Claim OwnershipLab to Market Leadership with Chris Reichhelm
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Description
With over 25 years of experience in recruiting leadership teams and boards for advanced science and engineering companies, Chris Reichhelm, CEO of Deep Tech Leaders, offers an insider’s perspective on the pivotal decisions and strategies that shape the success of startups embarking on the lab-to-market journey.
This podcast doesn’t just celebrate innovation for its own sake; instead, it highlights what it truly takes to build, scale, and sustain a successful deep tech company. Through conversations with entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and other key players, Chris will explore the management disciplines, cultures, and behaviours essential for commercialising and scaling deep tech innovations. Each episode will aim to unravel the complexities behind turning rich, research-intensive IP into commercially viable products across various sectors like computing, biotech, materials science, and more.
'Lab to Market Leadership' is for those who are ready to learn from past mistakes and successes to better navigate the path from innovation to market. Whether you're an entrepreneur, an investor, or simply a deep tech enthusiast, this podcast offers valuable lessons and insights to enhance your understanding and approach to building groundbreaking companies that aim to solve the world's biggest problems and improve our way of life.
Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: www.deeptechleaders.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders
Podcast Production by Beauxhaus
31 Episodes
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What's the value of a ridiculously audacious goal if you never reach it? Josh Western, CEO of Space Forge, argues the question misses the point - because the innovations accelerated along the journey often matter more than the destination itself. Space Forge manufactures advanced semiconductor substrates in microgravity conditions, returns them via reusable satellites, then grows them terrestrially using a ‘sourdough starter’ approach. It's technically audacious, operationally complex, and so...
What happens when quantum computing startups can’t wait 15 years for fault tolerance? Richard Murray, co-founder and CEO of Orca Computing, reveals how his team chose commercial usefulness over technical idealism - and why that decision drives everything from recruitment to product development. Operating from a University of Oxford spinout with limited resources compared to Google or IBM, Orca faced a choice: follow the same path but years behind and millions of pounds short, or constra...
What if early-stage Deep Tech investing could be completely reimagined? Keong Chan, Managing Director of Out The Back Ventures, has spent five years building one of the most unique investment approaches in the industry - operating from Perth, Australia, whilst building relationships with leading universities and national laboratories across four continents. Rather than waiting for deals to come to them, Out The Back Ventures proactively identifies breakthrough research and helps incorporate i...
What can we learn from the collapse of two billion-dollar Deep Tech unicorns? James Arnold held senior strategy and operations roles at both Lilium and Arrival - European companies that raised over a billion dollars each, employed thousands of engineers, and still ended in insolvency. This conversation reveals the hidden pitfalls that destroy Deep Tech companies: why rapid team growth kills startup agility, how too much capital corrupts decision-making, and why applying software ‘blitzscaling...
Why do so few university spinouts make it from lab to market? Dave Grimm, Partner at Albion Ventures, has spent a decade answering this question through a groundbreaking partnership with University College London that's transformed how academic innovations become successful companies. This conversation reveals the blueprint for successful university spinouts: embedding VCs within academic ecosystems, prioritising pace over perfection, and creating standardised processes that work for founders...
What does it take to build million-qubit quantum computers - machines that could fundamentally change how we solve the world's most complex problems? Dr Sebastian Weidt, co-founder and CEO of Universal Quantum, shares the extraordinary journey from asking an audacious research question in 2017 to building one of the world's leading quantum computing companies. This conversation reveals the unique challenges of scaling breakthrough technology that operates on entirely different principles from...
In this captivating episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Chris Reichhelm speaks with Mark Bjornsgaard, the visionary founder and CEO of System Two Group. With a track record of eight successful exits - notably the £200 million sale of Deep Green Technologies to Octopus Energy - Mark brings a powerful, often counterintuitive, perspective on building businesses, especially in the Deep Tech sector. Mark challenges the conventional wisdom of ‘build-measure-learn,’ arguing passionately for a...
Nuclear fusion has been the ultimate ‘30 years away’ technology for decades. But is that finally changing? In this episode, Dr. David Kingham, founder of Tokamak Energy, shares the extraordinary journey of building one of the world's leading nuclear fusion companies from just three scientists and £200,000 to achieving 100 million degree plasma temperatures - the critical threshold for commercial fusion energy. David reveals how they transformed breakthrough superconductor technology through i...
The road from lab to market for chemical engineering startups is anything but smooth. In this episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Chris Reichhelm talks to Peter J. Nieuwenhuizen PhD, a chemical industry veteran and former CTO of AkzoNobel and Enerkem, and Board chair of Itaconix Plc., about the brutal realities of scaling chemical engineering technologies. Peter shares the inside scoop on how regulation, scaling challenges, and securing funding play out in the chemical sector. Plus, he discu...
