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{{Short description|British entrepreneur and scientist }}
{{Draft topics|biography|software|stem}}
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Revision as of 10:17, 1 February 2024


Harry Destecroix
Born10 April 1987
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Investor, Scientist
Known forScience Creates, Ziylo, Carbometrics, SCVC
Websitehttps://sciencecreates.co.uk/

Harry Destecroix (born 10 April 1987) is a British scientist, entrepreneur, and investor, known for his support of university spinouts. During his doctoral research, he co-founded the biotech start-up Ziylo in 2014. A year later Harry founded Science Creates[1], an organisation supporting the formation of deep tech spinouts wanting to drive impact. By 2017, Harry and his team had completed construction of the first Science Creates deep tech incubator (formerly Unit DX). This impacted the growth of the UK’s Southwest deep tech cluster, inspiring local scientists and engineers to become entrepreneurs. In August 2018, under his leadership as CEO, Ziylo was acquired by Novo Nordisk in a deal worth up to $800 million for technology that can create smart insulin [2] [3].

Destecroix is also a co-founder of Carbometrics [4], a spinout from Ziylo innovating in the glucose sensing arena for diabetes management.

Destecroix is a co-founder of the Science Creates Outreach charity [5]. The charity was spun out in 2023 from STEM outreach programs that started alongside the opening of the first incubator[6]. Science Creates Outreach aims to spark a passion for deep tech entrepreneurship among schoolchildren.

Science Creates has established two deep tech incubators in Bristol with a third in development, bringing the total space to 75,000 sq ft[7]. In 2023, Science Creates announced their first accelerator program for engineering biology, backed by UKRI [8]. The same year it was reported that the ecosystem contributed to the creation of 370 high-value jobs, a gross GVA of £125 million, and supported 82 deep tech companies, with 41 active members [9].

Currently, Destecroix is Managing Partner of SCVC[10], a Venture Capital firm he founded in 2020 focused on investing in early-stage deep tech start-ups spinning out from the UK's world-leading academic institutions. In 2023 the firm announced the first close of its second fund, aiming for a $100 million target [11].

Early life and education

Destecroix was born in Winchester, Hampshire, and grew up in Eastleigh. He navigated early life challenges with dyslexia and ADHD. After completing his A-levels, Destecroix pursued an undergraduate degree in Applied Chemistry at the University of Plymouth. After his bachelors', Destecroix travelled and worked abroad, before returning to academia to commence his MRES and subsequently PhD, joining Professor Anthony Davis’s research group at the University of Bristol in September 2010 [12].

Career

Destecroix's contributions to Ziylo began during his time in Professor Anthony Davis’s research group, leading to the first academic publication of the glucose receptor in August 2012 in Nature Chemistry [13]. Ziylo Ltd was founded in May 2014 by Destecroix (CEO), along with Tom Smart (CFO) and Professor Anthony Davis.

Ziylo received its first investment of £5000 in August 2014. Harry completed his PhD viva in November 2014 [12].

In June 2015, Destecroix co-founded the first Science Creates company, becoming CEO at the age of 28 [14].

In February 2016, Harry Destecroix, Keith MacDonald and Tom Smart co-founded the second company of the Science Creates Ecosystem (Unit DX LTD) [15].

Ziylo raised its first £1m in July 2016 [16].

Construction of the first Science Creates St Philips Incubator (formally Unit DX) began in November 2016 [17]. Science Creates set a precedent as the UK's first independent science incubator with the opening of its first 15,000 sq ft incubator in March 2017, housing 2 Deep Tech companies Ziylo and Nunano [18] [19].

QTEC joined Science Creates St Philips Incubator in October 2017 [20].

June 2018 marked the first anniversary of Science Creates St Philips Incubator which had supported 23 deep tech companies and created 70 jobs since its opening [21]. 2018 was also a record year for university spinouts from the University of Bristol [21].

In July 2018, Destecroix established Carbometrics, a spin-out company born from Ziylo's technology.

Ziylo was acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to $800 million in August 2018 [22] [23].

Science Creates (formerly Unit DX) won the 2018 OBN award for Best Sector Support Organisation in October 2018 [24].

