Cass Innovate 2019
Flagship entrepreneurship conference welcomes stellar guests to Bunhill Row
The third Cass Innovate conference was held on Wednesday 13th November at the business school on Bunhill Row. This year’s theme was ‘Ready. Set. Grow!’ and focused on scaling up.
Cass Innovate brings together academics at the forefront of research into entrepreneurship, innovation, finance and management with successful entrepreneurs, business practitioners and students. It showcases best practices across a variety of industries, delivers the stories of successful entrepreneurs and investors and examines world leading research.
The conference also served as the launch of Cass X – the School’s new Centre for Innovation and Disruption.
Cass Innovate opened with welcomes from Professor Paolo Volpin, Interim Dean, Cass Business School, and Aurore Hochard, Head of Entrepreneurship Programmes and Director of Cass Innovate.The keynote address was delivered by Cass alumnus Andrew Lynch (MSc Real Estate Investment, 2011). Mr Lynch is co-founder and COO at Huckletree, one of Europe's most iconic, technology-focused workplace accelerators whose members include Silicon Valley Bank, Sweet Capital, Accenture Digital, Kontainers, and Butternut Box.
Andrew Lynch, co-founder and COO, Huckletree
Mr Lynch explained how he leads Huckletree's commercial, financial and investment activities and is tasked with expanding their member-base across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe, where the business now operates nine locations with over 3,000 members.
He spoke about how his time at Cass prepared him for his personal journey as an entrepreneur, how finds that elusive work life balance and the inspiration and support that his family give him.
“You won’t grow in your comfort zone, both professionally and personally. My children are my mediation and give me perspective on life and work. If you find the answer to why you’re doing something, your problems become smaller. Truly successful people can manage stress – it is an inevitable part of life.”
Delegates also attended talks and took part in workshops with Cass academics where they learnt about financing methods for startups, how startups can plan their next steps as they scale up and what metrics to include in their investors monthly reports.
Professor Scott Moeller, Director, Mergers and Acquisitions Research Centre
They also heard from expert panels with investors, venture capitalists, founders and CEOs which focused on topics such as fintech, innovation, disruption and investment.
LR: Professor Costas Andriopoulos, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation with Triin Linamagi, Founders Factory; Alicia Navarro, Skimlinks; Ana Avaliani, Royal Academy of Engineering & Professor Paolo Volpin
Professor Volpin said he was delighted to welcome delegates to Cass.
“Here at Cass, we enable the extraordinary by cultivating excellence in the business leaders of tomorrow. The increasingly dynamic and interconnected world we live in allows for new and exciting discoveries to be made every day and we are at the forefront — fuelling discovery through research, innovation and transformational learning.
“Cass Innovate serves as a vibrant hub for inspiration, learning and collaboration from London right across our global alumni and student network. It’s great to see so many new faces here today and also to welcome old friends and collaborators back for another year.”
LR: Zoe Pedden with Tong Gu, ADV; Magda Posluszny, Speedinvest & Yvonne Bajela, Impact X Capital
Speaking at the event, Ms Hochard said the challenging world of business today requires trained innovators, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs with the skills and expertise to address them.
Aurore Hochard, Head of Entrepreneurship Programmes
“While organisations large and small rely on universities and business schools to train and deliver the talent they require to reach their full potential, education facilities must retain their relevance by ensuring they understand and reflect the needs of the business community in the courses they offer.
“In just the last few years we have seen small London-based businesses grow into national and international organisations. At the core of this growth are entrepreneurs, investors and leaders who share a passion for business – the same passion that we at Cass Innovate hope to share with you today.”
LR: Catherine Wines, Director and Co-Founder, World Remit; Aurore Hochard; Professor Barbara Casu, Director, Centre for Banking Research and Dr Angela Gallo, Lecturer in Finance