Douglas Martin, Founder and Managing Director of MiAlgae in conversation with Laura Bernal, VBI Programme Manager

Wednesday 23 November from 5.00-7.00pm

Room G.03, Bayes Centre followed by networking in Bayes Atrium

Douglas Martin is the founder and managing director of MiAlgae, which produces eco-friendly Omega-3 by recycling ‘waste’ co-product from the whisky industry. The company's aim is to produce top quality Omega-3 supplements and to eliminate the industry's reliance on wild-caught fish as its primary source.

MiAlgae was founded by Douglas while studying for a Masters in Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh in 2016. Since then, he’s secured significant investment as well as a number of grants and awards including, Smart: Scotland, Scottish Edge Wild Card. In 2017 he was Shell LiveWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Pitching and winning investment is key but so is finding co-founders. Building a team is fraught with dilemmas and challenges. While teams are more likely to attract investors and mentorship, venture capitalists attribute 65% of company failures to problems in the team. 

MiAlgae now employs 25 people. As a solo founder, Douglas will share the highs and lows of building his business and his insights into growing a team. What should you look out for? What are the pitfalls? How can you avoid or mitigate them?

The Venture Builder Incubator programme is a 14-week programme of workshops and mentoring opportunities designed to support postgraduate students and Early Career Researchers explore and validate the commercial potential of data-driven research and ideas. It is delivered by the University of Edinburgh’s world-leading innovation hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the Bayes Centre, and Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service on behalf of its Data-Driven Innovation Hubs.

About Edinburgh Entrepreneurs. Dream. Develop. Disrupt. Our society fosters a diverse community of motivated students united by entrepreneurial values. We inspire creative thinking, promote business knowledge, and instil confidence to venture on your entrepreneurial journey through our initiatives.