SiliconCatalyst.UK’s ChipStart UK Training Page

During the nine month semiconductor startup incubation programme our ChipStart UK companies follow three semiconductor industry specific training courses per month. These learnings are then workshopped to the specific needs of each startup. Our objective is to develop the next generation of semiconductor leaders in the UK. Having graduated from the ChipStart UK programme these executives will have all the skills, knowledge and capabilities to build globally successful semiconductor companies.

Please find recordings of our training sessions and copies of the slides presented for each subject matter that we have covered so far.

This material is not publicly available. It is only made available to ChipStart UK cohort members and the Silicon Catalyst.UK advisor network. They are not available for download.

If you feel you are entitled to have access to this material, please e-mail your SiliconCatalyst.UK contact requesting access to be granted. You will need to provide an e-mail address that is associated with a Google account.

Product Development - part 1 of 3

Building a SoC

Davide Sarta of EnSilica provides us with a perfectly pitched introduction to the complexity of developing a modern System-on-Chip (SoC) covering the subject in enough detail to give us a good understanding of the complexities and the key things to consider, whilst getting through the topic in just less than 2 hours. Davide also finds time to discuss the options for a startup, such as IP (licence vs. build), EDA tooling costs and considerations and creating a team versus outsourcing. 

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Product Development - part 2 of 3

Partnering to Accelerate Development and Market Penetration

Tom Nicholson of TTP looks at the benefits and trade-offs of partnering for success, the types of partner and the types of partnerships. Valuable insights as almost all companies will form partnerships at some point.

Slides available here.

Product Development - part 3 of 3

The role of software within a system design

Andrew Pickard of arm somehow manages to explain the world of embedded software design in a little over 2 hours, covering all of the important aspects that you will need to consider including detailed descriptions of simple and not-so simple software stacks and how to tackle security.  There is also a good discussion of the use of Open Source software.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

IP Protection - part 1 of 4

How to Protect your IP
Patents and Trade Secrets

Will Morgan and David Lewin of HLK talk about protecting your IP with patents and trade secrets. They discuss the difference between the two, how they are acquired, the costs involved and territorial differences in the way they are managed. This is the first of two presentations from HLK.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

IP Protection - part 2 of 4

How to Protect your IP
Design Rights and Copyright

Will Morgan and Greg Sharp of HLK talk about design rights and copyright, describing what can be protected by each of these mechanisms and differences between territories. At the end there is discussion about how this relates to chip masks. This is the second of two presentations from HLK.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

IP Protection - part 3 of 4

IP Workshop

Following on from the online IP protection training Will Morgan and David Lewin of HLK delivered an IP workshop to help the cohort companies implement an IP protection strategy. Slides are available to view and templates to download for cohort members and their mentors.

Slides available here.

IP Strategy Framework
Technical IP Log
Invention Disclosure Form
IP Appraisal

IP Protection - part 4 of 4

IP and Commercial Contracts for Deeptech Start-ups

Gretchen Scott and Genevieve Watt of Goodwin Proctor give a very thorough account of the protections that need to be in place when licencing IP, on either side, and give solid insights into what to look out for and things that can go wrong. They then give a high level run through of commercial contracts in general, and key clauses with excellent examples provided by some of the mentors. If nothing else, this talk illustrates why you should seek professional help when you are first starting out.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Leadership and Team Building - part 1 of 4

Building (and keeping) a Credible and Capable Team

Our very own Pete Rodriguez, CEO of Silicon Catalyst, and Henry Nurser, SiliconCatalyst.UK partner, give us the benefit of their experiences building multiple teams in the US (Pete) and the UK (Henry). In a pre-recorded video Pete gives his views on the keys to success in team building and some practical approaches to achieve a great team. Henry then follows up with some observations of his own with a more UK centric view including how to motivate and retain the team and how to build a UK board.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Leadership and Team Building - part 2 of 4

Recruitment, Remuneration and Retention ... the three R's

Neil Dickins of IC Resources gives a lively presentation, challenging the audience to think about starting work for a startup from the perspective of the new hire. How do they perceive the proposition? And what are they looking to get out of it. Recorded at a training event in Glasgow with cohort members in the room.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Link to salary survey.

Leadership and Team Building - part 3 of 4

It's all about the team

Jed Hurwitz of Analog Devices shares his thoughts on what makes for a good team, starting from why you need a team and progressing through the need for balance, characteristics of team members, how you can help the team perform and things to be aware of.

Slides available here.

Leadership and Team Building - part 4 of 4

Employment Law

Alex Fisher of Goodwin Proctor takes us through the key issues that need to be considered when entering into either an employment contract or a consultancy agreement. If you are just starting to hire this is well worth a watch to make sure you have everything you need in your employment contract or consultancy agreement.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Investment

Raising Seed Investment for Semiconductor Startups

Russell Haggar of SiliconCatalyst.UK and VyperCore explains why semiconductor investment is so hard comparing the investment model to that for SaaS, then an exploration of the different types of investor and finally on to how to find an investor and the things they care about. Recorded at a training event in Glasgow with cohort members in the room.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Sales and Marketing - part 1 of 4

Foundations for Success

Jamie Urquhart, one of the founders of arm, gives us the benefit of his hard won experience. Almost impossible to write a concise summary as each slide is packed with thought provoking wisdom with titles such as "Own the problem, be the solution" a "must-read" for anyone taking a product to market.

