Join us for a focused session designed to help businesses build long-term resilience and scale with confidence. From attracting investment and retaining top talent to navigating the crucial steps between concept and production, this event offers practical insights and expert guidance to support your growth journey.
Key Topics Include:
- Medilink Midlands’ role in the East of England MedTech cluster
- Business structures that support long-term staff retention
- What really attracts capital in life sciences
- Building high-performing teams from seed stage to Series B
- The overlooked stages between prototype and production
Agenda:
14:00 | Registration & Networking
14:50 | Welcome & Introductions
Dave Hailey – Partner & Head of Tech & Media, TC Group
14:52 | The Role of Medilink Midlands in the East of England MedTech Cluster
Melanie Davidson – CEO, Medilink Midlands
15:00 | Business Strategies That Drive Long-Term Staff Retention
Alison Price – Partner, TC Group
15:30 | Investor Readiness in Life Sciences: What Really Attracts Capital
Zickie Lim – Partner & Head of VC & Equity Investments, Mills & Reeve
16:00 | Building High-Performing Teams That Scale from Seed to Series B and Beyond
Robin Beattie – Founder & Angel Investor, Akaina Talent
16:30 | Beyond Prototype: Navigating the Overlooked Stages Between Concept and Production
Russ Farn – Associate Director, eg Technology
17:00 | Speaker Panel Q&A
17:30 | Founders Live Networking Event – click here to register separately.
Venue: Mills & Reeve, Cambridge
Join us at the event
Speaker Information
Dave Hailey – Partner & Head of Tech & Media, TC Group
Dave is a Partner and heads up the Tech & Media sector at TC Group. He has extensive experience supporting tech businesses, whether they’re early-stage and pre-revenue or preparing to exit.
Dave has advised on large corporate transactions, including many business sales, and has held the position of FD / NED for many of his clients.
In addition to his role at TC Group, Dave is the City Leader for Founders Live Cambridge, where he hosts quarterly pitch and networking events for startups and entrepreneurs. Through his involvement with Founders Live, Dave stays at the forefront of the local tech ecosystem, offering mentorship and building connections among tech innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders.
Melanie Davidson – CEO, Medilink Midlands
Melanie brings a background of industrial research and business development from West Pharmaceutical Service’s Drug Delivery Division. She also broadens our bioscience reach having studied Animal Science at The University of Nottingham. Before joining Medilink, Melanie gained valuable experience in economic development and international investment at the East Midlands Development Agency (emda).
Alison Price – Partner, TC Group
Alison provides tax advisory and compliance services, drawing on her extensive career to support ambitious business owners, including those in the Tech and MedTech sectors. A Chartered Tax Advisor and Fellow of the ICAEW, she delivers proactive, strategic advice on complex transactions, ensuring tailored, effective solutions.
Alison’s ability to simplify complex tax matters has helped her build strong, trusted client relationships. Her approachable, clear communication style makes tax planning and decision-making more accessible. An expert in Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) and share option schemes like EMI, Alison plays a key role in guiding high-growth businesses through the tax and structuring challenges of scaling successfully.
Zickie Lim – Partner & Head of VC & Equity Investments, Mills & Reeve
Zickie Lim leads the 16 strong Venture Capital & Investments team at Mills & Reeve. With a strong track record in early-stage and growth investment deals, she advises entrepreneurial start-ups, spin-outs and scale-ups on their fundraising and growth journeys as well as the investors in those (from institutional fund managers and corporate venture funds to angel groups and family offices). Zickie is known for her collaborative approach and deep understanding of the UK’s tech and life sciences ecosystem. Under her leadership, the team was named “Best Legal Team for Early Stage Deals” at the UKBAA Angel Investment Awards, recognising their significant impact on the investment landscape and commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Robin Beattie – Founder & Angel Investor, Akaina Talent
Robin Beattie spent 25 years helping ambitious founders solve their biggest talent challenges, working alongside companies like Net-a-Porter, Ovo Energy, Multiverse, and Many Pets during their critical growth phases. As Founder of Akaina Talent, I specialise exclusively in helping Seed to Series C companies build exceptional teams that drive outsized growth, combining deep startup expertise with strategic talent advisory.
Beyond my work at Akaina, I’m passionate about supporting the broader startup ecosystem as Talent Partner to Angel Academe and as an angel investor in multiple startups ranging from music tech to fintech. My mission is simple: I take the burden of recruitment from founders’ shoulders so they can focus on what they do best—growing their business.
Russ Farn – Director, eg Technology
Russ supports the growth of eg technology through the development of internal capabilities and exploration of external opportunities. He offers breadth and depth of industry knowledge of the sectors in which eg technology operate, from MedTech and LabTech to Consumer and Food & Drink.
He is also a senior point of contact for clients at all stages of the product development journey and is the departmental and technical lead in industrial design and mechanical engineering. He leads multidisciplinary teams and oversees the creative and technical direction of complex engineering projects by drawing on 20 years’ experience in the industry. In particular, he advises on complex challenges relating to human factors, concept development, detailed design and transfer-to-manufacture. Russ holds a Master’s degree in Product Design and Manufacture from Loughborough University.