Backing Breakthrough Science Sam Harman, Partner and Head of Deep Tech at Oxford Science Enterprises, shares what founders must get right when raising their first round, how he evaluates early-stage ventures, and the frontier technologies capturing his imagination.

As Partner and Head of Deep Tech at Oxford Science Enterprises, Sam Harman sits at the intersection of world-class research and commercial ambition. He works closely with founders transforming scientific breakthroughs into globally scalable companies - often from the earliest days of an idea leaving the lab. In this conversation, Sam outlines the fundamentals first-time founders should master before meeting investors, the criteria he uses to assess emerging ventures, and why robotics and frontier energy solutions are shaping the next decade of innovation. He also spotlights three OSE-backed start-ups pushing the boundaries of agricultural productivity, clean energy discovery, and intelligent home heating.

1. What are the top three things founders should focus on when preparing to raise their first round of funding?
First, understand your investor audience. Don't think about selling them something – think about what they want to buy. Ask yourself how they need to perceive your business to want a stake in it. Second, demonstrate consensus around the problem. Show investors, customers, and prospective hires that there is broad agreement that your solution addresses a significant, critical industry challenge. Finally, define a clear inflection point. Identify the single most compelling milestone you want to highlight in your next funding pitch, and focus your current efforts on achieving it.

2. When evaluating early-stage start-ups, what key factors do you prioritise?
We prioritise the following: a massive market, a problem that is the number one priority for target customers, a step-change technology, a backable team, and a clear roadmap with inflexion points along the journey that
generate significant value.

3. How should founders handle a no from an investor? What's the best way to build long-term relationships, even if they don't secure investment straight away?
The most important step is to understand and internalise the 'why.' Determine whether a rejection is just 'noise' or a repeated 'signal' indicating that the story or idea needs to evolve. Crucially, ask, 'What would you need to see to feel differently in the future?' – this keeps the door open. Finally, if appropriate, request introductions to other investors who might be a better fit. A great investor will always make these connections.

4. What start-up sector or trend excites you the most at the moment, and why?
The sector that excites me the most is robotics. It has huge theoretical potential, but deployment to date has been held back by major bottlenecks, and we now have the technology, particularly in AI and advanced sensing, to start solving them.

5. Which three start-ups that you funded this year excite you the most, and why?
Wildbio Science - Feeding the world with less land, water, and carbon is an existential global challenge. The
climate is becoming less hospitable for agriculture, yet crop production needs to increase by 50% in the next 25 years to meet increased demand for food globally. Wild Bioscience is helping to solve this by reprogramming the machinery of crops – inspired by traits found in wild plants. They have demonstrated double digit improvements in yield components, improved resilience to drought, and enhanced carbon sequestration into soils. Founded by Oxford scientist Prof. Steve Kelly and led by Ross Hendron, Wild Bioscience's innovations harness nature's own solutions to help build a more sustainable global food system.

Snowfox Discovery - Powered by research from Oxford Earth Sciences Professors Chris Ballentine and Mike Daly, the company is developing a proprietary Hydrogen Search Engine to locate naturally occurring hydrogen. The platform allows for exploration of the most promising sites and assess opportunities on a global scale. By unlocking this untapped source of energy, Snowfox aims to make hydrogen a viable, scalable fuel for a net zero future.

Mixergy- Mixergy has reimagined the hot water cylinder. Its patented top-down heating design warms only the water you need, when you need it, reducing gas consumption by up to 21%, energy costs by 40%, and delivering hot water up to 10x faster. Compatible with any heating system (from gas and oil to heat pumps and solar PV) Mixergy tanks can also store excess renewable power, integrate with time-of-use tariffs, and provide demand-side response services. This lowers bills, while enabling the deployment of more renewables, in turn helping create cleaner and more efficient energy systems.