Cutalks By Cutec

How has Covid-19 affected venture capital/private equity/asset management investments, and how can companies survive? Who will survive? Hear directly from Ozan Özkural, the founder of Tanto Capital Partners. This is a recording from a live webinar event that took place on 27th April 2020. Content: We discussed macroeconomic trends currently being seen, global political and economic consequences, how sectors may morph in the future, and what you (as an individual or a leading figure in your company) can do to survive. Format: Opening remarks were provided by Ozan (www.ozanozkural.com / https://twitter.com/OzanOzkural / https://www.instagram.com/ozanozkural/), and then questions were welcomed from the audience on the topic. This event was organised by CUTEC and CUVCPE societies as part of the ongoing ‘CUTalks by CUTEC’ podcast series. To find other podcast episodes, visit here: https://cutec.io/cutalks. Follow us @CUTEC, #CUTalks and @CUVCPE on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to find out about future events

Martin Frost, CMR Surgical by CUTalks by CUTEC

How To: Embed early stage spin-out success & Connect with your customers Simon Hombersley is CEO of Xampla, a startup making natural plastic alternative made entirely of peas. Simon is an experienced technology entrepreneur with a track record in using technology to solve environmental problems. He is the former CEO of Oxford Flow, an energy reducing wealth technology, spun out of Oxford University’s Department of Engineering Science. Simon has more than a decade of experience building cleantech startups with global impact. He shares about what it takes to commercialize a scientific project out of academia, and the change in mindset that researchers need to adopt in order to make such a pursuit successful. Simon especially emphasizes the importance of understanding what the customer needs since early days of the company. Having connections with investors with extensive experience in the field is also a crucial factor in achieving success.

This week on CUTalks we are talking to Daniel Valdivia and Chris Rosser. Daniel is the CEO and Chris is the CTO, and together they co-founded Unlimitech, a fitness technology startup developing the Smartmask, which is a wearable designed to measure aerobic and metabolic efficiency metrics by tracking breath flow and composition. Daniel has a background in business engineering as well as an MBA from Cambridge, and Chris is an engineer by training, with subsequent engineering consultancy roles.

This week on CUTalks we are talking to Bill Janeway, an active growth equity investor, senior advisor and managing director of Warburg Pincus, as well as economic theorist. He co-founded and is a member of the Governing Board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), and a member of the Board of Managers of the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF). Following publication in November 2012, his book Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets Speculation and the State (Cambridge University Press) became a classic. This episode is an exciting collaboration with the Venture Capital/Private Equity society at Cambridge, and we welcome the president of the society Shelby Newsad as a guest co-host.

This week on CUTalks we are talking to Tom Britton. Tom is the co-founder of Syndicate Room, a fintech company allowing investors to co-invest with Super Angels in a portfolio of early stage companies. Tom did an MBA in Cambridge before starting the company.

This week on CUTalks we are talking to Adrian Ibrahim, Head of Technology Transfer and Business Development at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. With a background spanning academic research, structured finance and technology protection, Adrian was recruited to optimise the ability of the Sanger Institute science to provide healthcare benefit. Adrian talks about the institute’s efforts to help technology transfer for impact to patients.

In this episode of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to John Cassidy, Co-founder and CEO at Cambridge Cancer Genomics (CCG.ai), a precision AI startup transforming the ability of oncologists to provide effective, personalised cancer treatment for everyone. John holds a PhD in functional genomics from the University of Cambridge and a Masters in Pharmacology from the University of Glasgow. His research career in academia (CRUK) and industry (MedImmune) focused on understanding how tumours evolve and become resistant to treatment. John is actively involved in the biotech startup community as a Venture Partner at the Pioneer Fund, Director of SiliconBio and a lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University.

Alex Murray, Flit Bike by CUTalks by CUTEC

Pierre Far, Blockmetry/data governance by CUTalks by CUTEC

In this episode of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Ipshita Mandal-Johnson, co-founder of Global Biotech Revolution, and the first president of Gap Summit. They discuss Ipshita's journey as a serial entrepreneur and how to make an impact on a global scale.

Giorgia Longobardi, Cambridge GaN Devices by CUTalks by CUTEC

In this episode of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Patrick Short, co-founder and CEO of Sano Genetics, which aims to connect people with research in personalised medicine. Patrick has a background in bioinformatics research, having completed a PhD in mathematical genomics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Listen to this episode for an insight into the personalised genomics industry, as well as the journey from PhD to founder and some important lessons learnt along the way.

In this episode of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Jim McDougall, Commercial Director of Outfield, an agri-tech start-up working with drone, satellite and weather data to support farmers. Jim has had past experience in consultancy and private equity, and co-founded Outfield in 2016. Listen to this episode for an insight into the applications of technology in the agriculture industry, the learnings of a founder on funding, building a team and finding product-market fit, and some common mistakes made by early founders.

In this episode of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to James Parton and Stewart McTavish. James is Managing Director of the Bradfield Centre and Stewart is Director of ideaSpace, both co-working environments for different stages of start-ups. They discuss common pitfalls of first-time entrepreneurs and key advice for all aspiring founders.

In this episode of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Bruno Cotta, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Cambridge Judge Business School. Bruno discusses his previous and current roles, and thoughts on some of the key skills that entrepreneurs require.

In Episode 9 of CuTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Catherine Tilley, a researcher at the Institute for Manufacturing at Cambridge University, who is focussing on decision-making to improve social and environmental sustainability, and previously had a career at strategy and consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Catherine was also a keynote speaker at CUTEC’s Technology Ventures Conference last month.

In Episode 8 of CuTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Matthew Bullock, an influential figure in helping craft the ‘Cambridge Phenomenon’, with a background in Barclay’s Bank, NHS finance management, and currently Master of St Edmund’s College.

In Episode 7 of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to John Snyder, discussing John’s experiences with starting up, growing and eventually selling Muscat and Grapeshot.

In Episode 6 of CUTalks, Shreya and Thomas talk to Pablo Lubroth, an Investment Manager at the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, I2S, focusing on the biotech/synthetic biology part of the fund. They discuss ways that VCs can help companies in different stages, different approaches for different industries, as well as advice for those seeking VC investment.