Abstract
The present work intends to identify common features in the "successful" academic start-ups in Cambridge, U.K. and discuss key factors for their success. Being one of the few areas in addition to Silicon Valley with significant aggregation of high-tech businesses chiefly consisting of start-ups, Cambridge is characterized by a business environment where many factors interact, e.g. informal human network involving serial entrepreneurs, support of new businesses by consulting firms and science parks, financing by many venture capitalists including gap funds from universities and angel investors, and a pool of highly educated people including entrepreneurs and engineers. This paper examines Cambridge Display Technologies and Astex Therapeutics as examples of successful academic start-ups in the area. Both the companies rely on recent research outcomes at Cambridge University as the technological bases. Described are the founders including University researchers, the management teams, business lines involving both inhouse development and intellectual property licensing to or alliance with existing companies, and the mechanism of financing from various sources such as the University gap fund, angel investors and other venture capitalists.
