secret Sauce Climate Action Week, in newsletter. After an introductory conversation with the team at Climate-KIC, we knew November of this year,” says they immediately understood our long-term vision and value proposition and would be Professor Templer. The new of great support to us throughout our journey. We applied in the summer of 2019 and Centre’s intended location were accepted after going through a rigorous interview process. Stage one of Climate-KIC was extremely exciting for us as it provided us with our first-ever funding, which led to the incorporation of our company. The new accelerator programme will be launching in The subsequent two rounds of funding we went through provided even more January 2021. To keep up to date with the programme invaluable financial and business support. Our coach, Naveed, has been extremely helpful and the Grantham Institute, head to the website: in assisting us with all aspects of our company, including accommodating a bunch of www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham our last-minute calls! Climate-KIC has truly seen and supported us from our customer validation stage to launching our first trial!

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 40 Professor Chris Toumazou – coming full circle

“Imperial has always fostered multidisciplinarity which is central to my work … and it’s always given me the freedom to innovate whilst helping me make the right Professor connections and open the right doors.”

Chris Toumazou – Garden in November 2019. to be used in the NHS and In early 2020 the pandemic now the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the professor and has necessitated this kind of coming full his team immediately saw rapid, sensitive and point-of- the urgent need for a rapid need test. The pandemic’s and accurate COVID-19 disrupted the system by circle diagnostic. Seven months showing us how unprepared later, in September 2020, we are. I hope that maybe DnaNudge is being deployed one positive outcome is that throughout the NHS and out- it has highlighted the future of-hospital settings following need for a quicker and successful validation of more accessible route for Professor Chris Toumazou has combined academic and the technology. A paper deployment of technologies (‘COVID Nudge: diagnostic into healthcare systems.” entrepreneurial roles for many years. Founder of two accuracy of a novel lab-free Now that DnaNudge has successful medical device companies, he also founded point-of-care diagnostic for proved its validity and the SARS-CoV-2’) is now in press value for the NHS, Professor Imperial’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and is the at The Lancet Microbe and Toumazou has plans to first Regius Professor of Engineering at the College. will be published soon. extend its application to test The required adaptation for other viruses alongside e is a continual Professor Toumazou information they needed to has been straightforward, COVID-19 and for it to work rather than a serial first entered the world of prevent and manage disease but there have been other as a companion diagnostic H entrepreneur, DNA analysis when his through their own choices.” challenges. “We suddenly to assess the safety and bringing his pioneering son was diagnosed with Together with geneticist Dr needed to deploy our efficacy of drugs and electronic miniaturisation a rare hereditary form of Maria Karvela he developed consumer-driven platform potentially the COVID-19 of healthcare diagnosis kidney disease. In 2014 DnaNudge which consists into a hospital setting,” vaccine that is being and therapy to a range of he developed the first USB of a cartridge that extracts says Professor Toumazou. developed at Imperial. applications, including stick to decode a patient’s DNA from a sample and “So the challenge wasn’t Ultimately, he hopes the first cochlear implant, DNA with the plan for the places it inside a NudgeBox repurposing the technology, there will also be a place to an artificial pancreas, and device to be used for early for analysis. The results are it was about getting bring point-of-need gene semiconductor-based DNA detection and management downloaded onto a wearable something very different sequencing technology sequencing. of chronic disease. Like device that informs the into hospitals and scaling to healthcare systems as “Imperial has always many entrepreneurs individual’s nutrition choices innovation really fast.” a means to help identify, fostered multidisciplinarity in healthcare he found as they shop. The DnaNudge test was prevent and treat a range which is central to my work,” attempting widescale “It demystifies the clinical rapidly trialled in several of diseases. DNAe, another he says. “And it’s always adoption into the NHS aspects of DNA analysis,” hospitals and received Toumazou-founded Imperial given me the freedom to brought with it certain says Professor Toumazou. authorisation for clinical spinout, is developing a innovate whilst helping me challenges. “Because people don’t see use from the Medicines platform that performs gene make the right connections “Although individual a lab or pipettes and white and Healthcare products sequencing on a microchip and open the right doors.” clinicians and managers coats. They see something Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and is starting with a test At the end of last year could see the potential of that looks like a printer in April. At the beginning for bloodstream infections he launched DnaNudge: the technology, the system cartridge. So it is not about of July 2020, the device and antimicrobial resistance a Lab-in-Cartridge device in which they worked wasn’t personalised healthcare obtained a CE Mark for (AMR), which uses whole to analyse people’s ready for it,” Professor anymore but about making in vitro diagnostic (IVD) blood specimens to detect genetic predisposition to Toumazou comments. health personal which clinical use. In August, the and identify infections that conditions such as obesity “The problem was it wasn’t is very different and by Department of Health and lead to sepsis. “Imagine and diabetes as a means replacing anything but introducing that to the retail Social Care made an order bringing the level of detail to inform their dietary taking a completely different industry it has overcome for 5.8 million test kits to be provided by gene sequencing choices. Little did he know, approach and there simply a number of issues that used in NHS hospitals and into a point-of-need device,” just four months later he wasn’t a business model surround DNA testing, such out-of-hospital settings. he says. “Now that really would be adapting it to be for the level of personalised as the need for privacy, “It’s almost as if I’ve is the holy grail.” Clearly, a rapid, point-of-need test medicine we had in mind. rapid results and intelligible gone in a full circle,” says Professor Chris Toumazou for COVID-19 that would That was when I decided to analysis.” Professor Toumazou. “My is ready for the next be used in NHS hospitals go direct to the consumer, DnaNudge launched its initial plan was for these challenge or challenges in his across the country. providing them with flagship retail store in Covent DNA microchip technologies entrepreneurial journey.