In this episode, host Chris Reichhelm is joined by Dr. David Cleevely CBE FREng FIET, co-founder of Cambridge Angels and a leading figure in UK science and technology. Together, they explore the intricate process of scaling Deep Tech companies, the importance of talent and vision, and the systemic challenges facing the UK’s innovation ecosystem. David shares lessons from decades of investing, building companies, and influencing policy, shedding light on how serendipity and networks can drive ...
In this episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Marc Singer, Managing Partner at Osage University Partners, joins host Chris Reichhelm to discuss the transformative role of university spinouts in Deep Tech. With decades of venture capital experience, Marc offers valuable insights into what makes a successful Deep Tech entrepreneur and shares lessons learned from OUP’s portfolio of 150+ companies. Perfect for innovators, founders, and investors navigating the lab-to-market journey. &...
In this episode of the Lab to Market Leadership podcast, host Chris Reichhelm speaks with James Finlayson, CTO and Co-Founder of Impact Recycling, to explore the journey of scaling their recycling technology from lab prototype to market-ready solution. Over the past decade, James has led the development of BOSS, an innovative technology that uses fluid dynamics to separate ‘hard-to-recycle’ plastics. Achieving 98% purity in processing mixed rigid waste, BOSS has enabled Impact Recyclin...
In The Deep Tech Leaders Podcast, serial entrepreneur Chris Perkins discusses the most undervalued skill in Deep Tech – management. Listen as he reveals lessons from his journey through two successful exits, sharing insights on market alignment, team culture, and effective leadership. Perfect for Deep Tech founders looking to scale their innovations and maximise success. Chapter Notes: 00:00 The Importance of Good Management 01:13 Introduction to the Lab to Market Leadership Podcast 01:41 M...
In this episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Chris Reichhelm sits down with Eric Mayes, CEO of Endomag, to explore the rare journey of building a medtech startup from the ground up. Eric discusses the strategies that propelled Endomag to the forefront of cancer detection technology and culminated in a $310 million acquisition by Hologic. Perfect for medtech entrepreneurs and all Deep Tech innovators, this episode uncovers the milestones, challenges, and insights on transforming groundbreaking...
In this episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Chris Reichhelm interviews Rob Davies, Chief Operating Officer, at 6K Energy, discusses what it takes to scale novel battery technology. Rob, who has background in both corporate and startup environments, offers valuable insights on the hurdles and strategies involved in progressing advanced materials from research to market. Tune in to learn how 6K Energy has been revolutionising additive manufacturing and battery materials! Let us know what...
In this episode, Lab to Market Leadership host Chris Reichhelm interviews the former CTO of the Ford Motor Company, Paul Mascarenas OBE. Paul discusses his experiences driving innovation at one of the world’s largest automakers and shares his insights into the complex relationship between startups and large industrial players. Join us to learn about the innovation process within major companies like Ford, and how startups can better position themselves for success. With over 30 years o...
On this episode of ‘Lab to Market Leadership’, Chris Reichhelm talks with Kevin Chen, Managing Director of Lam Capital, about securing funding and scaling in the semiconductor space. Kevin, with his extensive experience that spans MIT, founding startups, and leading teams at Applied Materials, is now responsible for strategic investments at Lam Capital, the venture arm of Lam Research, a $100 billion semiconductor leader. In this episode, Kevin shares his advice for entrepreneurs and CEOs loo...
On this week’s bite-sized Reflections episode of the Lab to Market Leadership podcast, Deep Tech Leaders CEO Chris Reichhelm explores a vital question: ‘Does the starting point of a deep tech company matter?’ Through lessons learned from previous podcast guests like Peter Collins (Permasense) and Henrik Hagemann (Puraffinity), Chris reflects on the importance of a company’s starting point—whether it's driven by technology inspiration or a market problem. How does the initial approach affect c...
Join us on this episode of Lab to Market Leadership as Chris Reichhelm interviews Tim Cesarek, CEO of Synata Bio. Tim draws from his vast experience to discuss how to successfully bring novel chemistry innovations from the lab to the market. Learn about the common obstacles that trip up leadership teams, the importance of commercial discovery, and how to build a high-performing team. Whether you're in specialty chemicals, waste-to-energy, sustainable aviation fuels or any other emerging indus...
In this episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Chris Reichhelm interviews Dr Andy Palmer, CMG, the ‘godfather’ of electric vehicles. Andy's extensive experience as COO of Nissan and CEO of Aston Martin provides a unique perspective on how advanced tech companies can navigate the automotive industry. Discover the secrets to engaging with OEMs, aligning with product cycles, and the importance of storytelling in tech startups. Tune in for a masterclass on leveraging innovation to make a significan...
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