Case Study Dr Fiona Marston

Dr Fiona Marston is an accomplished entrepreneur with an impressive track record of starting up and managing many successful businesses in the UK. She holds a range of senior positions in the commercial sector, including as a committee member for independent investment company Northern Gritstone, and her remarkable CV includes a PhD, an MBA, and an OBE awarded in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Fiona has been involved in some capacity in the YES competition every year since 1997, originally as a mentor and industry consultant for participating teams, and later as part of the regular judging panel for the annual competition final. “I have been very fortunate to have been invited to judge several YES competition finals over the years, and I always look forward to it as a day where I can really enjoy myself,” she says. “It’s a bit like being on Dragons’ Den – you get to hear about all sorts of brilliant ideas based on real research!”

Having been a staunch advocate throughout her own career for the cross-cutting value of entrepreneurial training, Fiona is a great supporter of participation in the YES competition. “It’s the first opportunity that many people within the higher education sector, from young graduates to those working as staff or in tech support roles, have to learn about entrepreneurship,” she says. “It gives those with an entrepreneurial bent an indication of what they need to consider in terms of commercialisation – from what to look for in an idea, through to writing a business plan, and attracting and successfully pitching to investors.”

For many researchers, the idea of having an ‘entrepreneurial bent’ may seem like a contradiction – after all, career progression in academia rarely diverges from a straight line. But as Fiona explains, developing an entrepreneurial mindset is really about being open to the possibilities that exist for innovation, both within and outside of the academic world: “I always tell students that being an entrepreneur is really about being creative. What the YES competition does is to help participants realise their own creativity; their ability to think laterally; and highlight how they can use this to excel in a diverse range of relevant careers.”

After working with many of the UK’s top universities throughout her years of involvement with the YES competition, Fiona speaks highly of the quality and extent of support that is offered to participants by staff at Reading’s Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC). “The level of practical support and encouragement that the KTC provides is exemplary,” she says. “Dr Simon Cutler and his team are dedicated to making sure that teams are supported throughout the entire process, from their very first pitch all the way through to exploring subsequent career opportunities. You just have to look at how successful teams from Reading have been over the years in reaching the competition final to appreciate the quality of the KTC’s support.”

Today, Fiona’s relationship with the university extends beyond her involvement with the YES competition into her role as a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR), through which she provides project consultancy and mentoring for teams and individual staff members. She has mentored countless students and researchers over the years and is a firm believer in the value of professional mentoring for those looking to progress their careers. “It’s always wonderful to watch someone you are working with grow in confidence when they begin to understand and appreciate the extent and value of their transferable skills,” she says.

Access to mentoring and advice is a key benefit of the YES competition, with opportunities to meet and engage with industry experts being hard-wired into its design and delivery. As Fiona explains, this is often the most valuable part of the experience for participants. “The competition used to be run over a much shorter time frame, but now participants are afforded the time for more extensive training and mentoring – including by industry experts – to help them turn their idea into a hypothetical yet viable business proposition,” she says.

Fiona recognises that not all researchers are immediately attracted by the idea of becoming an entrepreneur. But she maintains that, while entrepreneurship is often associated with the pursuit of capital, there is far more to research innovation than a desire for economic growth.

“Technology transfer and the commercialisation of research is not just about making money – it’s about translating academic research into something that has a real-word impact, and that includes social impact,” she says. “So the focus doesn’t have to be on creating another new market product – it could be on improving processes and making people’s lives better.”