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Feature Title 41

a confusing conversation moving forward? brought to light the We soft launched Planera complexity and issues this September and people around periods! can sign up for our early access boxes to try our Do you have any advisers? flushable pads. In WE Innovate, we met with Janet and Eleanor, advisers What’s been your biggest through the Enterprise success so far? Lab. Their clarity and focus Our biggest success so has helped us overcome far has been getting UK multiple obstacles since flushability certification. This our beginning. Not only has has been a great validation their business expertise of our technology and this been invaluable to us, we triggers an exciting phase have also benefitted from for Planera, as we set to soft them cheering us on from launch in the UK this year. Olivia Ahn, CEO the start. (Bachelor of Medicine, Deepali Nangia, who What’s been the biggest Bachelor of Surgery we initially met through the challenge? (MBBS), BSc IVMS scheme, has joined There have been a few Respiratory 2017) our advisory board, along setbacks along the way. We with Adrienne Rivlin. We made the same mistake Aaron Koshy, COO #InventedAtImperial have informal advisers from that other companies (BEng Biomedical consumer brands as well as have fallen into – we Engineering, MA/MSc. FMCGs, to help us launch focused on developing a Innovation Design Planera and scale. biodegradable pad – so Engineering 2017) we were just substituting Planera Enterprise Lab support materials of conventional For the past two years pads, instead of finding a Previously known as Polipop, WE Innovate 2016 the Enterprise Lab have sustainable disposal route. been invaluable. Not only So our first prototypes were winners Planera have developed the first certified was WE Innovate pivotal biodegradable, but the flushable and biodegradable sanitary pads that to us taking the leap and consumer would have no pursuing Planera full way of getting it to degrade dissolve quickly in water. time, there has also been away, as they would have to continual, sincere support bin it, sending it to landfill or The problem The team How Imperial has through invitations to incinerator. There is no sustainable Olivia (Liv) and Aaron supported the team forums, such as WE Health route of disposal currently founded Planera in their in Stockholm, the Turin What advice would available for sanitary penultimate year at Imperial, School of Entrepreneurship you give to aspiring products. In Europe, the kickstarted in the WE 2016 and Innovation conference, entrepreneurs? daily 535 tonnes of sanitary Innovate programme. After WE Innovate and the World Economic Always validate. It is pad plastic goes to landfill, three years of R&D leading Forum conference in China. time-consuming and can incinerators or end up in our to flushability certification, This support is fantastic for be disheartening but we

waterways, causing huge Planera is launching their 2016 networking and learning found that not waiting Experts-in-Residence damage to the environment. products to the UK with about other startups in until ‘perfect’ before Even if the products Liv leading marketing and similar fields. validating with anyone are biodegradable, there communication and Aaron 2017 As we both have come (market audience, online is no way for them to heading product development IVMS from backgrounds not research, google surveys, biodegrade away. and manufacturing. rooted in entrepreneurship, street surveys) was crucial Planera has a trusted this support has been key in developing something

