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.