Breakthrough Issue 2 SPA02 | Page 82

Jon Bradford A day managing the Bradfield Centre … june

DAY IN THE LIFE

Cambridge Science Park Cambridge , England , UK
Biography Jon Bradford is the Director of the Bradfield Centre . A highly experienced earlystage investor , Jon is a founding partner at Motive Partners , and was MD of Techstars London , cofounder of F6S and tech . eu , and an advisor to Dubai Future Accelerator

Jon Bradford A day managing the Bradfield Centre … june

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Up until now I have spent more time outside than inside my place of work . And all of that is about to change . This morning we received the official handover of keys for the £ 20m Bradfield Centre on the Cambridge Science Park – which is set to become one of the UK ’ s largest buildings dedicated for the support of startups and scale-ups . For the past 12 months I have watched the purpose-built location take shape , darting inside to provide tours for the various incoming deep tech companies we plan to build a onethousand-strong community with .
Internal fit out Today , we begin the extensive internal fit-out . Central Working will manage and operate the space in partnership with Trinity College Cambridge , and that means preparing the space for our range of bespoke designed furniture . Everything in the Bradfield Centre has been engineered to meet the needs of our members . After a quick lunch and the ceremonial handover , we are on to operations . The fit-out team are busy at work , and it ’ s time for me to decamp to our on-site pop‐up office . I return to my main
This morning we received the keys for the £ 20m building
priority – populating the building with individuals and organisations that can help grow the businesses we will house . Over the months I have met with VC investors , accelerator managers , and a range of experts in everything from legals to technical support to branding and marketing . We ’ re building a community of tech entrepreneurs , but we will surround them with the mentorship , advice , and opportunities that will spur them from high-potential to highgrowth companies . This afternoon I ’ ve got back-to-back calls with European accelerator managers . They know Cambridge – arguably Britain ’ s original techcity – and I sense genuine excitement about the Bradfield Centre ’ s launch .
Nurturing innovators I wrap up my calls as the sun begins to go down , and as I walk past the Bradfield Centre I can tell the interior already looks markedly different to when the day began . The fit-out team have been hard at work . We ’ re still a month from opening our doors to the first members , but at the moment I ’ m ending every day on a high . There ’ s a real air of excitement . This city is the home of ARM , Raspberry Pi , and Deep Mind , and an enormous building , designed and built from the ground up to nurture the next wave of tech innovators . ■
82 | UKSPA breakthrough | SUMMER 2017