Oli Barrett MBE

Co-Founder, The SuperScalers

Oli Barrett loves connecting people and ideas. He is a co-founder of The Superscalers, supporting underrepresented founders to scale their work globally. He co-founded WebMission and Clean and Cool, connecting hundreds of founders with partners and clients around the world. He is a shareholder in several companies including mental health business Calm.com and Troubadour Theatres, which creates new theatres and film studios. Oli co-founded the UK's largest schools enterprise competition, Tenner, which is now run by charity Young Enterprise. He also co-founded StartUp Britain with support from the British Prime Minister, and global literacy campaign Turn On The Subtitles (TOTS), encouraging broadcasters and tech companies to improve children's reading. He is a co-founder of Volunteer It Yourself (VIY), supporting young people to fix their own youth clubs and community buildings, gaining skills and qualifications. Oli is a regular event host and presenter for gatherings spanning technology, health, entrepreneurship, and education. He sits on the advisory boards of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, Global Tech Advocates, One Million Mentors and Founders4Schools.   

Emilie Syed

Principal, Zinc

Emilie is a Principal at Zinc, responsible for new investments in People and Planetary Health. She has worked with over a hundred science driven companies from inception to Series A; previously at Parkwalk Advisors and Oxford University Innovation, where she also led the Startup Incubator. She came to Venture after 14 years as a research scientist, directing pioneering experiments in systems neuroscience in Oxford, Bordeaux and Hamburg. Emilie holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Hamburg and an MBA from Warwick Business School, specialising in Strategy and Finance.