The solution advisory board with 2017 in learning on the job as that someone will want. We Imperial College Planera is the personal backgrounds in consumer well as providing us with were used to the traditional Advanced Hackspace hygiene company that packaged goods (CPG), fast- publicity – such as articles method of testing and Grant is defining the new moving consumer goods when we won the Mayor’s trials from medicine where ‘good enough’. We have (FMCG), digital brands and Entrepreneur competition we would extensively do developed the first certified was venture capital backed 2018. Having support from in-house testing before Get in touch: flushable and biodegradable in their pre-seed round last Imperial Enterprise Lab is approaching the public. sanitary pads. When flushed year. Website: crucial in lending a young Turning that thinking on its the pads are designed www.planera.care startup credibility, especially head for entrepreneurship to disintegrate quickly in How did your team meet? Twitter: for going up against giants was a big step in making existing infrastructure, with We were in the same halls @planeracare in the market, such as P&G. sure every decision and a similar environmental in our first year at Imperial. Instagram: step was validated with our impact to toilet paper. We then lived together @planeracare What stage is the business audience in parallel with during our final year, and at and what are your plans internal development.

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 42 Feature Title

At Imperial, we are familiar with scientific experiments taking place in the labs. This is essential to make sure medicines work without adverse Testing side effects, materials are strong enough for construction and new fertilisers do more good than harm. his evidence-based harder, more time- and cash- business approach is also consuming experiments with T essential to building stronger evidence. a startup. Failing to test your David learnt the business idea could result importance of testing in a lot of time and money business ideas in his early wasted. We caught up with career, which consisted ideas David J Bland, co-author of of working with various Testing Business Ideas, to startups, some more find out about the best ways successful than others. One to test, deciding what counts was acquired for $16 million, as ‘success’ and knowing which, as David describes, when to quit ... was “a pretty decent exit for We’ve heard before 2006”. But following this that failure is a big part of success, David joined a few entrepreneurship. And whilst startups that didn’t go quite many founders can tell you so well. “What I learned was a story or two of when it that if you blindly ignore the all goes wrong, there are data and keep persevering ways to limit risk. You may no matter what, you have heard the term ‘failing eventually run out of money. fast’: testing, learning from Basically, it doesn’t matter the results and changing how amazing you think it is, direction when you know it’s if your customers don’t want not working, before you’ve it, they don’t want it.” put too much time or money This realisation sparked behind an idea. David David’s journey to help Bland, serial entrepreneur other founders. David and Silicon Valley stalwart, went on to work with has made it his mission accelerators and large global to use his experience to companies to encourage an teach fellow founders about environment of innovation the importance of testing and experimentation where business ideas before you he crossed paths with get in too deep. His latest Alexander Osterwalder, book, Testing Business creator of the Business Ideas, co-written with Swiss Model Canvas. “All these business model strategist founders or small innovation Alexander Osterwalder, is an teams just weren’t aware of experiment library consisting all the different experiments of over 40 illustrated that are available. So, we business tests, organised ended up writing a book. We by cost, time and strength wanted to help people say, of evidence, that guide ‘I’m stuck with something. founders as they build an What can I do to help me evidence-backed business make progress?’” ready to scale. David recommends a founder Getting started start with quick, easy For founders, the first step to experiments that are free or testing a business idea lies cheap, and elicit relatively in the value proposition and weak evidence, and then, customer segments. David if the evidence validates explains: “You need to look their hypothesis, move onto for these unmet needs or a

