It was supposed to be the end of an era, the night NuNano began.
Over leaving drinks to celebrate the end of my PhD and a short postdoc position I had just completed at the University of Bristol, Professors Mervyn Miles and Heinrich Hoerber and I found ourselves complaining about the variability of AFM probes and therefore their relative expense.
Merv, Heinrich and James in the Bristol University staff bar in 2006
The conversation deepened. Well, how would you go about manufacturing probes to ensure that every one worked, every time? We had ideas – Heinrich and Merv’s whole careers had been centred around the development of the AFM, their expertise on the subject second to none. By the time last orders was called we realized we were staring at an interesting business opportunity. And thus the seed was sown for NuNano.
It was in fact another four years, and for me two postdocs later – at the University of Bristol, teaching myself microfabrication amongst other things - before we incorporated the company. By that time we had the science behind us to support our earlier back-of-the-beer-mat calculations for a more robust process of manufacturing AFM probes. And so, ten years ago this month, NuNano was officially born.
Prototypes and Partnerships
Setting up the company itself was very easy. What was much harder was establishing the best way of making the first prototypes. Initially I tried to outsource this activity. I expected other established microfabrication companies would have far more knowledge and experience than me and be able to develop our initial prototypes without too much effort. This proved a steep learning curve, and resulted in a year lost without a great deal to show from it. But a valuable lesson had been learnt, and I then backed myself to take on the initial probe development myself and this proved to be the kickstart that the business needed.
That isn’t to say that the business hasn’t been built on some incredibly successful partnerships – in fact, quite the opposite is true. My initial prototyping was undertaken at the Scottish Microelectronics Centre at the University of Edinburgh. This partnership has grown and is now one of our established bases. We’ve also worked with our fantastic customers to test and develop new products. Partnership – and of course community – has been very much at the heart of the business as we’ve grown.
Many of our customers today were early adopters, championing our vision of bringing innovation to a market place where status quo and ‘good enough’ had been deemed acceptable for quite a while. Working with organisations eager to see change and improvements in the AFM probe market, for the obvious benefit it brings to their work – such as the Universities of Nottingham, Lancaster and Sheffield – has been a valuable component of the business.
I continue to enjoy seeing how and what customers are working on, how they are using AFM, within academia and, increasingly, within industry. This experience ‘at the coal face’ of AFM informs the decisions I make on the development of our products and the company at large.
James visiting a customer
Ten Years On
Ten years ago I set myself the goal of making NuNano a profitable business. In overcoming the challenges of making our seedling idea into the company it is today I find I have achieved so much more.
I am not only proud of the innovation we’ve brought to the market place but also of the brand we’ve developed: We are increasingly well-known, which is impressive given the landscape is populated by much larger, well-established players who have been in the market for 30+ years.
I’m proud to be working with customers whose own work is in itself game-changing, disruptive, and, in the case of semiconductors for example, increasingly critical for our everyday lives. One of the achievements that has made me most proud, has been the opportunity to build our team. The ability to give employment to graduates, enabling them to realise the full potential of their skillset and especially to do so in the midst of the Covid pandemic, has brought me a great deal of personal joy.
The NuNano team in 2018
I anticipate over the next ten years we will continue to explore and develop partnerships with other companies in the field. We will share our knowledge, expertise and innovation and launch further advances in AFM probe manufacturing. Some are already in the pipeline or on our roadmap, but doubtless there will be some new ideas to revolutionise the marketplace.
On that last point, it is our ten year anniversary party at the weekend. Who knows what else we might dream up as the night progresses…Beer mats at the ready.