Experts-in-Residence
Looking for subject-specific advice? We’ve got more than 30 experts from every corner of the startup world. From IP to legal, design to investment, whatever your need or knowledge gap, we've got the right expert for you.What’s Experts-in-Residence?
The question ought to be – Who are the experts in residence?
- Commercialisation
- Idea Development
- Legal & Compliance
- Pitching & Selling
- Marketing & Communication
- People Management
Who is it for?
Experts-in-Residence is available to all Imperial students and alumni (provided you have graduated within the last three years), but you need to have attended an Idea Surgery and shown us that you’d benefit from some expert advice to take your idea or business forward.
Some subjects will only be useful at a specific stage of your startup’s development. For example, most businesses need legal and IP expert advice at a very early stage, but PR and Sales can wait until you’re further along your journey.
To be eligible for Experts-in-Residence you must:
Be an Imperial student or alum (must’ve graduated within the last three years) with a business idea
Have recently attended an Idea Surgery and received approval for coaching or advice
Have demonstrated that you’d benefit from expert advice in a specific area
How do they work?
Experts-in-Residence sessions are one-to-one sessions (that’s you/you and your team) where we pair you up with an expert who can help you with a specific objective or problem, or give you some advice to help broaden your knowledge.
Once we’ve identified that you’d benefit from meeting an expert or several experts, we’ll email you with details of their availability so you can book your slot. You’ll also need to provide a short explanation of what you’d specifically like help with. Once we’ve received your booking, we’ll email you confirming your slot, so you know you’re good to go.
Sessions are generally 30-45 minutes long and are totally confidential.
When do sessions happen?
We run sessions throughout the academic year.
Meet the experts
Business Development
Business Development Expert-in-Residence Business Development Expert-in-Residence
Amanda You
David Pollington
Commercialisation
Commercialisation Expert-in-Residence Rune has spent most of his career working in commercially focused roles bringing new software and hardware products to market at Google. In 2016 he established and led the European part of the Ex-Googler community Xoogler.co which supports former Google employees on their entrepreneurial journeys. Commercialisation Expert-in-Residence Tech Commercialisation Expert-in-Residence Commercialisation Expert-in-Residence Mayank is an entrepreneurial leader in the payments and fintech industry, heading up New Venture Initiatives & Partnerships at Visa for Europe. He has been with Visa since 2012 in various leadership roles. He is an alumnus of the University of Oxford earning his Masters PGD in Strategy & Innovation. Commercialisation Expert-in-Residence Remy is a Partner at QUAERIT Consultants LP with more than 30 years’ experience in product design & consulting. He advises companies from start-ups to large multinationals on innovation, financing, and intellectual property.
Rune Betien
Kam Pooni
Gaurav Chawla
Mayank Somaiya
Remy Husein
Consumer
Consumer Expert-in-Residence After graduating university, Jonny co-founded One Third Stories to teach children about other languages through stories. From the early days writing the books himself to managing a team of creatives, Jonny has learnt a lot about making products customers love. He enjoys using that experience to help new entrepreneurs rapidly develop their ideas into products, acquire their first customers and build a successful business. Consumer Expert-in-Residence
Jonny Prynn
Alex Somervell
Digital Business Development
Digital Business Development Expert-in-Residence Digital Business Development Expert-in-Residence Digital Business Development Expert-in-Residence Digital Business Development Expert-in-Residence Digital Business Development Expert-in-Residence
David Lefevre
Tom Grey
Vignesh Venkataraman
Sarah Gurney
Daniel Roe
Financials
Financial Expert-in-Residence Muhammad is an investor and start-up operator who has spent his career building and launching new products. He is an investor at IFG.VC backing tech start-ups at the early-stage.
He also leads product at IFG Wills - the largest online Islamic Wills provider in the UK. Previously, he was the founder of Seedlink, a start-up digitising logistics for farmers in Malawi. Financial Expert-in-Residence Financial Expert-in-Residence Kia has spent the last couple years of his career in VC, and is currently an Investor at A/O PropTech, a stage agnostic VC fund. He thoroughly enjoy supporting their portfolio companies in all areas they need and is eager to do the same to some of the exciting companies coming out of the Enterprise Lab. His expertise is not limited to PropTech and he is able to assist companies in all sectors! 
Muhammad Altalib
Sarah Finegan
Kia Nejad
Idea Development
Artifical Intelligence Expert-in-Residence Design Expert-in-Residence Product Expert-in-Residence Bryan is an experienced product developer with a passion for sports and has worked as an R&D consultant for 100+ sporting goods brands. He's now a multiple business owner, and guides students through the product development process from concept to production, including the go-to-market strategy.