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Testing business ideas 43

Don’t get too excited if important to remember: because it’ll take three to “Don’t get too excited if one Three five years to really help it one experiment succeeds, experiment succeeds, and start to stick and don’t get too depressed if types of in the startup that’s like and don’t get too depressed it fails. Usually I run various dog years.” if it fails. tests for about 12 weeks testing: For startups and large at least before making that companies alike, one way to create something or a clickable mock-up or decision. Twelve weeks is concern when testing is of value that’s different.” even 3D printing. There kind of arbitrary, I admit. But protecting your idea and IP. One of the most common are all these different tools I feel like that’s enough, that David agrees that this can mistakes entrepreneurs you can use to learn and if you’ve tested one thing be a risk: “It’s a challenge. make is only making generate evidence that don’t every week for 12 weeks and Sometimes we have people moderate improvements require building hardware or there’s just nothing there sign disclosures or an NDA on what’s already out there. software.” then you should probably to test with us. They’re all Customers are unlikely to The varying experiments rethink your strategy. If Wizard1 these sites where people change habits for a slight in David’s book not only you’ve tested for 12 weeks want to launch and test improvement. “It has to allow entrepreneurs to test and you’re onto something of Oz ideas like Product Hunt. But be 10 times better,” David the viability of their idea, and have traction, then that if you launch something on A test where it appears says, “and don’t build right but also the feasibility of could help you make that there that you’re not quite to work seamlessly on away. There’s so much you running their business decision to take the leap.” ready to run with there the front end, but manual can learn without building model. An example David Despite the obvious are a lot of other hungry work happens behind the anything.” gives is: “There’s always benefits to continued entrepreneurs scrolling scenes. For example, One of the biggest pit- machine learning startups testing, big corporates are that list. So you do have a landing page. falls for startups testing their that struggle to hire data unlikely to have a culture to balance it. But there’s idea is bias, David explains. scientists. That’s a big risk of experimentation if no a lot you can test without “Usually all these biases that’s on the back end of longer run by the founders: exposing all your IP.” creep in, like confirmation your startup if you’re trying “They get in this mindset The most successful bias and experimenter’s bias to do machine learning and of just execute business as businesses have always and overconfidence bias. you don’t have any data usual.” Despite this, a few been based on evidence. And what happens is, you scientists. Your risk isn’t large companies have found Evidence that their will run the experiment, but the customer there. It’s the ways to test new products customers want the product then you only look for the backstage, the functioning. without risking their brands’ Concierge2 or service, evidence your data that proves what you You also need to test reputation: “You have to company infrastructure want it to already do.” David onboarding people. How do think about how to create All done manually, like will work and evidence of says the one thing he wishes you attract talent? How do the ‘new thing’, so the a white glove service, your value proposition. he’d known starting out was: you run the infrastructure? teams I work with and I’ve delivering the value So, run experiments. Use “to have strong opinions Key partners? Or test out observed, will do something to customers. experience in research to held loosely. So this idea pricing? It’s more than just like lightly branded, or off validate your business idea, of having an opinion but customer. Customer is brand, or a labs brand. If you and remember: “be open to be open to the idea of important, but there’s much go to Indiegogo and scroll the idea of being wrong and being wrong and adjusting more to it than that to be through it, you’ll see a lot adjusting accordingly”. accordingly.” successful.” of corporate ideas that are Once you have your value on Indiegogo right now, it’s proposition and customer Next steps pretty interesting.” segment defined, David After testing all these One example of this David’s book, Testing explains that the next step aspects of your business, a is a well-known software Business Ideas is Mash-up3 is assumptions mapping: decision needs to be made company in San Francisco, available from the A combination of the “The flow I typically follow as to whether you move USA, which David has Enterprise Lab Library two. Cobbling together is to sketch out your forward, iterate or pivot, worked with to launch and on Amazon. a solution that still strategy. Write down your based on the success of the new products: “I’ve helped adds value. assumptions map and tests. David advises writing launch some of their then run experiments on down what you’re going to new mobile apps, and I the really big things that measure and the success felt like they did a great if proven wrong, would criteria prior to conducting job of throwing a team cause everything else to the test. Always be together that’s dedicated fail.” Assumptions are often ambitious, he counsels. “If at something, testing it off where the biggest risks lie, we’re working on something brand, seeing if it works, so finding tests that can new, you don’t want to and then bringing it on prove or disprove them is barely succeed, you want brand, which I thought vital. “There’s all kinds of to challenge yourselves, was very smart. If they ways we can get in front so I tend to set the criteria launched something with of customers. It could be somewhat high.” their brand that’s not interviews or landing pages Even with numerous polished, they’ll get a lot of or surveys, but there’s so successful business tests, press really quickly on it. much more than that. You taking the leap can be There’s all kinds of cool stuff can do paper prototyping daunting. David says it’s happening, it really comes back to stable leadership,

