A nice summary of our early days as a spin-out, 3 years ago!
Deeptech founder & CEO. Dad & grandad, adoptive parent, & foster carer. Currently transforming industrial radiology with flexible X-ray detectors, to save more lives and prevent global catastrophes!
Almost 4 years to the day, I was introduced by one industry guru Richard Parmee, highly knowledgeable in X-rays, to another scientific rockstar Professor Ravi Silva FREng CBE, who through some genius had invented the high-sensitivity X-ray conversion material that we now call NPX! That early introduction led to a long-term personal commitment (with new risks taken on!), as I signed a lease with a place to base the spin-out (at Pear Mill in Stockport), a real financial investment (buying a glovebox and a cleanroom!), and engaging a couple of trusted contacts who eventually joined me on this exciting journey 12 and 18 months later (Stephen Whitelegg & Norman Stapelberg). A note from my start-up diary on the first time I met Ravi face-to-face (22 Feb 2022, at the University of Surrey) reads: “What struck me was the simplicity of the process (which inherently means it will be cheap in volume) and how much improvement could be made to the process (which will undoubtedly make it more repeatable and more robust)” and further “there is a place for me to make things happen with this technology. Not convinced yet that it’s going to solve all things to all humankind… but I’m sure there will at least be some good use cases for it, which is enough for me to justify getting started on it for now.” Three years later and we have a product that is almost ready, dozens of super excited customers with clear market traction, supportive investors (Northern Gritstone, Cambridge Angels, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund [UKI2S] to name a few who took the lead at various times), industry backers, and a most brilliant multi-disciplinary team! What a journey so far… and it’s only just starting! [A few photos below of the early days: moving the glovebox in, building it back up, and carrying lots of cleanroom steel joists and pillars up 5 flights of stairs!]