Andrew Burgess
Emma Sexton
Bryan Roberts
Legal & Compliance
IP Expert-in-Residence Legal Expert-in-Residence Justin is a partner in the law firm Osborne Clarke, one of the leading legal advisers for companies started up and spun out from UK universities. Justin leads our “Tech Transfer” team and has advised more than 40 ICL spin outs over 10+ years. He's also a mentor on the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service. IP Expert-in-Residence Jack works across a wide range of technology areas within the broad subject areas of physics, engineering, materials science and electronics. Jack has gained particular experience working on inventions within the fields of telecoms, photonics and electronic devices. IP Expert-in-Residence The Haley Guiliano team has extensive experience with representing clients of all sizes and across a multitude of industries around the globe in connection with intellectual property (IP) matters. All of our attorneys have scientific backgrounds, and we rely on both our transatlantic legal expertise and technological know-how when providing our services. Legal Expert-in-Residence BDB Pitmas are a corporate partner who helps businesses of all sizes with growth plans, fund raising, M&A, constitutional matters (such as Shareholder/Founder Agreements) and investments 
Iain Russell
Justin Starling
Jack Severs
Haley Guiliano International
BDB Pitmans
Marketing & Communication
Email Marketing Expert-in-Residence Marketing Expert-in-Residence
Sonal Dack
Iain Hunter
People Management
Team Management Expert-in-Residence Callum Adamson is a Cofounder at Distributed; a platform that uses AI to help businesses manage teams remotely, so they are happy, engaged and productive. He has also led teams at BMI, The Digital Property Group and Reading Room in his career. People Management Expert-in Residence Team Building Expert-in-Residence Team Building Expert-in Residence
Callum Adamson
Sylvana Caloni
Carl Coddington
Braham Djidjelli
Pitching & Selling
Pitch Coach-in-Residence Lisa has successfully raised capital and helped other founders succeed through her venture – ZebraFarm, a startup skills platform. She is also a coach and guest lecturer at Imperial and the Royal College of Art, and has helped many founders create a winning pitch by putting story-telling at the heart of their bids. Pitch Coach-in-Residence Pitching & Selling Expert-in-Residence Following a career leading large and complex financial services businesses in Australia, Asia, the UK and US. Paul works with startups and established businesses on their sales strategy and implementation, to help them expand their businesses, locally and across borders, and to push forward in terms of expansion of products, territories, or innovations. Sales & Negotiations Expert-in-Residence Negotiation Consultant with 15 years of experience with Forbes’ finest and startups alike. Devon has closed more than $5 billion of commercial contracts and brings this experience to entrepreneurs and founders focused on securing strong commercial results without sacrificing relationships.
Lisa Makarova
Byron McCaughey
Paul Michael O'Donnell
Devon Smiley
Strategy
Strategy Expert-in-Residence Strategy Expert-in-Residence Strategy Expert-in-Residence
John Lee Allen
Ian Hobday
Samuel Conway
FAQs
How is Experts-in-Residence different to an Idea Surgery?
Experts-in-Residence sessions are more formal one-to-one sessions (one individual or a team). We have up to 3 teams at an Idea Surgery, and they’re more informal to give you the chance to chat with your fellow entrepreneurs, share ideas and learn from one another’s experiences.
How is Experts-in-Residence different to Business Coaching?
The Experts-in-Residence sessions focus on a specific area of your business idea or plan, whereas the Business Coaching sessions are more about conducting a comprehensive review of your idea and helping you put a business plan together.
Are Experts-in-Residence sessions one-to-one?
Yes, it’s just you and your team (if applicable).
Are Experts-in-Residence sessions confidential?
Yes. All our experts will work with you in the strictest confidence.
How long are the sessions?
The duration of sessions will vary from expert-to-expert but will be between 30 and 45 minutes.
Can I book more than one session?
Yes you can. In fact, we may encourage you to if you’ve demonstrated a need for additional help in a specific area, or with a particular expert. We always supply guidance when we release session details, so do check that before booking. We also recommend that you read the instructions we provide you with ahead of your first session. All sessions are subject to demand/availability but don’t worry if we can’t fit you in, we’ll add you to the waiting list.
I attended an Idea Surgery last year. Can I book an Expert-in-Residence slot?
If we approved you to have sessions with an expert last year and you’re still working on the same idea, you can continue to book slots as before. You’re also welcome to book an Idea Surgery, so we can catch up on your progress and make sure that you’re making the most of all the opportunities on offer at the Lab.
If you’re working on a new business idea, you’ll need to book an Idea Surgery before you can book future Expert-in-Residence sessions.
I've completed one of the Enterprise Lab programmes. Am I eligible for Experts-in-Residence?
Yes! Anyone that has completed an E-Lab programm (VCC, WE Innovate, Discovery Fund or Summer Accelerator) automatically becomes eligible for Experts-in-Residence.
I’ve booked a session but can’t make it now what do I do?
Please cancel your session via your Calendly booking and email us at: v.nicholl@imperial.ac.uk ASAP so that we can offer your slot to someone else.
Testimonial
“Carl and Braham are sources of knowledge and wisdom with an undying passion to share them. When it comes to team building, leadership and human relations, they definitely know what they are talking about.”
Seyed Nasrollahi, Founder, QuantumX (PhD Physics)
Need an expert?
You’ll need to book an Idea Surgery so we can help you find the right expert.
