Suggestions
Fiona Nielsen
Serial entrepreneur - building impactful businesses
Fiona Nielsen is a prominent figure in the tech and bioinformatics sectors, currently serving as a Cambridge Tech Week Ambassador at Cambridge Wireless Ltd. She has a diverse background that includes founding several companies and leading initiatives in data sharing and software development.
Professional Background
-
Founder of DNAdigest and Repositive: Fiona established DNAdigest to promote ethical data sharing practices in genomics research, particularly for cancer and rare diseases. Repositive, spun out from DNAdigest, became a leading platform for sourcing preclinical cancer models, serving the biopharma community globally.1
-
Leadership Roles: She has held significant positions, including Chief Operating Officer (COO) and later Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at o2h Technology, where she oversaw software development projects primarily for life sciences and health tech.15
-
Recent Ventures: In December 2022, she became CEO of Neurolentech, focusing on drug discovery and preparing the business for venture capital investment.1
Contributions to Cambridge Tech Week
As an ambassador for Cambridge Tech Week, Fiona plays a crucial role in connecting innovators, investors, and experts within the tech ecosystem. Her experience in entrepreneurship and technology makes her a valuable asset to this initiative, which aims to foster growth across various tech sectors.24
Recognition
Fiona has received accolades for her leadership and innovation, including being highly commended for CEO of the year by the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards.3
Her extensive experience and commitment to advancing technology and bioinformatics position her as a key player in the Cambridge innovation landscape.
Highlights
When I say "someone who works in sales" - what is the image that comes to your mind? 🤔
Many budding entrepreneurs do not realise until they launch their company that the main activity of an entrepreneur is to sell, sell, sell. You are selling to customers yes, but also to employees you want to join your venture, and you are selling your business proposition to investors to make them part with their money.
The golden rule for selling is to talk about what matters to your audience. What matters for employees? What matters to investors? And in particular what matters to your customers - you may have a hypothesis, but until you have product-market-fit, you really do not know. The way to find out is of course to talk to your potential customers. This is often called "Customer Discovery" or even "Customer Development". In this presentation from my keynote/workshop at IECT - Hermann Hauser Summer School, I have gathered some step-by-step tips on how to get started with your #customerdiscovery and #sales in your early-stage startup.
Big thanks to Viktoria Tollinger Yupar Myint and all the organisers for inviting me to interact with the deep tech entrepreneurs on this programme!
Where and when do you do your deep work? Have you ever considered taking more time to travel to carve out better time for reading and thinking? I commuted from UK to Austria by train for 18 months. This is how it went.
