We’re kicking off Season Three of Topline Talks with deep dives into our core sector specialisms. For the first episode of the year, we’re joined by Hannah Scott, CEO of Oxfordshire Greentech, a successful low-carbon business network. Hannah shares her fascinating career path, from a degree in music and then a masters in Environment Development Policy, to a consultancy role in a sustainability charity, leading to establishing and becoming CEO of the business network designed to help grow and support the low carbon economy in Oxfordshire. In this interesting conversation, Hannah also discusses…
Oxfordshire Greentech and its role in building a world leading ClimateTech innovation system. How the network helps to better coordinate the advancements taking place in the region, make Oxfordshire more visible on the global stage, and support startups with practical problems and moving from an idea to commercial returns.
Investor relations are key – but there’s more to scaling a CleanTech business:
- The importance of having academia and government involved – on a local and national level
- Getting the right people on board to help you grow
- Access to global supply chains, to de-risk, pilot and even license new technologies
- Risk Capital - Investors who are climate literate and understand the journey, challenges and timescales to scale.
The biggest challenges facing GreenTech startups that are looking to achieve growth. From market failures around lack of investment in the sectors with the heaviest emissions, and the need to diversity the equity investment ecosystem in Oxfordshire, through to policy changes and an unstable regulatory environment.
Lessons that can be taken from other successful tech ecosystems including the Bay Area and Shenzhen, China.
The changing investment landscape. Cleantech investment has been overtaken by AI investment. And as a result, smart innovators are now looking to combine both elements into their designs and products.
How to build a network with impact. Following an MIT model, to create a successful and thriving innovation ecosystem you need five key players: Entrepreneurs, Risk capital, Government, Corporate and Academia. Professional Services firms should also be added to that list as the glue that keeps it all together. When thinking about building network, you need to have a representative from each area to ensure the whole works well. They each bring something unique and valuable.
How the UK ranks in the global GreenTech market. The UK has research excellence and is great at developing ideas. But where it is lacking is the scale-up piece. We have shifted to a services-heavy economy, with a lot of manufacturing centres no longer operational. We need to redevelop the UK’s manufacturing capacity, and to do that, energy prices need to come down. Compared to other innovation ecosystems across the world, energy prices in the UK are extortionately high.
Season Three of Topline Talks sees us take a deep dive into our core sector specialisms, including Private Equity, Consumer, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Charity, Social Housing and Higher Education. The podcast still focuses on engaging conversations with senior leaders, offering insights and learnings from their careers, and providing tips and advice on how to succeed as a leader.
