For the second in our meet the team series, we sat down with Alan Feighery, Startup Manager. Read on to find out more.
Tell us a bit about yourself…
Originally from Aberdeenshire, I studied chemistry in Aberdeen then St Andrews then worked as a researcher on a European project in Aveiro, Portugal for a couple of years. I couldn’t speak a word of Portuguese when I arrived, but did make the effort to learn over my time there. I then went to work for a power products manufacturer on the Boston beltway, Route 128, which earned the name “America’s Technology Highway” because of the high number of tech firms in the area. These international experiences were incredibly different but I learned a lot about myself taking the risk to step into these very different countries, cultures and working environments. Language challenges are possible in Boston too!
When I returned to Scotland, I felt a pull towards entrepreneurship after the USA roller coaster ride and I joined a technology commercialisation project back in St Andrews, which led to a spin-out company and a couple of rounds of investment but then the financial crisis hit and securing a 3rd round of investment became too much of a challenge. I became involved in another commercialisation project in Aberdeen and that led to another spin-out company with some funding in place. I handed over the reigns to someone else to take it forward as I was in need of some de-risking having started a family so moved to a role supporting businesses to develop business-academic collaborative projects across Scotland, then moved to a broader entrepreneurship support role working across multiple Universities, supporting postgraduate students to start new businesses. Then I moved to Strathclyde supporting entrepreneurial Strathclyders.
I enjoy cycling, hiking, canoeing/kayaking and travelling. I don’t get anywhere near as much time doing these as I would like, but as my kids grow up they are more up for joining in. In 2021 I tried a couple of new activities including wild swimming in the sea and a couple of lochs, and paddleboarding, both of which I want to do more of in 2022.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
I can still remember a Headteacher at high school trying to talk me into choosing a Computing course over a Technical Drawing course. I didn’t listen. I’ve never been a successful digital entrepreneur turned Angel investor. The two must be connected, right?
On my first flight to Korea my now wife handed me a book titled ‘Korean Culture Shock’ and told me to read it and memorize it before we arrived in Korea.
Why should University staff, students and alumni join Strathclyde Inspire?
Entrepreneurship provides an incredible learning opportunity for anyone who wants to give it a go, particularly when actively developing a startup or spinout opportunity. For students in particular, there is no better time than while at University to explore entrepreneurship in its wider sense, and more specifically the opportunity to explore business ideas and develop a startup whether that is a ‘side hustle’ or a highly innovative opportunity that could take years of determination, skills development, resilience etc to come to fruition.
While some entrepreneurs are ‘natural’ (or born), many are not and develop an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset over time through embracing the opportunities and experiences available to them to find out what they are capable of achieving. You need to give things a go to identify where your limits really are. There is no better time than at University for this, when there are a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular learning and training opportunities, access to expertise, support and great networks, and the stakes are lower than they might be if the entrepreneurial journey begins after graduation.
Strathclyde Inspire supports a wide range of clients including undergraduate students, Masters and PhD students; researchers, academic and other staff; and alumni at any point after graduation including recent graduates who started developing their business as a student, graduates who decide to start after graduation, or even alumni who have been in the commercial world for 20+ years and decide it is time to have a go at being a startup entrepreneur for the first time.
Finally, our most important question - if you could only eat one item of food for the rest of your life, what would you eat?
My Korean mother-in-law’s homemade Kimchi of course!
