Aug 30, 2023

30 Aug 2023 Three new Venture Partners (VPs) are to join the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment team, Old College Capital. Nicola Broughton, Andy Colman and Bill Yost will join existing VP Sandy McKinnon to work closely with the OCC team and their portfolio to support companies to grow and scale their operations. OCC supports the most exciting ideas and technologies emerging from the University, with investment from pre-seed through to Series A. OCC is part of Edinburgh Innovations, the University commercialisation service. Venture Partner is an established role in the venture capital industry where highly experienced individuals work alongside an investment firm, providing guidance and advice to company founders and helping the team identify promising propositions. Andrea Young, Head of Investment at OCC, said: We are thrilled to have secured an exceptional team of individuals who bring a wealth of experience and talent that will add real value to our portfolio companies. They bring a unique combination of entrepreneurial, technical, and investment expertise to the table. They are invaluable additions to our team, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome them on board.” Andy Colman is an investor and advisor in new science and technology ventures, with 30 years’ experience in IT, business development, strategy and partnerships. Since selling his last venture in 2015 to Capita plc, Andy has been an active member of the Scottish entrepreneurial ecosystem and supports a number of high-growth companies at Seed-Series A stages. Nicola Broughton is a highly accomplished business leader, entrepreneur and investor. She has more than 20 years’ experience in sourcing, starting and growing life science businesses, predominantly from the university sector. Bill Yost has spent more than 25 years helping to bring new materials and early-stage technologies to market. He was founding-CEO of Electrolytic Ozone and GelSight Inc, a spin out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and for the past five years has been an active member of the UK venture capital community, including with roles at Mercia and Foresight Williams. Sandy McKinnon has been in venture capital for over 20 years, joining Pentech as a Partner in 2001. He has been deeply involved in commercialising technology from universities throughout his career, with areas of interest include security technology, the applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence, and deep tech. George Baxter, CEO of Edinburgh Innovations, said: EI is very pleased to welcome the Venture Partners to the OCC team. Recognising the importance of investment, we have grown our team to help the University’s ideas, research and innovation transition out of the labs into the wider world, where they can make impact at scale.”