A Nature Biotechnology paper on Ziylo’s technology was published in November 2018 [3].

The first Science Creates Ecosystem report in June 2019 showed that 37 deep tech Companies and over 100 Jobs had been generated by the ecosystem. The number of spinouts from the University of Bristol had increased five-fold since opening [25].

Ziylo’s deal won “exit of the year” at the Global University Venturing Awards in May 2019 [26] [27].

Science Creates was recognized in the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Deal in December 2019 [28].

Destecroix co-founded SCVC with local investor and exited tech entrepreneur Jon Craton in June 2020 [29].

Unit DX rebranded to Science Creates in November 2020, launching the Deep Tech Ecosystem and the second Ecosystem Report [30].

Construction of the second Science Creates Incubator began in 2020 after securing £6.3m funding [31].

SCVC closed its first £13.5m deep tech fund in 2021 [32].

The second Science Creates Incubator (Old Market) opened in November 2021 [33].

British Business Investments backed SCVC with up to £15m in November 2022 [34].

An Independent Economic Impact Assessment and third Science Creates Ecosystem report were published in May 2023, showing creation of 370 high value jobs and support for 82 deep tech companies [9].

UKRI and Science Creates launched an engineering biology accelerator in June 2023 [8].

In September 2023, SCVC announced the preliminary closure of their second $100 million deep tech fund and first Venture Partner John Williams, an AI deep tech founder who co-founded and steered Kudan toward an IPO at a peak market cap of $1.8 billion [11] [35].

Chemistry World published the journey of the Science Creates Ecosystem in October 2023 [36].

SCVC won the Growth Investor Awards emerging VC of the year in November 2023 [37].

Destecroix advised the UK government's review of university spin-out companies in November 2023 [38] [39].

The third Science Creates incubator was announced in December 2023 [7].

Inspiration and Motivation

While building Ziylo, Harry found there was a complete lack of lab space and support for university science spinouts in the West of England, despite its world leading research base [25]. This inspired him to build an incubator to provide infrastructure and tailored support for scientific companies, that wasn’t available at the time for his own [36].

He believes that vital progress in improving health and addressing climate change will come from fundamental discoveries made at universities, but the commercialisation process prevents a lot of this research from delivering the impact it could [30][36]. In a Chemistry World article, he said ‘Our mission is to empower scientists and prevent important discoveries sitting on a shelf gathering dust. That “lost” technology could change the course of humanity and save millions of lives’ [36].

Challenges in securing funding for Ziylo also motivated Harry to build a VC firm that understood the nuances and risks involved in early-stage deep tech spinouts and startups [36][11]. He said ‘We need more scientists and successful company founders to go into VC, and we need to build more venture ecosystems around universities, along with the right infrastructure’ [36].

Other Endeavours

Harry began investing after the sale of Ziylo. As an angel investor, he invested in early-stage deep tech start-ups and spinouts. He has been influential in strengthening the bond between academia and industry, marked by a formal partnership between the University of Bristol and Science Creates in July 2023 [40].

Publications

  • A simple and accessible synthetic lectin for glucose recognition and sensing. Nature Chemistry. 2012 [13].
  • Why Scientists Can’t Do Business. 2017 [41].
  • A Spin-Out founder story and the UK's Spin-Out review. 2023 [38].

Awards

  • UnitDx win OBN Award for Best Sector Support Organisation 2018 [24].
  • Alumni Award for Innovation and Enterprise 2019 [42].
  • UKBAA Angel Investment Awards - Exit of the Year 2019 [43].
  • Barclays Entrepreneur Awards - National Icon of the Year 2023 [44].
  • Chemistry World - Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 [45].

