The latest ‘ITS Oxford’ event was held at ARC Oxford on Thursday, 29 February. In spite of the wet weather and usual Oxford traffic issues, we had a fantastic turnout with standing room only in ARC Oxford’s newly refurbished marketing suite.
The breakfast event provided a successful networking environment and a chance for the attendees to gain valuable insights into the role of a CEO with engagingpanellists representing some of Oxford’s S&T companies: Perspectum, Wild Bioscience and Breakthrough Labs.
ITS Oxford is an event series that brings the community together and allows them to hear first hand from experts in their fields about their journey, their experiences, the positives and negatives the high’s the low’s, the do’s the don’t and their recommendations to help others along their journey.
Duncan May kicked off the morning with a brief summary of ITS Oxford and how it was created for the Science & Tech community to gather and share experiences. With head counts doubling or tripling in a short period of time there are many pitfalls to look out for and many mistakes that can easily be made.
Dan Williams from ARC Oxford then welcomed everyone to the outstanding innovation campus before the panel kicked off. Chaired by William Richmond-Coggan.
• Dr Rajarshi Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer, Perspectum Ltd
• Dr Ross Hendron, CEO & Co-Founder at Wild Bioscience
• Kristen Weatherby, Founder of Breakthrough Labs
Our key takeaways:
- Cultural Sensitivity Across Geographies: People's perceptions and behaviours vary across different regions. Negotiations in one place may be interpreted differently elsewhere. Cultural awareness is crucial when working across geographies for the first time, as misunderstandings can be costly.
- The CEO's Role in Shaping Company Culture: The CEO or founder plays a pivotal role in setting the company culture. It's essential to lead by example because employees closely observe and embody their actions, mission and values.
- Self-Reliance and Hard Work: It's essential to be self-reliant and not depend too much on others. Be your own superstar. Ego should be set aside, and a focus on finding dedicated individuals who are versatile and caring is important. Translating passion into the team is vital, as there is often more work to be done than people to do it in rapid-growth organisations. Passion power performance.
- Building a Supportive Community: Creating a network of peers and supporters is valuable for personal and professional growth. Sometimes these networks can be one and the same!
- Financial Understanding and Funding: Understanding the financial needs of the business and finding the right investors are crucial steps. Grant options were highlighted as alternatives to giving away equity in your business, providing funding without diluting ownership.
- Embracing Mistakes: “All your mistakes are steps to success.” Maybe you could have taken a better route but at least you got there. Make mistakes, learn, adapt your approach and move on!
Overall, the session emphasised the importance of cultural sensitivity, strong leadership, hard work, community building, being financially savvy, and learning from failures in building a successful business.
This free event is delivered in Partnership with Bidwells and Freeths and proudly supported by Barclays.
