W talks: tech

In our fourth episode of W talks: tech, we explore the world of diagnostics as James Shaw, our Global Head of Withers tech speaks with Mark Davis, Co-Founder and CEO of Mologic, one of the world's leading developers of point of care rapid diagnostic technologies, using lateral flow technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on lateral flow testing and the global diagnostics industry for the first time. We hear from Mark Davies who provides insider knowledge into the global diagnostics industry and the vital role it plays in helping combat diseases on a global scale. We discuss how innovation can successfully support a social mission and how to get investors to back that mission.

Mologic is a leading developer of lateral flow and rapid diagnostic technologies, products and services who works with companies, researchers and clinicians to help them deliver fast, reliable and accurate diagnosis at the point-of-care. Mologic was established in 2003 by Mark Davis and his Father Professor Paul Davis, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, who was one of the named inventors on the original Lateral Flow Patent in the late 80's which was first put to commercial use with the Clearblue pregnancy test kit.

Mologic has recently become a ‘Social Enterprise’ following an acquisition by a consortium of philanthropic funds and investors including the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) founded by George Soros and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (among others). Global Access Health (GAH), the newly named Social Enterprise, will seek to expand access to affordable state-of-the-art medical technology through decentralized research, development, and manufacturing in and for the Global South. This venture will address gaps in the provision of global diagnostics in low-income communities and regions that profit-focused businesses have failed to address. For further information, please see here. 

In this podcast, host James Shaw speaks with Robert Walsh, Managing Partner of QVentures and Irina Haivas, a Partner at Atomico. They share their personal experiences working in the venture capital scene and provide their practical advice and insight to venture capital professionals, family offices and early-stage investors. The venture landscape is complex and rapidly evolving, however there is a gap in the existing academic landscape. We discuss the reasons for this gap and how junior associates and early-stage investors can learn to make sound investment decisions. 

Atomico is a European venture capital firm headquartered in London, with offices in Paris, Beijing, São Paulo, Stockholm, and Tokyo. Its founder and CEO is Niklas Zennström, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Skype and Kazaa. QVentures is a network of family offices, UHNWIs, and successful entrepreneurs investing in venture capital. Their experienced team of highly motivated professionals are committed to delivering quality and excellence.

QVentures, in partnership with London Business School, is addressing the gap in CPD in the venture industry by launching a first of its kind four-day professional development programme on 23 November, aimed at venture capital investment professionals, family offices (partners / investment managers) and investors in early-stage companies. Our Global Head of Withers tech, James Shaw will be speaking on key VC deal terms. 

For further information on the four-day programme or to sign up, please click here. 

In conversation with...

[https://www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/people/james-shaw]  [https://www.atomico.com/team/irina-haivas/] [https://www.qventures.co/team]

In our second episode of W talks: tech, James Shaw, our Global Head of Withers tech speaks to another key player in the European tech ecosystem, Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Managing Partner at Seedcamp. Carlos shares his knowledge and experiences of working through two economic downturns at both a start-up and a fund, and provides advice on how entrepreneurs and founders can adapt and strive.  

James and Carlos also discuss the hot new tech sectors and the new waves of innovation emerging from this crisis. 

Seedcamp started during the 2008 financial crisis by a group of investors who wanted to support the ecosystem. At that time, Seedcamp made the decision to back exciting companies like TransferWise and Revolut, spotting Fintech as the next wave of innovation coming out of the financial crisis. Seedcamp is Europe's seed fund, investing early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology.

Find Carlos Eduardo Espinal's blog mentioned in the podcast here: Weatherproofing your startup for any financial climate — the 3rd way

In the first episode, we cover W Talks Tech. Our Global Head of Withers tech, James Shaw sits down with key figures in the venture capital community: Fred Destin the Founder of Stride.VC and Christian Dörffer, the CEO and Co-Founder of Sweet Capital. We take a look at how VCs and funds are currently managing their existing portfolios and assessing investment opportunities. This is aimed at providing informative soundbites to help CEOs and Founders navigate this crisis and to help them make decisions.

Stride.VC is a seed-stage venture capital fund operating in London and Paris and started by Fred Destin and TwentyMinuteVC Founder Harry Stebbings. Sweet Capital is a fund established by the Founders of King.com (Candy Crush), which focuses on deploying capital into early stage consumer technology companies across the world.