Building Out Loud #5: Knowing when to fold
Plus Venture Science® on rails and a call-to-arms for quantum technology
This week:
Knowing when to fold: what happens when the founder steps down as CEO.
Venture Science® on rails: new tools for you to build something ambitious from science
A call-to-arms for quantum technology in Australia. My latest story in Forbes.
More writing from the Main Sequence team
Knowing when to fold
Nick Hazell is one of my favourite founders.
Am I allowed to say that?
I worked with Nick, alongside CSIRO and Hungry Jacks, to build v2food - a company that is now Asia Pacific’s leading plant-based meat brand.
One of Nick’s superpowers is his ability to listen with genuine curiosity. When the moment came to reflect on what we needed to take our beautiful little startup into its new life as a significant FMCG company, it was one of those moments when a founder and the team around them needed to confront the fit for what comes next.
Nick has now stepped down from the incredible company he created. I won’t say it was easy for any of us, but it was an important process that I think we all did as well as these things can be done.
Mark Bouris was the perfect person to have this discussion with and he asked Nick and I to join him for a chat.
Venture Science on rails
We’ve shipped a toolkit for building ambitious new companies with science at their core. Download and try it here.
Here’s an introduction to the approach which:
Begins with a market pull that is present (or inbound) and big enough to drag us through each of the challenges that are inevitably ahead of us.
Designs a founding team who together deliver unfair advantage on Day 0.
Optimises a work plan to deliver leaps of evidence quickly and deliberately.
A call-to-arms for quantum technology
My latest piece for Forbes is an introduction to why we are excited about a phase shift happening in quantum technology as commercial opportunities begin to unfold.
These technologies have the potential to revolutionise existing industries and birth entirely new ones. This makes for an exciting and rapidly evolving field that will attract significant investment and drive innovation for years to come.
Ideas for the Main Sequence Team
Others in the Main Sequence team have been building out loud.
Dr Amandeep Hansra, who is leading our Humanity Scale Healthcare challenge has been reflecting on some lessons learned during her first months on the job.
Gabrielle Munzer has been reflecting on how it feels different when founders say “I” instead of “We” and how seeking a safe path in a startup is futile.
That’s it for now! See you next time.
Venture Science® on rails is a beautiful tool! Thanks for sharing! I wonder if you would like to include more on convincing the investors to come along for the journey. I was pitching a vaccine technology for pandemic preparedness when in JCU, 2018-19, and multiple investor panels at the time (not including MSV) said there was no market (perhaps true at that time). Best, Pradeep Pillai