Cambridge Judge Business School

Cambridge Judge Business School

A great business school at the heart of the University of Cambridge, advancing knowledge and leadership through people who leave a mark on the world.

  1. Sep 29

    Predicting Startup Success: (Episode 2) Why is deep tech so hard to predict?

    Why do some breakthrough technologies become world-changing companies while others never make it beyond the lab? In this episode of Predicting Startup Success, host Isabel Welpe is joined by Ramana Nanda, Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance at Imperial Business School and Director of the Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship, to explore one of entrepreneurship's most difficult prediction challenges: deep tech. Unlike many startups, deep tech ventures are built on advanced science and engineering, often requiring years of development, significant capital, specialised expertise and extraordinary patience. The usual signals investors rely on can be difficult to interpret, and progress rarely follows a straightforward path. Together, they examine questions such as: What makes deep tech so difficult to evaluate in its earliest stages? Which signals deserve attention, and which can be misleading? How do investors think about uncertainty when the answers may be years away? Why do some promising technologies attract support while others struggle to gain momentum? What role do universities, investors and institutions play in shaping outcomes? Are we asking the right questions when trying to predict success? From breakthrough science and venture financing to scale-up challenges and commercialisation, this conversation explores what it really takes to turn a promising technology into a successful company. Host: Professor Isabell Welpe, Technical University of Munich Guest: Prof. Dr. Ramana Nanda, Entrepreneurial Finance, Imperial College London

    Predicting Startup Success: (Episode 2) Why is deep tech so hard to predict?
  2. Sep 29

    Predicting Startup Success (Episode 1) Can we see through the hype?

    Can we really predict startup success, or are we often just predicting who tells the most convincing story? In this episode of Predicting Startup Success, host Chris Coleridge is joined by Matthew Grimes, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Futures at Cambridge Judge Business School, to explore the complex relationship between hype, legitimacy, feedback and entrepreneurial success. Startups are built on promises about the future. Before there is evidence, revenue or scale, founders must persuade investors, employees and customers to believe in what might be possible. But how can we distinguish between a compelling vision and an empty narrative? And does hype help create success, or simply obscure reality? In this conversation, they discuss: Why startup success may be harder to predict than we think The role of hype, expectations and belief in entrepreneurial outcomes How founders respond when reality challenges their original vision Why feedback is often more complicated than it appears The signals investors should take seriously, and those they should question How legitimacy is built in uncertain environments What it really means for a startup to be successful Drawing on research into entrepreneurship, innovation and organisational change, Matthew Grimes challenges some deeply held assumptions about startups and offers a fresh perspective on what observers may be overlooking when they attempt to identify future winners. Host: Chris Coleridge, Management Practice Associate Professor, Cambridge Judge Business School. Guest: Matthew Grimes, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Futures, Cambridge Judge Business School

    Predicting Startup Success (Episode 1) Can we see through the hype?

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A great business school at the heart of the University of Cambridge, advancing knowledge and leadership through people who leave a mark on the world.