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 44 Superior: The Return of Race Science

Superior: The Return of Race Science

different deep down and that have been poured into If 2020 was a book, it would have plot twist after plot that’s why minorities are trying to look to genetic twist after plot twist. Among the backdrop of a global under-represented in so differences, we haven’t many fields. got any, and this reinforces pandemic, one very important societal conversation “I think they feel that if in the public imagination has come to the forefront … race. they can find some kind of that there might be intellectual justification for something biologically parked by the century. Prior to this the now, because it has political it, then what they’re feeling tangible about race.” abhorrent death of word ‘race’ referred to a and social meaning, and has is not bigotry. There are Unfortunately, until the S George Floyd in May, family group or tribe. Angela defined how people have so many people who put concept of race being a the USA and the UK have explains: “this makes been treated for hundreds time and effort into trying social construct is widely seen the long shadows more sense because at of years; it’s been used as a to provide and invigorate recognised, it will be hard of colonialism and white least there is some genetic justification for slavery and these old 19th-century, for society to progress. As privilege held to account like commonality between you. colonialism and genocide. completely outdated and Angela explains: “if you’re never before. As we strive to They didn’t use the racial It’s deeply rooted in many pseudoscience, arguments still arguing about whether become more progressive, categories that we use now, cultures. You can’t ignore about racial difference.” people are different, deep many have been educating and certainly not this colour- it. To ignore it would be to The coronavirus down, then you don’t themselves on the issue coded way of talking about ignore that racism still exists.” pandemic has been a tackle the root cause of the through books, podcasts groups of people – black, The most alarming perfect example of how, as problem, which is social and and documentaries. On this white, brown, red – the kind realisation when reading Angela describes it, “lazy, political. You don’t tackle list of essential reading is of system that developed in Superior is the fact that uninformed speculation” structural, institutional Superior: The Return of Race the 18th and 19th century.” not much has changed. can lead to mistakes racism.” Science. In the majority of Pseudoscience is still being about race: “I’ve seen Since publishing When writing Superior, modern scientific history, used to back up and support quite prominent medical Superior in 2019, Angela Science Journalist Angela the idea that there are political agendas. Angela researchers and doctors has been asked to speak Saini could never have different biological races, explains that: “Scientific speaking about racial at many events regarding imagined the social climate and profound differences racism survived because disparities in coronavirus the lingering effects of race in which it would be read, between those races, was of politics. There are deaths, in particular early science. “It’s frustrating … but the message of the considered mainstream enough people out there, on in the pandemic in I find myself repeatedly book has never been so thinking: “It was not not just on the margins, the UK and in the US, as having to explain that race urgent: race is a construct, controversial at all,” says but also sometimes in though there might be really is a social construct not based on evidence or Angela. These views, despite the mainstream, who genetic cause. That’s almost again and again and again fact, but created to elevate not being based on scientific want to believe that the impossible. We’re not talking to scholars, universities, a particular segment of fact, have permeated their inequality that’s seen in about genetic groups here, magazines, and that just society. way into society: “When society isn’t the product of were talking about socially goes to show that it’s not In fact, the idea of you have social divisions discrimination or historical defined groups. That’s a widely accepted. I hope that different biological races through society, then they factors or political factors, real problem. And that’s not within my lifetime, we get wasn’t recorded until the take on a meaning of their but just biology. They just speculation, of course. beyond that, because all Enlightenment of the 18th own. So race does matter want to believe that we’re Despite the many resources the time we’re stuck on this

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Superior: The Return of Race Science 45

Race is a construct, not based on evidence or fact, but created to elevate a particular segment of society.

