Nanotechnology firm Owlstone uses design to show buyers what it does
How do you sell potential? This was the conundrum facing Owlstone Nanotech, a company formed by researchers at Cambridge University who had the seed of a fantastic product on their hands – a way of using nanotechnology to manufacture small button-sized sensors capable of detecting minute concentrations of airborne chemicals.
The challenge was to identify markets for their groundbreaking technology and turn laboratory systems into a viable product. The solution began with Owlstone joining the Design Council’s Innovate programme, working with design mentor Oliver King.
Owlstone and King faced the kind of problems many high-tech start-ups experience. They needed to explain their technology, communicate its competitive advantage (to partners, investors and customers), attract investors and high-quality staff and design a strategy for market entry. Says King: “Owlstone had an amazing piece of technology, but they needed to stop talking about its technical specifications and start showing how it could help people, how it could make the world a better place.”
An initial consultation with King highlighted the need for Owlstone to broaden its target markets to generate investor interest. What was initially conceived as a military product could have benefits for healthcare and the pharmaceuticals industry.
Owlstone soon saw the sense in this. “They’re a very smart and progressive company,” says King. “They were very open to trying out new ways of doing things, to find ways of communicating without resorting to jargon.” With King’s help, the business recruited some top design graduates to work on applications for the sensors.
Models and mock-ups were built to capture the imagination of potential investors and customers – manufacturers who could incorporate the sensors into their own products. The models created a buzz in the press by showing, for example, how Owlstone’s sensors in military uniforms could detect chemical weapons, or how they could sense illegal drugs when used in cargo containers.
Working on branding and understanding its own identity helped Owlstone integrate its product, target markets and culture. With this base, issues such as key appointments could be confronted effectively.
Owlstone’s embrace of design has proved a major fillip, helping to attract £1.1m of investment from US company Advance Nanotech. In October 2004, Owlstone also won a small business innovation research award from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency. And in May this year the company shipped its first products, turning chemistry into cash. The success comes as no surprise to King: “Design is a process by which high technology can really connect to people,” he explains. “It allows you to produce things they truly need or desire, at a level that does away with the complexity.”
| Venture capital invested in nanotechnology |
£m |
| 2000 |
 78.1 |
| 2001 |
130.9 |
| 2002 |
173.0 |
| 2003 |
154.7 |
| 2004 |
219.9 |
| 2005 |
265.8 |
King says Owlstone is a good model for other high-tech companies who could grow their business by applying some of the same principles.
“Focus on the customer experience, not the technology – be user-centred,” he insists. “Remain incredibly aware of what your market is, why they might want what you’re doing.” Finally, he adds, “Don’t fall in love with the first idea – often high-tech companies are spun off from very specialised research and can get lost in the technology. It’s not until you connect that to the market that it really becomes innovative. Remember it’s not about the technology, it’s about the application of technology and how it can benefit real people.”
Article first published in Design Council Magazine, Issue 1, Winter 2006