The Founders Playbook

Jason Norman is not the kind of founder who set out to build a company. Two years after finishing a PhD in liquid crystal lasers, he was in the right room at the right moment when his supervisor's decade-long work on flexible pressure sensors needed someone to take it to market. That opportunistic leap has become FlexiSense, a company developing low-cost wearable pressure sensors that could transform how the NHS treats chronic wounds.The problem FlexiSense is solving sounds almost too simple: compression therapy - wrapping a bandage around a leg to treat venous ulcers - is done entirely by feel. There is no measurement, no feedback, no right dose confirmed. Too much pressure and patients can lose a limb; too little and the wound never heals. The NHS is spending roughly £2 billion a year on wound care, with a small minority of chronic patients driving most of that cost. Jason's sensor goes under the bandage and tells clinicians exactly what is happening, quality assurance for a treatment that, right now, is pure guesswork.This conversation is about the part of the spin-out journey that nobody packages into a framework. Jason talks about discovering his real market by walking into NHS clinics and following what nurses complain about when they think no one is listening. He reflects on the difference between advice from people who have done it and advice from people who talk about it. And he shares what he would do differently put something physical in people's hands earlier, and be more honest with his team when things are not going well. It is a conversation for anyone at the early, uncertain stage of a hard tech company who wants to know what this actually looks and feels like from the inside.

Why can’t most life science researchers access the advanced microscopy tools that already exist? The technology is there. It has been for decades. But it’s too expensive, too complicated, and built for the wrong people.Dr. Peter Tinning, an optical physicist at the University of Strathclyde, spent years embedded in life science labs and watched researchers revert to hundred-year-old methods the moment he left. That observation became the foundation for Northern Light Microscopy - a company developing modular, low-cost super-resolution imaging hardware that works within existing laboratory workflows.This episode follows Peter’s journey from postdoc to founder: 140 customer interviews across three continents during the Innovate UK ICURe programme, spinning out from a university with IP negotiations in real time, assembling a team of four with founders’ funds and grant money, and preparing to raise a pre-seed round of £850,000 while the runway counts down. An honest account of building hard tech in the UK.Key Topics CoveredWhy optical physicists have been building microscopes for other physicists — and why that’s a problem for life science researchThe ICURe programme: what 140 customer conversations across three continents actually revealedBuilding a modular product platform that responds to market feedback rather than assumptionsThe funding patchwork: Innovate UK grants, university commercialisation funds, convertible loan notes, and founders’ own cashWhy the Silicon Valley playbook fails for UK deep tech — and what to do insteadApproaching investors early, before you’re ready, and building those relationships over timeThe emotional weight of leading a team: salaries, responsibility, and learning to put your foot downGetting to market: trade shows, early adopters, UKCA/CE marking, and converting interest into revenueGuest BioPeter Tinning is the co-founder and CEO of Northern Light Microscopy, a hard tech startup developing modular, accessible super-resolution imaging systems for life science research. An optical physicist by training, Peter has been at the University of Strathclyde since 2009, where he completed his undergraduate, master's, and PhD, and then worked as a postdoc embedded in life science laboratories. He co-founded Northern Light Microscopy with Ralph Bauer, a senior lecturer in electronic and electrical engineering at Strathclyde. The company spun out of the university following the Innovate UK ICURe programme and is supported by Innovate UK grant funding, Strathclyde commercialisation funds, and a university convertible loan note. Peter is a Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellow. The company is currently preparing for its first commercial product deployments with early-adopting customers and raising a £850,000 pre-seed round.Website: www.northernlightmicroscopy.comLinkedIn (Personal): Peter TinningLinkedIn (Company): Northern Light Microscopy

