Durham Entrepreneurs Network Sept 2024

After a successful launch of the Venture Lab Advisory Board in April this year, we are delighted to an announce an exciting panel discussion Meet the Board. 

The Board is a critical part of Venture Lab's ambitious growth plans and is providing oversight and strategic guidance to the Venture Lab team; becoming critical friends as we move on from proving our concept and are now looking to scale.

We invite alumni and friends to join us for an evening in conversation with the Board followed by a Q&A session and a chance to network with fellow members of the network.

Expert Panel Members: 

Chris Gilman (Chair), Enterprise Manager, Durham Venture Lab

I commenced my working life climbing the (very) greasy pole in the expansionist era of the corporate wild west that was the nascent mobile phone sector. To atone for my sins, I spent several years in the third sector working in marketing & communication for Barnardo’s before forming my own business in the healthcare sector.

We provided integrated therapy solutions for those with neurological conditions, and I eventually sold in a PE deal to a surprisingly good home. I subsequently spent ten years as an angel investor member of several North syndicates, making, primarily bad, investment decisions. 

This dubious past apparently qualified me to work as an enterprise educator at Durham Uni, living proof that those who can’t do, teach.

Dr Natasha Boulding - PhD Chemistry, St Mary's College, 2019

Natasha is the co-founder and CEO of Low Carbon Materials, a company developing product-based solutions for the concrete sector in the race to Net-Zero. She has many years of experience in academia, both in the UK and internationally, where she gained a Chemistry Master’s degree from the University of Warwick and a PhD from Durham University in polymer chemistry and colloidal dispersions. Natasha has patents in the area of advanced materials and has raised substantial grant funding and private investment upward of £2.5 million. She has been recognised by Forbes 30 under 30, and has led LCM to win numerous awards. 

 In 2022 LCM was announced as a finalist for the prestigious Earthshot Prize, a Society of Chemical Industry award and in 2020/21 she was announced as a winner of Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation award which highlights top female entrepreneurs in the UK. She is passionate about inspiring and mentoring the next generation of innovators.

Jonathan Hazan - BSc Computing, Hatfield College, 1991

Jonathan was formerly chief executive of international healthcare software company Datix, which he joined in 1995 and grew into a successful and widely respected patient safety business. Jonathan left Datix in 2018 to pursue his wider interests in patient safety and software. His roles have included chair of Trust Networks, a cloud-based cybersecurity startup that was subsequently acquired by Lyft. 

He founded the charity Patient Safety Learning to promote the sharing of best practice and to ensure that patient safety becomes a core purpose of healthcare, not just one of many competing priorities. He also gives advice and support to a number of startup companies and is an advisor to private equity firms. 

Jonathan’s generous donation to the enterprise department at Durham enabled the creation of the Hazan Venture Lab, a purpose-built space dedicated to entrepreneurial activities on campus, giving students and graduates a positive and supportive environment where they can work on their ideas and businesses. 

Steve Jackson - Applied Physics & Electronics, Grey College, 1989

Steve is an entrepreneur and business strategist, and has over 22 years’ experience starting, building and selling companies. His businesses have spanned consulting, outsourcing, recruitment technology, on-line games and health supplements. Until recently he was Co-Founder and Group COO of Xoomworks, part of Accenture – a niche technology consulting and outsourcing business based in the UK, France, Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. Xoomworks works with high growth, tech driven companies and FTSE 100 businesses, to launch innovative digital products that people love to use and to implement core digital systems. 

Prior to setting up his first company, Steve worked as a strategy consultant and IT project manager. Steve holds an MBA from INSEAD and a degree in Applied Physics from Durham University. 

He is an Honorary Professor of Entrepreneurship at Durham University and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is an active mentor and business advisor to several start-up companies (including The Training Marketplace and hyperexponential); a mentor for Seedcamp and a mentor for Level 39.