Name: ThoughtLDR
Date: Sep 04, 2023
Rome wasn't built in a day - and nor is a world-beating tech company. At this year's Cambridge Tech Week, we hosted an event in partnership with The Europas, where Martina King, CEO of Featurespace talked to TechCrunch Editor-at-Large Mike Butcher about their ten-year journey from University of Cambridge spin-out to global fintech leader.
Martina is, in the words of Mike Butcher, "a bit of a legend".
From CEO of Capital Radio, to Managing Director of Yahoo Europe, to launching one of the world's first augmented reality platforms and holding board positions for FTSE listed companies including Capita and Debenhams.
For the last ten years, Martina has been CEO of Featurespace, steering the company from University research to a world-leading fintech platform serving customers incl. HSBC, Worldpay and Natwest Group.
In this fireside chat with Mike, Martina shared what it's like to lose a co-founder to cancer - the renowned and much loved Professor Bill Fitzgerald - and the promise she made him to make the company as commercially successful as he had been academically.
Martina talked about what early-stage companies need to deliver to win customers, how managing technical teams compares to managing radio DJs, and much more.
If you're an academic considering spinning-out, or a founder at the early stage of your company journey or simply want to learn more about world-class leadership - be sure to watch the full fireside video below.