Wednesday 11 June 2025 11:30am to 1:30pm
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, The Entopia Building, 1 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1GG, UK
About
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How can startups be scaled up? While there is no single formula, this event will explore scaling up through stories from successful entrepreneurs and tools based on research.
This event is being delivered by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)‘s Canopy Innovation team, with guest speaker David Bent. It is part of Cambridge Wide Open Day.
Joining this event, you will:
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Hear from successful entrepreneurs on the strategies, challenges and approach to their scaling journey
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Learn frameworks and assessment tools to help you map out what you need to scale
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Find out about upcoming accelerator programmes from Canopy
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Contribute to the conversation on what is needed to scale startups' innovation
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Build networks with impact-driven founders
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Find out more about Canopy's innovation community and join a tour of our award-winning Canopy workspace
Who should join: This event is open to impact-driven startups looking to grow their venture. Some spaces will also be available to for those in the wider Cambridge innovation ecosystem.
About David Bent
David has over 20 years of experience leading sustainability as a strategy advisor, catalyst and facilitator. He is the Founder of the Atelier for What's Next, a studio for initiatives at the frontier of generating a better future.
In its first 2 years, the Atelier has worked on different cutting-edge projects, including: a shipping NGO which is trying to transform the maritime industry; an innovation agency that wants to accelerate the net-zero transition; and an art collective that is trying to shift mainstream political narratives. David is also a Mentor at Undaunted, Imperial's flagship climate innovation hub, a Fellow with Zinc, the mission-oriented VC firm, and a Venture Partner at Conduit Connect, the early-stage impact investor.
David worked for 13 years at the global NGO Forum for the Future, guiding major corporations in achieving long-term success by embedding sustainability at the core of their strategies. He worked with noted companies like mobile network O2, Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla, and global luxury hotel chain The Peninsula.
Since 2016, he has been exploring 'what can we do in these powerful times?’ (now a podcast). He is an Edmund Hillary Fellowship, one of around 500 innovators committed to New Zealand as a base camp for global impact, and Honorary Lecturer at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources (also with a podcast of practitioners telling stories of innovation for sustainability). He was chair of EIRIS Foundation, a charity pioneering the next steps for sustainable finance.