An initiative by Saïd Business School, bridging the gap between science and business

Founders & Funders is a lunchtime event series of informal conversations about science and business. The initiative was first held in March 2020 as an extension of the ‘Ideas2 Impact’ programme. The sessions convene early career research scientists, MBAs, and others interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. The speakers are science business founders and funders, mostly Oxford-based, but also drawn in from the wider ecosystem, such as leading experts and alumni based in Silicon Valley, Boston, and beyond.

How to participate

To attend please email christiaan.dekoning@sbs.ox.ac.uk.Each chat can allow a max of 20-25 people to ensure fair interaction among the attendees.

Who can participate

University of Oxford early career research scientists, current MBAs/EMBAs, and alumni, with an interest in science and business.

Tom Fleming -Co-founder and COO, Arctoris

Tom is a Royal Academy of Engineering SME Leader, and was formerly a cancer researcher and Fellow of the Royal Commission of 1851 at the University of Oxford. A chemist by background, he worked both at leading CROs and pharmaceutical corporations. Tom has unique insights into drug discovery, including the critical steps from target identification and validation to high-throughput screening & lead optimisation. He’s Co-founder and COO of Arctoris – the next step in drug discovery data generation, offering fully automated Experiments-as-a-Service.