Interview with Cambridge Angels’ New Co-Chairs: Amy Weatherup and Robert Swann
For the first time in its history, Cambridge Angels has two co-chairs at the helm, Amy Weatherup and Robert Swann. Both are long-standing members of the group and deeply embedded in the Cambridge entrepreneurial ecosystem. Here they talk about their backgrounds, what makes Cambridge Angels unique, and what they’ve learned from decades in early-stage investing.
First up, could you give us a bit about your backgrounds?
Amy:
I did maths at Cambridge and started a PhD at Imperial, which I abandoned halfway through to co-found a startup. That company, STNC, was the first in the world to put browsers on mobile phones. We sold it to Microsoft in 1999, when we had grown to 55 people and took just £1 million in VC funding from 3i. After that, I tried life in big companies, which didn’t suit me at all. My co-founder and I later built what was essentially a smart phone four years before Apple, which was an enduring lesson about great technology, terrible timing!
Eventually I realised what I loved most was the very early stage. In 2006, I founded i-Teams at Cambridge which is a programme where students explore potential markets for new university inventions. It’s been running ever since and continues to train the next generation of innovators.
Robert:
I came to Cambridge as a student and never left. I did my PhD in signal processing at the Engineering Department, then joined Cambridge Consultants. While there, I co-founded AlphaMosaic, which made multimedia processors for mobile phones and our chips ended up in the Apple video iPod. We sold the company to Broadcom, where I worked for a while before returning to startups.
Since then, I’ve co-founded or chaired several technology ventures, many of which have been acquired by companies like Google, Apple and Meta. I joined Cambridge Angels almost twenty years ago.
What made you apply to join Cambridge Angels and what makes it different?
Amy:
I was actually listed on the minutes of the first Cambridge Angels meeting, though I didn’t engage properly until 2005, when I’d decided early-stage ventures were where I belonged. I was quickly roped in to help with deal flow as at the time the day-to-day management was done by members themselves, and for a while even brought my baby along to the informal pitch sessions. It’s been part of my life ever since.
Robert:
For me, the magic of Cambridge Angels is its members. Around three-quarters are exited entrepreneurs that creates a unique mix of experience, empathy and realism. We’ve since broadened the membership to include others with different perspectives, but that entrepreneurial foundation is still what makes it special.
Can you give a couple of examples of deals you’re particularly excited about?
Amy:
Two healthcare companies excite me, even though that isn’t my background. Otoimmune, founded by Jason Mellad who was one of my first i-Teams students, is helping people with autoimmune diseases get faster, more accurate diagnoses. The other is Adora Digital Health who offers an app supporting people through menopause. They’ve shown real commercial traction and benefit from new UK legislation requiring employers to provide better menopause support. It’s a strong team in the right place at the right time.
Robert:
I’ll mention two that I didn’t lead myself. Singular Photonics, a University of Edinburgh spin-out, develops image sensors so sensitive they can detect individual photons. The technology and maths behind it are fascinating. The second is Plinth, an AI-powered platform helping grant-makers and fundraisers in the charity sector and a great example of tech for good, led by a really dynamic team.
What have you learned about being an angel investor?
Amy:
That unfortunately the failures come first. For the first few years you think you’ve wasted your time, and only later do the successes emerge. You also have to trust your instincts about founders; when I’ve followed my gut, it’s gone well; when I’ve ignored it, it hasn’t.
Robert:
I agree. You’ll invest a lot of time helping founders, so it needs to be with people you like and respect. And angel investing is a team sport so doing it with others helps you learn faster and stay connected. That’s one of the strengths of being part of Cambridge Angels.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to founders thinking about angels versus VCs?
Amy:
Remember, investors stay with you for the whole lifetime of the company, so make sure they’re people you genuinely want to work with. Also, getting customers is by far the best way of funding your business and you shouldn’t think of angel funding as easy money. Once you take any sort of external equity funding, the clock starts ticking on providing returns.
Robert:
Make sure you’re solving a big enough problem - something the world really cares about; too often we see great founders tackling not-so-great problems. Also start talking to customers early, ideally before day one. It will save you a huge amount of wasted effort.