basic, basic issue, we can’t biology backs up this idea. move forward.” It was only really through The good news is that with writing Superior that I conversations about race realised just how little it coming to the forefront in does, and the true history of 2020, Angela has observed it. But you only learn these a change in attitude at things through slow effort. some of the talks she’s When I was growing up, held: “I’ve been doing a lot people would say, ‘We’re of university talks and what all the same underneath’, I’m seeing is less people ‘It doesn’t matter what asking me about the biology your skin colour is’, but it of race and more people doesn’t mean much until asking how can you change you understand yourself things and make institutions the complex ways in which more diverse, so maybe that’s true. One thing I would the conversation is moving love is for young people to forward now.” read Superior and maybe try “I think there’s a huge community and denounce engineering, I was given which racism exists, which and understand that as early groundswell of action any form of racism, but very little context. The idea we are, is to be exposed to as possible.” happening at the grassroots, Angela believes there are is that every time you learn a and internalise those ideas Superior: The Return especially amongst students far more effective ways new scientific concept, you from a young age. So, we all of Race Science delves and people in junior of tackling institutional should be taught, not just carry certain assumptions into the deep history of positions, lobbying their racism within universities: the concept itself, but also and biases and by asking ‘race’ through historic case institutions for change. For “There’s two things I’ve been its origin. So, who developed yourself what biases you studies and interviews example, the process of pushing for. One of them it? Why? And where it came have, then it becomes a lot with academics, with one, renaming lecture theatres is that there should always from.” easier to understand why very important take away and taking down statues, be a body in place within Education really is the society works the way it that Angela describes: however controversial universities where people key to achieving change. does and how to tackle the “The way we use the word that might be, encourages can go when they suffer Angela describes how problems.” ‘race’ now is arbitrary. It’s debate and helps people harassment, bullying, racism reading widely around We asked Angela if there not rooted in science so understand the content, the or sexism at any time and the subject shifted her was one thing she wishes much as politics. We are all history, which is crucial in know their complaint will be perspective, “I think every she’d known growing up one human species, we’re moving forward.” taken seriously. The other person goes through their that she knows now: “Before very homogeneous as a During the protests thing that I’m pushing for own individual process I started writing Superior, species. We can’t be divided in spring 2020, many is history and humanities around this but interrogating I had internalised certain into sub-groups, breeds or institutions released teaching to be woven into your own biases first is the ideas about racial difference subspecies as some racists statements describing science curriculums from the best way to start. Because and I wish I’d known many still believe we can.” how they support their beginning. When I studied to be raised in a society in years ago just how little

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 46 Finding ‘weak signals’ from the future

The future is already here, it is just unevenly distributed.

Finding ‘weak signals’ from the future Opportunity is all around, if you know where to look. But have you ever turned your gaze to signals from the future?

By Maria Jeansson, Foresight Strategy Manager, Imperial College London

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21 Finding ‘weak signals’ from the future 47

