Basis Points

Basis Capital

Governments no longer work for people. We spend more and more for less and less, and every appalling health story, every filthy street and every ignored crime is one too many. To the entrepreneurs rebuilding our public services and the economy, we are ready to stand with you.

  1. MAY 12

    Reversing Parkinson’s, diabetes, blindness. Meet Ali Afshar, CEO of Mytos

    What if the biggest barrier to life-changing medicine wasn’t science, but the cost of making it? Harriet speaks with Ali Afshar, the co-founder and CEO of Mytos, a biotech company automating the manufacturing of human tissue to make regenerative medicine affordable and accessible at scale. Ali believes that within 50 years, every tissue in the body will be replaceable, and that the way there is through engineering, rather than traditional drug discovery. They get into: Why tissue replacement works where drugs fail, and what a 90% fail rate says about the pharmaceutical industry The conditions Mytos is targeting first, from Parkinson’s and diabetes to macular degeneration Why the UK was the right place to launch, and the role sovereign nations play in funding biotech infrastructure Tech as a deflationary force, and Ali’s first principles belief that better healthcare should cost less And why keeping hardware, software and biology in one vertically integrated team is non-negotiable. Subscribe for more conversations with founders, builders, and operators shaping the future of technology, capital, and global systems. Check out Mytos: https://www.mytos.bio/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/mytosbio/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-afshar-0246002b/  More on Basis: https://www.buildbasis.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@BasisCapital  https://www.linkedin.com/company/basiscapitalltd/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietsgreen

    37 min
  2. APR 16

    How to change the energy market forever. Meet Rivan’s CEO, Harvey Hodd.

    Harriet sits down with Harvey Hodd, who is working on a 20-year plan to build and scale synthetic fuels – changing how humans generate energy forever.  Rivan is developing a new way to produce synthetic natural gas using sunlight, water, and captured CO2 – with the aim of decarbonising industries that cannot easily be electrified. Harvey explains how Rivan’s fully vertically integrated model, in-house manufacturing, and low-cost solar strategy could transform the economics of synthetic fuels, direct air capture, and industrial decarbonisation. They discuss:  Why cheap solar changes everything for industrial energy The benefits of vertical integration in climate tech and hard tech Building advanced manufacturing in London and scaling UK industry Hiring, apprenticeships, curiosity, and how Rivan evaluates talent Capitalism, innovation, energy abundance, and the future of climate solutions Rivan’s £25M Series A and plans to build the largest synthetic natural gas plant in Europe #Rivan #HarveyHodd #ClimateTech #CleanEnergy #UKStartups #FounderInterview Check out Rivan: https://rivan.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/rivanindustries/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/harveyhodd/  More on Basis: https://www.buildbasis.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@BasisCapital  https://www.linkedin.com/company/basiscapitalltd/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietsgreen Subscribe for more conversations on rebuilding institutions, incentives and public services.

    34 min
  3. MAR 31

    Building the first reusable rocket. Meet Astron Systems’ CEO, Eddie Brown.

    What will it take to bring orbital launch back to the UK? In this interview, Harriet sits down with Eddie Brown, co-founder and CEO of Astron Systems, to discuss the future of the British space industry, fully reusable rockets, small satellite launch, defense applications, climate monitoring, and why the UK could become a major player in orbital launch again. Astron Systems is building the first 100% reusable small launch vehicle in its class, designed to deliver small payloads to orbit – and back again – more affordably, flexibly, and sustainably than current launch systems. Eddie explains how reusable rockets work, why full reusability matters, how Astron emerged from Imperial College London, and what it takes to turn advanced rocket engineering into a commercially viable space company. This is a deep dive into one of the most ambitious aerospace companies being built in Britain today. Topics covered: Astron Systems and its reusable rocket vision UK launch capability and SaxaVord Spaceport Defense, responsive launch, and space as critical infrastructure Climate monitoring, Earth observation, and sustainability in space Why the UK still can build big things If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe for more interviews with founders, builders, and operators shaping the future of technology, industry, and innovation. Check out Astron Systems: https://astronsystems.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/astron-systems/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-brown-943417194/  More on Basis: https://www.buildbasis.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@BasisCapital  https://www.linkedin.com/company/basiscapitalltd/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietsgreen #Space #UKSpace #AstronSystems #ReusableRockets #RocketEngineering #SpaceStartup #SmallSat #DefenseTech #Aerospace #SpaceIndustry

    33 min
  4. MAR 10

    Giving every place on earth an address. Meet what3words CEO and co-founder, Chris Sheldrick.

    How do you give every location on Earth an address? In this conversation, Chris Sheldrick – co-founder and CEO of what3words – explains the idea that turned a frustrating moment at a music festival into a global addressing system used by emergency services, delivery companies, governments, and millions of people worldwide. What3words divides the entire planet into 3m x 3m squares (57 trillion in total) and assigns each one a unique combination of three words. Instead of complicated GPS coordinates, you can simply say something like table.chair.spoon and pinpoint an exact location anywhere on Earth. In this interview, Chris explains: • The “lightbulb moment” that started what3words • Why the world needed a new global addressing standard • How the company went from idea → adoption across industries • The challenge of getting people to trust and integrate a new standard • How governments, postal systems, and emergency services use it • What AI changes about location technology • Why the goal is to make the what3words app obsolete • The weirdest ways people use what3words — including tattoos They also discuss the bigger idea behind it all: what other “hidden standards” in the world could be redesigned if we started from scratch. Check out what3words: https://what3words.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/what3words/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissheldrick1/  More on Basis: https://www.buildbasis.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@BasisCapital  https://www.linkedin.com/company/basiscapitalltd/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietsgreen Subscribe for more conversations on rebuilding systems, incentives and public services. Timestamps 00:00 Intro00:45 what3words explained02:08 Where the system has been most revolutionary03:59 Why many global standards never get questioned05:54 Creativity, founders, and new ideas09:07 Monetisation and business model13:31 Selling to governments17:27 What AI changes for what3words21:40 Mapping space, oceans, and extreme locations25:02 The future of location data27:19 What it’s like running what3words for 13 years29:13 The strangest uses of what3words

    33 min
  5. FEB 3

    Building a startup straight out of university. Meet Consus Energy’s William Moore and Ethan McNeil

    Building a company straight out of university comes with very real trade-offs. In this episode of Basis Points, Harriet sits down with William Moore and Ethan McNeil, co-founders of Consus Energy, to talk candidly about what it’s actually like to start a company early – without accelerators, without a safety net and while learning everything in real time. We cover: How they met at UCL and split roles as a two-person founding team Building a company without YC, EF or external structure Why energy startups are uniquely complex to build Hearing “no” repeatedly – and learning how persistence really works The unglamorous parts of early-stage building (cash, admin, outreach) Whether university is still worth it Why more graduates are choosing entrepreneurship as the job market tightens The role of self-belief, co-founders and proactive networking This episode is especially relevant if you’re early in your career, considering founding, or already building and wondering if what you’re experiencing is normal. Check out Consus Energy: https://www.consusenergy.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-moore-232394250/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-mcneil-9069b11b0/  More on Basis: https://www.buildbasis.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@BasisCapital  https://www.linkedin.com/company/basiscapitalltd/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietsgreen Follow for more conversations on rebuilding systems, incentives and public services.

    15 min

About

Governments no longer work for people. We spend more and more for less and less, and every appalling health story, every filthy street and every ignored crime is one too many. To the entrepreneurs rebuilding our public services and the economy, we are ready to stand with you.