🚀 Bio-spark: Company Seeding Principles & Meet the Mentors in VC

Join us for an evening bringing together entrepreneurs, venture capital investors and leaders from across the life sciences ecosystem.

The evening will begin with Company-Seeding Principles: Building a Life Sciences Company, a panel discussion exploring the realities of turning scientific ideas into successful ventures. Bringing together perspectives from an early-stage founder, an experienced entrepreneur and an accelerator leader, the discussion will explore the decisions, challenges and opportunities involved in building a life sciences company.

We will then move to The Lab for Meet the Mentors in VC, where Bio-spark Fellows will have the opportunity to connect directly with leading investors, learn how investment decisions are made and build relationships with the people financing and supporting early-stage companies.

For our Company-Seeding Fellows, this is an opportunity to gain practical insights into company creation, introduce their ventures and start building valuable investor relationships.

And yes, there will be free drinks and pizza! 🍕🥂

Part 1: Company-Seeding Principles – Building a Life Sciences Company:

17:00–18:00 | 📍Cockcroft Lecture Theatre

Panel discussion with:

• Sophie James – Co-Founder & CEO, Anomer Bio
• Raj Mehta – Serial Entrepreneur and Investor
• Stephanie Avraamides – Life Sciences Accelerator and Venture Development

The discussion will explore the journey from scientific idea to company creation, including early-stage decisions, fundraising, team building and the role of accelerators and the wider ecosystem.

Part 2: Meet the Mentors in VC

18:15 onwards | 📍The Lab

Who you'll meet

We are delighted to welcome investors and representatives from:

• TusPark – Alice Liang and Zhitian Chen
• Cambridge Enterprise – Stefan Gladder and Jason Amartey
• Presidio Ventures (Sumitomo) – Dafydd Prole
• 6 Degrees Capital – Fanny Guilyardi
• Concept Ventures – Merve Elmatas
• Cancer Research Horizons (CRH) – CRH VC Team

Schedule:

• 17:00–18:00 – Company-Seeding Principles: Building a Life Sciences Company (Cockcroft Lecture Theatre)
• 18:00–18:15 – Walk to The Lab
• 18:15–18:30 – Drinks and open networking
• 18:30–20:00 – Meet the Mentors in VC: Fast-paced, rotating small-group conversations with investors.
• 20:00 onwards – Drinks, pizza and open networking

Accessibility Information

• A lift is available to all floors, with clear signage provided on arrival.
• Accessible toilets are located on the same floor as the Newton Room.
• Additional wheelchair-accessible access is also available at the back of the building.
• Assistance dogs are welcome.
• If you require any additional adjustments or would like to request specific support for attendees, please feel free to let us know.