Profile

As the founder of a technology business, it’s unusual to have the luxury of being able to concentrate on a single task or area of the business for more than half an hour in a typical day.  I need to be able to switch between a diverse range of tasks really quickly and be ‘in the zone’ with whoever I’m talking to on a particular subject. This can range from a detailed discussion on a printed circuit board layout with one of my electronics engineers (my Degree is in Electronics) in one moment to answering a call on my mobile from the British Embassy in Japan needing an immediate quote for a press release.

I generally describe my job as being the glue between the various elements in the business.  There’s a lot that needs to be place to ensure we’re on course to grow and develop against our business plan.

One of the elements I particularly enjoy is the ‘front of shop’ activity: meeting with customers and collaborators to explore ideas and the art of the possible. I enjoy presenting and getting people exciting about the novel technologies we’re developing at Oxford Space Systems.

I also enjoy outreach activities with local schools and colleges. We recently completed a great project with Didcot Sixth Form project that one the school team a prize . You can read about this here: http://tinyurl.com/pepyj9y

I’m also particularity proud of the great team we’re building – the dynamic and interaction between a young and very smart technology based team is electric and really motivating. Throw in the diverse mix of the team: Indian, Mexican, Polish, Greek, Japanese, French and British and you’ve got some really interesting viewpoints. Makes going for a meal together after work a bot of challenge sometimes!

It’s hard to define a typical day as I’m often pulled in multiple directions.  To give a flavour of the many things a founder & Managing Director gets called on to do, here’s some of the activities I’ve got up to the last month:

Been to Tokyo and California on UK Space Trade missions to profile the exciting technology we’re developing
Taken part in detailed technical design reviews with the European Space Agency and a lead customer
Proposed a technical solution to an internal problem on one of designs
Interviewed a potential employee
Negotiated the technical & commercial details of a contract with Kazakhstan
Presented to a number of potential ‘Dragon’ investors and venture capitalists
Presented to the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London
Coached a session at an Engineering YES event

I’m a keen supporter of Engineering YES, a residential training experience for research & engineering students that introduces the vital elements of business and entrepreneurial thinking.  In the UK, we’re great at coming up with world-beating ideas & technologies but often fail to reap the rewards. Engineering YES introduces the vital component needed for the success to a killer technology – critical business thinking.

I really enjoy working with smart and enthusiastic students to shape their ideas to be more commercial viable and attractive. This gives them increased confidence and puts them in a much better position to see the rewards for their ideas.  To help shape the thinking of a possible future successful entrepreneur gives me a real buzz.  Ultimately, we need to develop new & exciting companies in the UK to create employment & value for the UK.  I think Engineering YES and the time donated freely by all involved for the benefit of students is a really valuable part of this process.

Engineering YES relies on donations and this year the number of events that could be organised was reduced due to lack of funds.

http://www.engineeringyes.org/