or Instagram.” Now One thing is Musical.ly is more well These signals often emerge true: we perceive known as the company from the artists, the creatives, TikTok, worth over change to come $75 billion. A more those who are brave enough out of nowhere recent example is the to think beyond the current Randonautica app; it is a and more rapidly service aimed to get people paradigm. than ever before. out to explore in the local area. As you are generating Where does a location, you set a location this perception and the service then service. Their investment of to ensure that it is actually generates a random place producing their own series happening. Ask yourself, of acceleration through a quantum random and films came from an where else is this happening come from? number generator. It helps understanding of how the and what could it mean? users create location- big production companies irstly, information is based ‘synchronicities’ – would start to remove Expand your perceptual abundant; at the same coincidences or occurrences content from their service. horizon: As Donald F time, it is hard to make outside usual patterns of Many organisations also Rumsfeld said in his famous sense of what really is experiences. The idea here fail in spotting signals of speech in the early 2000s: relevant. There is simply so is to start asking, why would change. Why is it so hard for “there are no knowns”. We much going on. How can we people want this? Is it about organisations to identify and need to consider we are separate background noise a reaction to lockdown act on external changes in restricted with our own from important signals of fatigue and a desire for the contextual environment? cognitive biases and can’t change? new adventures in local We wanted to leave some know everything. We often At Imperial Tech Foresight, areas? Or does it have a quick tips on how you can discount future threats and we believe in anticipating the connection to the future of start honing in on your own opportunities for present future by identifying ‘weak automated creativity and perceptual radar: gains. signals of change’. This is decision-making? Will we all Often changes nothing new. In the 1970s, rely on quantum sages? It Pay attention to the happening outside your Igor Ansoff, a Russian- is important to explore and fringes: Be curious and own industry will have an American mathematician try to understand what this frequent the fringes, the impact on your business. and business manager, means and potential future scientific labs, the artists’ Start seeing the boundaries coined the term ‘weak consequences. and other emerging spaces. of your organisation as signals’. In essence, they are Finding these signals Don’t be concerned about continuously evolving. murmurs of the future that early comes with a strategic the emerging signals, be Gaming platforms, such as can prelude a significant advantage. We have the curious about them to find Twitch and Fortnite, have disruption or change. They weak signals around us, what is new and emergent. extended their offering are called ‘weak’ as they but they are hard to find, Some things might just to include music and live are emerging, often odd identify and make sense be plain crazy, but others performances during the and quirky, coming from of due to their obscure can point to something COVID-pandemic. Where the fringes of society. Which nature. As the science relevant. Could nanobionic could your organisational means they often stand out fiction writer William Gibson light-sources help with boundaries stretch to? from ‘what we know’. They wrote: “The future is already light pollution? Could There is no magic crystal are also rarely quantifiable. here, it is just unevenly quantum random number ball. But we can become If they were, they would no distributed”. Identifying applications maybe help us better at anticipating these longer be weak. You might weak signals of change become more creative? ‘weak signals’ by questioning say, wait. Is a weak signal can be the difference them, investigating them not just a fad or a craze? between survival and death Step away from the and maybe even debunking Not at all. These signals for startups and major numbers: As a quant- some of them. Remember often emerge from the corporations. Many of the obsessed society, we often that most of the next artists, the creatives, those organisations that we today want numbers to back up million-dollar startups will who are brave enough to see as leaders were initially our opportunities and help come from the next weird or think beyond the current seen as radical quirky us make the right decisions. strange. paradigm. organisations. But signals However, weak signals are Pay attention to the A weak signal is often an can also help organisations often unquantifiable. In fringes, the labs, and talk indicator of a shift, whether understand and pivot their this case, numbers become to those that seem to see in culture, technology or organisation. An example of deceptive rather than the things no one else sees. society. Often seen as odd. an organisation that pivoted helpful, as they most often And when you find it, act An example is Musical.ly and changed its business don’t show the emergent on it, stick to your idea and which initially was seen as a model is Netflix – initially possibility and trajectory be brave. People might not fad and strange. Why would created as a movie rental of this change. And if they understand it at first. But young tweens want to mime service in 1997, where do, they are often no longer maybe you will be the next to music online? Many said: they would post DVDs for a ‘weak signal’. Instead, billion-dollar company that “They would never take over individuals to rent. We now explore the change across a saw what no one else did. from Facebook know Netflix as a streaming variety of different sources

Issue 3 / 2020–21 The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs D/srupt 48 Feature Title

204 778 £2.42M 16 Days coaching delivered through Teams who accessed support Raised by MedTech Super Companies based at the the Enterprise Lab. from the Enterprise Lab. Connector companies. White City Incubator.

10 2 5 3 Post-doc teams on the Companies graduated out of the Companies grew to take bigger Venture support panels for Techcelerate cohort. incubator into their own space. space within the Incubator. Techcelerate teams.

Entrepreneurship in numbers (2019/20)

0 > 651 2,039 3,000 455 Members on the Unique students engaged Members through the Unique alumni engaged Enterprise Lab Slack. through the Enterprise Lab. Hackspace doors. through the Enterprise Lab.

20 92 9 8 Interns or student placements People currently employed by Spinouts and companies Patents filed supported by White City companies at the White City formed through the MedTech through the MedTech Incubator companies. Incubator. SuperConnector. SuperConnector.

7,000 10,000 £5.5M 74KM Combined number of pieces Engagements with students Raised by White City Of 3D printer filament used at in completed puzzles in the and alumni through the Incubator companies in the Hackspace (the same distance Enterprise Lab. Enterprise Lab. grant funding. as London’s Central line!)

D/srupt The magazine for innovators & entrepreneurs Issue 3 / 2020–21