What if the solution to plastic pollution was already swimming in the ocean? Lucy Hughes asked this question as a design student, and it led her from a Sussex fish processing plant to winning the international James Dyson Award.MarinaTex is developing home compostable materials from seafood waste and algae that biodegrade in under six weeks—stronger than the plastic they replace. The company started in Lucy's kitchen during COVID and is now preparing for commercial launch.This episode is an honest conversation about building hard tech as a solo founder. Lucy shares why the Silicon Valley playbook fails for deep tech, how she built her network when she couldn't meet anyone in person, the real cost of hiring your first employee, and why knowing your weaknesses might be the greatest strength a founder can have.4. Key Topics Covered• Why "move fast and break things" does not work for food-contact hard tech• Building a network from scratch during COVID lockdowns• The emotional weight of hiring your first employee and paying someone else's rent• IP strategy in the age of AI: patents, trade secrets, and protecting formulationsLucy Hughes is the founder of MarinaTex, a biomaterials company developing home-compostable alternatives to plastic film from seafood waste and algae. A diver-turned-designer-turned-entrepreneur, she created the first MarinaTex prototype in her kitchen as a final-year project at the University of Sussex. In 2019, she won both the UK National and International James Dyson Award. The company has since won the 2021 Index Project Award and 2023 National Maritime SME Disruptor of the Year, and has been featured in the BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, and the World Economic Forum. MarinaTex is based in Brighton and is preparing for a commercial product launch.Contact InformationWebsite: https://www.marinatex.co.uk/LinkedIn (Company): MarinatexLinkedIn (Personal): Lucy Hughes

When 90% of people say they would prefer a painless patch to a needle, why has no one brought one to market? Everyone assumed it was a science problem. Henry Dunne discovered it was not.Through intensive customer discovery, Henry and his co-founder learned that microneedle technology works. The patents exist. The science is proven. But previous companies focused on perfecting the patch while ignoring a fundamental barrier: manufacturing cost. When your product costs ten to twenty times more than the needle it replaces, there is no market.This episode is a masterclass in solving the right problem. Henry shares how getting out of the lab and talking to pharmaceutical companies revealed what academics had missed for decades. He discusses building IP strategy as a student founder, navigating the funding gap in life sciences, and why celebrating small wins keeps founders going through the hard seasons.Henry Dunne - https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-james-dunne/Microneedle Solutions (MNS) - www.microneedlesolutions.com

What happens when the market for your technology disappears before you finish developing it? Adrian Pugsley faced exactly this challenge when solar water heating was overtaken by photovoltaics, leaving his PhD research without a clear application.In this episode, Adrian shares how he pivoted thermal diode technology into switchable insulation, a solution to the growing crisis of overheating in modern buildings. He discusses the reality of spinning out from Ulster University, navigating IP negotiations, and the catch-22 of raising investment for deep tech: investors want trials on real buildings, but trials need investment. An honest conversation about the funding gap that deep tech founders face, and what keeps a founder going when the runway is running out.

What if you could build a space company without venture capital? Sara Alao is proving it is possible. Her company, Stars Edge, is developing satellites that can fly lower than anyone has flown before, delivering better connectivity and resolution for everything from disaster relief to financial services.In this episode, Sara shares her unconventional path from aerospace engineering to acting to mental health work, and how each experience taught her something essential about understanding people. She explains why she chose to do a PhD as a safety net while building the company, how she assembled a volunteer team aligned with her vision, and why she has learned to stop waiting around for investors.

Brilliant founders are building the future everywhere, not just in America. Real founders. Real constraints. Real strategies from entrepreneurs building world-changing companies across the globe.The Founders Playbook is a podcast for entrepreneurs building companies outside the American tech bubble. Host Neil Marshall, Development Director at ChangeSchool London, brings you hard-won lessons from technology and engineering founders across the UK, Finland, Spain, Brazil, India, Syria, and beyond.Forget the glitzy unicorn stories. This is about real entrepreneurship in capital-constrained environments: bootstrapping, protecting IP, building physical products, and scaling without millions in VC funding.In this introductory episode, Neil sets the stage for a series featuring founders who've built £800K companies on £50K budgets, launched satellites, trained elite athletes, and created technologies saving healthcare systems billions, all from outside the Silicon Valley ecosystem.Drawing on ChangeSchool London's work with entrepreneurs in 30+ countries, The Founders Playbook shares the strategies, struggles, and breakthroughs that don't make the headlines but make all the difference.Meet Your HostNeil Marshall, Development Director at ChangeSchool London, is your guide. He's not an observer from the sidelines; he's been in the trenches, working with and supporting entrepreneurs in more than 30 countries, from the UK to Uzbekistan to Kenya. He's watched them struggle and celebrate their wins, and now he's bringing their hard-won wisdom directly to you.Your front-row seat to the real stories of resilience, problem-solving, and innovation starts here. This is the podcast for the rest of us.Subscribe now and join us for the podcast built for founders like you.