Launching a living materials industry

In August 2020, a client of nearly a decade asked us what we knew about living materials because as the CEO of a Government department responsible for a portfolio of 2,200+ buildings, he wondered if popularizing such materials may be his legacy. Within six months, we were holding global forums to explore the opportunity we framed with a discussion paper. Within eight months, we started applying for grants because we had a solid team that included a global leader in manufacturing, a national synthetic biology association, and a location within the hottest innovation corridor development in the region. Those three additional key stakeholders we sought out after engaged. It was our responsibility to establish relationships deep enough – amidst intercontinental logistics and IP issues – to build our client’s confidence; and we did. We moved fast because moving slow can make the opportunity feel less feasible. However, the foundation has proven solid.