Welcome to a very special episode of Labnotes! 

For our 50th edition of the show we recorded LIVE from the Future Health Expo at the University of New South Wales, diving into the world of spinouts and deep tech investment with a panel of three guests from the Venture Capital and Angel Investment sector.

Join us to hear how Alejandra Romero (Main Sequence Ventures), John Kurek (UniSeed) and Mian Bi (Australian Medical Angels) find, fund and foster big ideas and entrepreneurial researchers emerging from Australian universities.

GUESTS :

Alejandra Romero

Dr Mian Bi

Dr John Kurek

UNIVERSITY OF NSW :

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Until recently you might have called James a typical scientist, working away in the labs of the University of Melbourne to understand the way that muscle tissues develop and how new therapies might improve the lives of patients.

But in 2019 his career took a dramatic turn when a curiosity about culturing meat as an alternative to farming livestock brought James to the attention of George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith. The co-founders of Vow were on the hunt for a Chief Scientist as one of their first employees, and James fit the bill perfectly. 

What has followed is a fabulous case study in the transition from research scientist to start-up executive, and a ride well worth following.

GUEST : Dr. James Ryall

VOW :

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What does it take to be an effective entrepreneur? 

Mark Swinnerton is the founder and CEO of the energy storage startup Green Gravity, but he comes to this role with a tremendous depth of skills earned over two decades rising through the ranks of one of Australia’s largest companies, BHP.

It's a personal resource that Mark draws on daily as he builds a team to help tackle the climate crisis. And while Mark is not an academic himself, he has made a point of deeply engaging with university partners to validate the technical, social, and economic foundations of his energy storage solution, ultimately shaping this promising idea into the world-beating technology Mark knows we need.

GUEST : Mark Swinnerton

GREEN GRAVITY :

BHP:

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As the world strives for net-zero there are many tough questions to solve, but among the toughest is the need to replace the literal foundations of our built environment. 

Clare Tubolets is the CEO of SmartCrete, a Cooperative Research Centre that brings together research and industry to tackle the challenge of decarbonising concrete, the ubiquitous and indispensable building material that currently accounts for almost 8% of global CO2 emissions. 

Join us as Clare recounts the steep learning curve of the construction sector, and shares how research, policy and industry must adapt in parallel to meet our objectives for the planet. 

GUEST : Clare Tubolets

SMARTCRETE CRC :

FOOD AGILITY CRC :

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For much of the 20th century Bell Labs was a nursery of ambitious research, helping to usher in the information age with practical innovations including the transistor, lasers and photovoltaics. 

Prof. Ben Eggleton is one Bell Labs alumni who has continued its culture of applied innovation, and the Eggleton Lab at the University of Sydney is now known as a global leader in optical physics, photonic computing, sensors and microwave signal processing.

Ben's ability to bridge the gap between fundamental science and tangible technology is one of the factors that has seen Prof. Eggleton and his collages awarded sought after research grants including an ARC Centre of Excellence and multiple Laureate Fellowships, as well as awards including a Eureka Prize, and Ben's election to the Australian Academy of Science in 2016.

Today Prof. Eggleton continues to lead his research team, is co-director of the NSW Smart Sensing Network, and has recently taken up the post of Pro-vice chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney where he is now responsible for shaping research policy at this world-class academic institution.

Join us to hear Ben's take on forging a career in applied research.

GUEST : Prof. Ben Eggleton

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No sector has a monopoly on innovation and the focus on universities and startups often overlooks a major group driving research and development in Australia, the SMEs. 

Dan brings a great deal of experience to the role as a former founder, investment manager and university commercialisation expert based at UNSW. By bridging the gap between research and industry Dan has helped bring a diverse array of technologies to market from image software to photovoltaics and quantum computing. 

Plug in to hear how collaboration between universities and SMEs is a key pathway for Australian innovation and competitiveness. 

GUEST : Daniel Gronowski

ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAM

DELLOITE

EON LABS

HOST : Dr. Leo Stevens

MUSIC : Purple Planet Music

Exuberant and irrepressible, Cheryl Mack has been making a splash in the Australian startup ecosystem from the day she arrived. 

After moving to Sydney in 2013 the Canadian-Australian introduced herself to the local startup scene through diligent networking and her leading role in establishing StartCon, a national convention for founders, investors and innovators backed by Freelancer.com. She has since mentored, invested and worked across a swathe of startup-focused organisations including the Sydney Startup Hub, The Founder Institute, SheStarts, Stone and Chalk, Air Tree and The Macquarie University Incubator.

Cheryl is now bringing this network together to help launch Aussie Angels, a new venture focused on smoothing the investment process and increasing capital flows to the ideas that deserve it. 

Plug in for a masterclass in networking, and a sneak peak at the future of the Australian investment ecosystem. 

GUEST : Cheryl Mack

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In 1999 a team of ANU researchers founded Seeing Machines based on their shared insight that robots and humans would need to understand one another. The idea was prescient, but the process of turning that idea into a commercial reality proved harder than any of the founders had imagined.

Ultimately, the Seeing Machines board turned to the serial entrepreneur Ken Kroeger to revive this troubled spinout, and help set the company on a path to global adoption within the automotive industry. 

Join us today to hear Ken's remarkable career journey both inside and outside of Seeing Machines. 

GUEST : Ken Kroeger

SEEING MACHINES

EPICORP

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Twenty years before SPEE3D was formed its two founders could be found pushing custom built solar cars to their limits in a 3000 km race across the Australian Outback.

Fortunately, Steven Camilleri and Byron Kennedy didn't remain rivals for long and the pair formed a lasting friendship based on their race experiences and a shared love of engineering. With the support of their supervisor and mentor Dean Patterson, the dynamic duo would go on to commercialise a world leading electric motor design they helped develop at NTU (Now Charles Darwin University), and began their transition from academic researchers to technology entrepreneurs. 

Fast forward to today and Byron and Steven are the co-founders of SPEE3D, a company commercialising the world's most rapid and robust metal 3D printing system for applications in defence, mining and remote-area repair.

So plug in for an electric story about innovation at speed.

GUEST : Dr. Steven Camilleri

SPEE3D

CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITY

THE VALUE PROPOSITION CANVAS (STRATEGYZER)

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The Brief is a quick-fire show where we break down two concepts from science and business.

On today’s episode Leo and Marc explore some of the ways the government and investors seek to shape the innovation ecosystem towards social good. Marc takes a look at the ARC's grants program for Indigenous scholars, while Leo does his best to unpack the concept of impact investing.

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HOSTS :

Prof. Marc in het Panhuis

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