References

  1. ^ "Science Creates - A Home for Deep Tech in Bristol". Science Creates. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  2. ^ Milne, Gemma. "Bristol Diabetes Spin-Out Acquired By Novo Nordisk For $800M". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  3. ^ a b Owens, Brian (2018-11-01). "Smart insulin: redesign could end hypoglycemia risk". Nature Biotechnology. 36 (10): 911–912. doi:10.1038/nbt1018-911a. ISSN 1546-1696.
  4. ^ "Carbometrics". Carbometrics. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  5. ^ "ScienceCreates Outreach". ScienceCreates Outreach. 2024-01-11. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  6. ^ Bristol, University of. "May: Unit DX anniversary | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  7. ^ a b "Deal for £8.5m 'deep tech' building at University of Bristol". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  8. ^ a b "UKRI and Science Creates launch engineering biology accelerator". www.ukri.org. 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  9. ^ a b Science Creates (13 June 2023). "Science Creates Economic Impact Assesment - Mickledore 2023" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Early Stage Venture Capital for Deep tech". www.scvc.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  11. ^ a b c Butcher, Mike (2023-09-14). "UK deep tech gets another boost with new $100M SCVC fund out of Bristol". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  12. ^ a b "Congratulations to Dr Harry Destecroix | Davis Research Group". davis.chm.bris.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  13. ^ a b Ke, Chenfeng; Destecroix, Harry; Crump, Matthew P.; Davis, Anthony P. (2012). "A simple and accessible synthetic lectin for glucose recognition and sensing". Nature Chemistry. 4 (9): 718–723. doi:10.1038/nchem.1409. ISSN 1755-4349.
  14. ^ "SCIENCE CREATES SERVICES LTD overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  15. ^ "UNIT DX LTD overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  16. ^ Bristol, University of. "July: Ziylo | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  17. ^ Extance2016-11-22T14:32:00+00:00, Andy. "Chemist's struggles spawn Bristol lab incubator". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2024-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Clensy, David (2017-05-30). "Science begins to happen at extraordinary new incubation centre Unit DX". Bristol Live. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  19. ^ Bristol, University of. "March: Unit DX opening | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  20. ^ Bristol, University of. "2017: QTEC move | School of Physics | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  21. ^ a b Bristol, University of. "2018: University partnership with Unit DX | School of Biological Sciences | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  22. ^ Novo Nordisk (17 August 2018). "Novo Nordisk acquires Ziylo Ltd to accelerate its development of glucose responsive insulins" (PDF).
  23. ^ Bristol, University of. "August: University spin-out Ziylo acquired by global healthcare company | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  24. ^ a b "UnitDx win 2018 OBN Award for Best Sector Support Organisation | UKSPA". Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  25. ^ a b "dx19 by Unit DX by Unit DX - Issuu". issuu.com. 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  26. ^ "Exit of the Year: Ziylo". Global Venturing. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  27. ^ Bristol, University of. "May: Ziylo award | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  28. ^ "Life Sciences Sector Deal 2, 2018". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  29. ^ Butcher, Mike (2020-12-08). "Bristol entrepreneur who exited for up to $800M doubles-down on the city with deep-tech incubator and VC fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  30. ^ a b Science Creates (2020). "From Discoveries to Inventions. Science Creates Launch Paper 2020" (PDF).
  31. ^ Bristol, University of. "May: unitdy-finalphase | News and features | University of Bristol". bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  32. ^ Cook, James (2023-09-14). "First close completed for SCVC's latest $100m deep tech fund - Business Leader News". Business Leader. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  33. ^ Bristol, University of. "November: science-creates | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  34. ^ "Press release - 8 November, 2022 | British Business Investments". www.bbinv.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  35. ^ "Kudan Inc". Kudan global. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  36. ^ a b c d e f "Building the support infrastructure we wish we'd had". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  37. ^ "Winners 2022 | Growth Investor Awards". growthinvestorawards.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  38. ^ a b "A Spin-Out founder story and the UK's Spin-Out review". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  39. ^ "Independent review of university spin-out companies". GOV.UK. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  40. ^ Bristol, University of. "July: Deep tech Enablement Agreement | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  41. ^ "Why Scientists Can't Do Business". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  42. ^ Bristol, University of. "2019 Alumni Award winners". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  43. ^ UKBAA (2021-03-19). "Harry Destecroix, winner of Exit of the Year at the 2019 UKBAA Angel Investment Awards, discusses the importance of being recognised by the awards". UK Business Angels Association. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  44. ^ "Entrepreneur Awards Hall of Fame | Barclays". www.barclays.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  45. ^ "Dr Harry Destecroix - 2023 Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year winner". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
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