Investing in companies that are starting out presents different challenges from when they are more established. Oxford Technology has probably been investing in new science and technology companies for longer than than anyone else in the (S)EIS/UK VC world. We get Director Andrea Mica to discuss how to go about it.
In a discussion that is full of examples, both successful and unsuccessful, we cover a wider range of areas:
- how to validate the science / technology when there is no sales
- how to invest without specialist knowledge
- building appropriate experiments
- looking beyond the first experiment
- the importance of testing commerciality
- avoiding solutions looking for a problem
- developing founder skills and encouraging them to try sales
- the value of contrarianism
With lots of experience, Andrea gives lots of great insights into how they approach the challenge and there is plenty for investors and founders to learn from. Hope you enjoy it!
00:45 Intro to Andrea
06:00 History of Oxford Technology
09:40 Geographically close companies versus distant
12:30 Validating the science / product at the early stage
16:00 Example - viral pathway
21:00 The usefulness of specialist knowledge
26:30 How to building experiments - appropriate size and looking to future experiments
28:30 Testing commerciality: balancing exploration vs definitive answers
33:00 Example - value of testing hand strength vs recovering hand functionality
36:00 Solutions looking for a problem
40:00 Challenge of products that reduce pay of those buying. example - technology to discriminate moles
43:00 Founder skills
46:00 Importance of sales and persuading founders to learn to like it
50:00 Recent trends and the value of contrarianism
55:30 Favourite questions
Links
Oxford Technology website - https://www.oxfordtechnology.com/
Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen
Suggested book and media
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Bio
Andrea Mica
Director, Oxford Technology
Investment Career
Oxford Technology Management Ltd – OT(S)EIS Fund Director. Responsible for souring selecting and supporting companies in the fund. The Fund now has invested £11m.
2009 - Royal Society Enterprise Fund at the Royal Society.
Short term role to help structure the investment evaluation process, train an incoming analyst and help carry out due diligence on the first investments.
2005 IP Group Plc - Responsible for selecting investment opportunities in the partner universities, conducting technology and market due diligence , building startup up team and presenting the investment case to the investment board.
This was followed by a period as director of the companies formed
1999: CFB Technology, Flintstone Plc - Responsible for investigating the technologies in which the group invested and then in helping the teams/companies get started.
Other
Oxford Creativity Trainer and Problem Solver
Cleansteel Ltd – (Business developing and running a recycling process) Co- Founder
Oxford University Begbroke Business Development Fellow
IntelliKraft Ltd. Oxford, UK Piezoceramic and Battery Technology Founding Director Sales & Marketing, Consultant
JRA Technology Ltd, Marlow, UK, Technology Commercialisation Consultancy Senior Project Engineer
D’Appolonia S.p.A, Genova, Italy, Engineering & Technology Commercialisation Consultancy
Innovation Consultant, Leiden, Netherlands
Study
Masters Product Design – Delft University of Technology
Graduate Study – Creativity and Innovation State University College Buffalo
