AN INNOVATION BLUEPRINT FOR THE UK?
About this Event
The aim is to learn about and discuss a newly-published book, The UK Innovation Blueprint”, which Lord Hague wrote in the Times, “should be the second on the new Chancellor’s reading list". His recommendation prompted the idea to organise a three-way fireside chat for the author to discuss the book with two of its highly respected contributors.
The final chapter itemises ten shifts, or actions, for the four types of people for which the book has been written: founders, investors, policymakers and educators.
The Ten Shifts relate to:
- Capital allocation from passive subsidy to active capital
- Visa friction to talent magnetism
- Pilot ‘theatre’ to procurement that scales
- Strategy documents to a delivery engine that survives ministers
- Retaining the UK’s best startups before the ‘Tornado’ arrives
- Entrepreneurial education at schools
- Smart regional specialisation, not fantasy clusters
- Civil service reset from programmes to eco systems that deliver
- Stock market liquidity to prevent early, unwanted exits
- National scorecards which name the metrics and the owners and publish both
FIRESIDE FORMAT
The key learnings and actions will be presented briefly by Amir, followed by responses from Stan and Neil, leading to discussion, and then the opportunity for members join in.
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CONVERSANTS
AMIR HEGAZI, Author Of The Uk Innovation Blueprint
Amir is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at CapitalDemocracy, a professional advisory firm that helps founders and startups raise venture capital. He is one of the early pioneers of digital media in the Arab world, having launched the region’s largest online TV networks at JumpTV. He played a role in the growth of Souq.com, the Middle East’s largest e-commerce platform, which was acquired by Amazon. He previously co-founded intoMENA Group, advising companies on expansion across the Middle East and North Africa. He is the author of Amazon.com bestsellers Startup Arabia and Ecosystem Arabia, both of which were recognized as “Startup Books to Read” by Book Authority.
STAN BOLAND, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, Board Director, Mentor
Stan was co-founder and CEO of Five.ai, an autonomous car technology developer, which Bosch acquired for a large sum in 2022. Before that, he was co-founder and CEO of two of the UK’s most successful venture-backed communications and software companies, Element 14 and Icera, one bought by Broadcom and the other by NVIDIA, for an aggregate value of over $1 billion. Before that Stan was CEO at Acorn and a Board member at its then associate ARM. His early career included spells at the aerospace firm Rolls-Royce and the computer company ICL. He is a graduate in Physics from the University of Cambridge. In this book, he argues for the removal of ineffective subsidies, and a decisive approach to winning global talent.
NEIL LEE, Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Economics
Neil is a Professor of Economic Geography at the LSE. His research has been funded by international and private sector organisations including the World Bank, OECD, the EIB, and Barclays Bank, and cited in key UK government documents such as the UK Levelling Up White Paper. His book Innovation for the Masses argues for spreading the benefits of the high-tech economy beyond concentrated hubs. He has advised UK government departments and given evidence to parliamentary committees on the UK innovation system.
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SELF-INTRO SESSION
The usual quick update from selected members to set the tone and tempo of the evening.
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RUNNING ORDER
17.30: Registration and networking at the bar
18.00: Self-Intro Session, seated
18.30: Networking with drinks
19.00: Dinner with no speakers between courses
20.15: Speakers’ introduction and conversation
21.00: Discussion and Q&A
21.30~ Close
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Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 69.00
