Venture Analyst
Overview
Company: Cambridge Future Tech
Location: Cambridge
Role (part-time / full time): Full-Time
Application deadline: 01 December 2024
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Cambridge Future Tech (CFT) is a technology-first venture builder working to commercialise exciting technologies from top-tier UK universities and corporate research departments. CFT focuses on DeepTech with strong commercial applications in massive global markets, all underpinned by world class teams.
Since being founded in 2020, CFT has co-founded and built several companies each year; in total, these companies have created dozens of new jobs, filed multiple patents, and raised many millions of pounds in funding. The CFT portfolio spans a wide range of technology areas, from semiconductors and robotics to advanced materials and synthetic biology.
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We are seeking an ambitious and versatile Venture Analyst to support our day-to-day operations as a venture builder. You will play a crucial role in supporting our growing portfolio of ventures, in selecting new ventures to work with and in enabling key emerging technologies to realise their commercial potential. You will be directly involved in the research, due diligence, strategy and operations across the portfolio of companies, supporting the delivery of critical content and insights which will guide and define the journey that each company takes.
Key to your success will be the ability to work under pressure and whilst managing uncertainty, whilst maintaining collaborative relationships with key stakeholders from across the wider ecosystem. You will need to be highly organised, with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. You will be in regular contact with potential partners, suppliers, investors, and customers. You will need to be inquisitive, engaged, and receptive to new technologies and business ideas, while being comfortable giving your opinion and challenging the status quo.
This role will rotate through different functions in the venture builder, supporting both portfolio companies, corporate clients and other key aspects of the business.
The three main areas of responsibility are as follows:
Venture Support: You will work closely with portfolio venture founders and the rest of the CFT team to support all aspects of early-stage venture building for portfolio companies. You will be empowered in this task by our collective experience to date, with full access to the extensive resources and networks already developed within CFT.
Opportunity scouting and validation: You will support the team to identify, assess and develop candidate technologies and projects for venture building. As with venture support, this involves a range of tasks such as building trust and working relationships with stakeholders behind these ideas, critical technical and commercial assessment, and creative narrative development needed to build the first theses for potential portfolio companies.
Project delivery: You will support and lead projects with corporate customers of CFT. These tasks typically involve some subset of venture support, technology scouting or validation tasks, but delivered against a specific briefing and timeline as defined by a corporate client.
The role will initially report to the Chief Operating Officer and will involve close work and collaboration across the CFT team and the portfolio ventures.
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Maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of key technology sectors such that you can credibly represent CFT when discussing spinout opportunities
Scouting for promising IP and talented individuals through our academic and corporate partners and wider networks, to identify, assess and on-board new venture prospects
Supporting portfolio companies:
Supporting communication and project management activities between CFT’s portfolio companies, other nascent commercial opportunities, the core CFT team, and where relevant, our corporate partners.
Conducting market and competition analysis
Conducting commercial market validation exercises (e.g. building relationships with potential customers and partners within a sector, to learn about an industry and develop towards commercial milestones)
Helping to define strategy for IP and technology development
Identifying key talent needs (leadership, technical, scientific, etc.)
Identifying and applying for applicable grants
Supporting investment documentation
Creating promotional material, sales collateral, and other supporting content
Supporting corporate partners and our commercial team through the scoping, delivery and follow up around specific projects, typically based on a subset of activities seen within the venture builder
Representing CFT at events: attend industry, ecosystem, and other networking events to develop relationships with new and existing stakeholders, including representing CFT as a speaker if required
Contributing to regular CFT meetings and operational reviews
This role is for a nominal 40-hr week, with flexible working hours and potential to work a mix of home and office in Cambridge (expected minimum 3 days per week). Travel (UK and overseas) may be required to attend events, meetings, and more.
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As the role involves working in the commercialisation of early-stage technologies, we will consider both technical and operational/commercial experience and qualifications. Ideal candidates will need to demonstrate either or both of the following:
Commercial: 2 years of professional experience within commercial or operational roles.
and/or
Technical: Degree-level qualifications in any relevant field. Further academic qualifications (MBA, MSc, PhD, etc.) are also valued, but not essential
Additional experience within entrepreneurial environments, whether related to start-ups, investment or otherwise is also considered, but is not essential.
Ideal candidates should also be able to demonstrate the following more general skills:
Ability to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment, including managing multiple projects simultaneously
Resilience under pressure
Excellent relationship & rapport building, and networking within the wider ecosystem, including building relationships with multiple different types of stakeholders at once
Creative thinking, problem solving, and a drive to develop compelling innovative solutions to dynamic problems
Understanding of start-up processes, including regulatory and legal constraints
Excellent presentation and communication skills
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Competitive salary and benefits package
Private healthcare plan
An ‘unlimited’ holiday policy (within reason); we advocate for a minimum of 4-weeks leave per year in addition to English bank holidays.
Other benefits including gym membership, cycle-to-work scheme, your birthday as leave, volunteering days (organised by the company, nominally two per year) and regular family-friendly social events.
Regular domestic and international travel
Exposure to a diverse range of technologies and industries
Notes
Should you feel your experience is not perfect for what we are looking for, but you remain interested, please still get in touch. Cambridge Future Tech is always looking for people who can get involved with and add value to our ventures.
