What happens when a San Francisco VC takes the reins at Cambridge Enterprise?

Six months into the role, Jim Glasheen joins us to talk about his early moves as incoming CEO, like opening a London office to better plug Cambridge into global capital and talent flows. But this episode goes deeper than strategy.

Key takeaways:

• Cambridge has over 40 entrepreneurship programmes, but Jim questions if we’re at risk of creating an “illusion of entrepreneurship” without real market pressure.

• There’s a persistent Series B funding gap. His push? Build international investor relationships before companies need to scale.

• He wants the ecosystem to get more comfortable with failure and take on more risk.

• Cambridge Enterprise now spans licensing, founder support, venture investment, consulting, and ecosystem-building.

Jim’s set the clock ticking: in 6 months, he’ll report back on how international outreach and risk appetite are shifting. For now, he's off to the BIO conference in Boston to keep building those global ties.

Listen in for a sharp, honest look at what Cambridge needs next, and how leadership is setting the tone.

Produced by Cambridge TV

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week James sits down with David Cleevely to explore the concept of serendipity and its role in innovation. David’s insights are not only thought-provoking but also practical for anyone looking to foster creativity and collaboration in their ventures.

Key Takeaways:

• David challenges the traditional notion of serendipity as mere luck. He asserts, “Serendipity doesn’t happen by accident. It’s much more by design.” This perspective encourages us to create environments that increase the likelihood of unexpected, beneficial encounters.

• He emphasises the need for organisations to rethink their structures and networks to facilitate serendipitous interactions. “You want to actually design things so that the unpredictable is going to happen,” he explains.

• The book is aimed at those frustrated with slow innovation in large organisations, including civil servants and corporate leaders. David’s goal is to inspire a shift in mindset towards embracing unpredictability in the innovation process.

• He shares his experience of writing the book, highlighting the collaboration with a personal trainer-like figure who helped him structure his thoughts and ideas effectively.

• David also provides practical frameworks for fostering serendipity within teams and organisations, encouraging listeners to consider how they can engineer opportunities for chance encounters.

The episode then features highlights from David’s previous appearance on the podcast in November 2024 (episodes 112 and 113), pulling together serendipity related highlights from that conversation to celebrate the book launch.

Produced by Cambridge TV

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode features a fascinating interview with Nazmus Tareque and Raoul Peltier, co-founders of AnthroTek, a startup that is pushing the boundaries of material science in medical and robotics applications.

Nazmus and Raoul come from very different worlds - law and VC on one side, drug delivery and materials science on the other - but together they’re building hyper-realistic silicone solutions for real world impact.

A few standout moments from the conversation:

🧠 “We started with this idea of what the market might need, and very early on, we realised the demand is not for hyperrealism, but for functionality.” – Raoul

🌍 “We want to stay a humane company that finds solutions that help people and the planet.” – Nazmus

Key Takeaways from the Interview:

• The duo emphasised the importance of market discovery, stating, “We literally started with a lot of ideas and we didn’t know which one was going to work.” This approach has allowed them to refine their focus on medical applications, which currently account for 80% of their revenue.

• Both founders are passionate about sustainability, aiming to develop biodegradable alternatives to traditional silicone. “We are really interested in using our material science knowledge to explore can we find within five years an alternative to silicone that is actually biodegradable,” Nazmus shared.

• The Cambridge tech scene has played a pivotal role in their success and they highlighted the importance of networking and collaboration.

Produced by Cambridge TV

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.