Why gallium nitride? I came to Cambridge initially as an Erasmus student and was given a choice of topics to research. One was silicon power devices, which the group in the Engineering Department already knew a lot about. The other was the energy-efficient 'material of the future' which I would be the first in the group to work on. Of course, I chose the latter. I like a challenge!
It was particularly difficult because I was having to learn English at the same time. But somehow I got through and as soon as I finished I was given the opportunity to continue my research as a PhD student, this time working in collaboration with a major semiconductor company, NXP (now called Nexperia).
How was that? It was like a dream come true. I was doing research at one of the best universities in the world but I was also spending time in industry, getting to know how markets work and what customers want. The company had operations in both the Netherlands and Belgium so it was also a fantastic opportunity to travel, one of my other passions.
You got your PhD. Then what? I could see the potential for gallium nitride so I applied for EPSRC Follow-on Funding which gave me a year to start bridging the gap between the research and commercialisation.
After that, I was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship at Gonville and Caius College which was perfect: it gave me the flexibility to pursue my own research - and to really think. I had so many ideas during that time and the College was so supportive.
What about founding a company? When did you start to think that might be a good idea? When I applied for the Junior Research Fellowship, my application was based on the idea of spinning out a company. To be honest, I didn't have any real idea of what it meant and what it would take to do it.
During my Fellowship, I continued to work with industry, consulting with two of the main semiconductor companies, Infineon and Vishay, getting good market knowledge and insight.
I founded the company in 2016, with my PhD supervisor - and serial entrepreneur - Professor Florin Udrea.
This all seems like a very smooth path? Yes and no. After raising the first £20k by winning the Cambridge Enterprise post-doc competition in 2016, I pitched to Cambridge Enterprise again, this time for a Fast50 £75,000 convertible loan. On the same day, I also told them, "I'm going to go to Japan for a year."
I had been offered a fellowship by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. For me, it was an amazing opportunity. Cambridge is fantastic but I needed to see something different. And this was the moment in my life when it would be possible, before partners, families or companies could get in the way.
I managed to convince Cambridge Enterprise that it would be beneficial for the company - which it was.
In what way? We all talk about the need for diversity and the importance of listening to other people's ideas and perspectives. It was only when I went to Japan, that I properly understood the difference between cultures. In Europe, we have so much in common. But this was totally different.
And that lesson informs everything I do. There are 32 people at CGD at the moment and 19 different nationalities.