Slides available here.

Sales and Marketing - part 2 of 4

Defining a Go-to-Market Strategy

Ryan Coyne, of Scaling Insights, introduces the reasons for developing a Go-to-Market strategy and dives into the details of how to approach e.g. Enterprise Sales and details some useful tools that can be applied to help in the process, links all helpfully listed on the penultimate slide.

Slides available here.

Sales and Marketing - part 3 of 4

Introduction to Marketing for Founders

While being CEO, CTO, CSO and chief bottle washer, founders might wonder if they have time to be CMO too. This presentation covers the key rules for marketing effectiveness, channels you might use, a timeline of marketing milestones common to startups, a brief outline of a marketing organisation and tips on how to know if that organisation is doing the right things.  There is a longer version of this presentation that David Harold (Foundational Marketing) is willing to share, just contact him at david@davidharold.com.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Sales and Marketing - part 4 of 4

Account Based Marketing

Louisa Scott and Jez John, founders of Webstars, present the power of Account Based Marketing. This approach, which combines strategy and tactics from both Sales and Marketing, can be hugely impactful when done well. It's for all B2B organisations, but is especially beneficial to those in a start up phase as it doesn't rely on huge budgets to be effective and the foundations of success can be laid in advance of launch.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Company Mission - part 1 of 3

What is a Value Proposition?

Richard Ord, of Richard Ord Consulting, gives an introduction to the importance of developing a good value proposition as an introduction to a workshop activity (workshop activity sheets available). Richard takes us through the process and uses real-life examples to illustrate his points, showing how language needs to focus on how your product will solve your customers’ problems rather than describing the amazing technology in your product.

Slides available here.

Link to Workshop Template.

Company Mission - part 2 of 3

How the lessons learnt from a previous startup created a springboard for success

Taner Dosluoglu of weeteq shares some of the hard truths learnt through his experiences with a previous startup and highlighting the benefit that the Silicon Catalyst accelerator programme can bring to a startup.

Slides available here.

Company Mission - part 3 of 3

Lessons learnt from an RF MEMS University spinout to a $300M exit

Mike Beunder of TD Shepherd looks at the key learnings from his time at Cavendish Kinetics, covering timeline, team and board, crucial decisions and exit considerations. All invaluable insight, helping to set realistic expectations.

Slides available here.

Fundraising - part 1 of 6

How much money will you need?

Bill Yost of Old College Capital and Anticus Partners walks us through some of the considerations required when raising VC capital looking at true dilution and the dangers of overcapitalising.

Slides available here.

Fundraising - part 2 of 6

Three slide pitch development

Our very own Henry Nurser of SiliconCatalyst.UK gives a detailed breakdown of the three slide pitch; why to have a three slide pitch, what it should include, when to use it and when not to use it. Invaluable for clarifying your own thinking and making a strong and clear first impression.

Slides available here.

Fundraising - part 3 of 6

Preparing the Perfect Investment Pitch

Laura Swan VP of Business Operations at Silicon Catalyst Angels in the United States talks through what you may be expected to provide as you go through the due diligence process with Angel investors. She talks about the documents that you may be expected to prepare and maintain in a "data" or "deal" room. Laura has provided a copy of the Due Diligence Template she uses as a checklist to check that applicants have provided all of the required data. You can use it to check you have collected all of the required data.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Fundraising - part 4 of 6

The What and Why of the Sequoia Investor Pitch

Laura Swan VP of Business Operations at Silicon Catalyst Angels in the United States explains how to develop the simple three slide pitch and then moves on to discuss the details of the pitch deck favoured by Sequoia Capital, a longer pitch with very focussed information. The conclusion of the talk is that you need to be able to describe your value proposition in 30 seconds, but be prepared to go on and talk for two hours if the opportunity presents itself.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Fundraising - part 5 of 6

Navigating the Due Diligence Process

Jimmy Kan and Henk Both of Anzu Partners talking in a Silicon Catalyst webinar and referenced in the presentation from Laura Swan on the "What and Why of the Sequoia Investor Pitch" - well worth a watch and with some useful tools for presenting and tracking your plans.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.

Fundraising - part 6 of 6

Raising

Pete Hutton, chairman of Agile Analog, serial entrepreneur and senior industry executive presented this slide set at the GSA conference in London on 14th March 2024. A whistle stop tour of how to raise funds. Pucker up and prepare to kiss frogs!

Slides available here.

Negotiation Planning

Negotiation Planning in Three Dimensions

Our very own Sean Redmond, Managing Partner of SiliconCatalyst.UK provides a thorough explanation of the advanced negotiation strategy that he has deployed throughout his career with his own startup and before that WW sales & marketing organisations he has lead. Proven in contract negotiations totaling over $1Bn.

Slides and Zoom video recording available.