Venture capitalist is branching out into a new sector

Jun 2 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

Jonathan Gold has helped hundreds of budding entre- preneurs get their business ideas off the ground since launching venture capital company NStar. Christopher Knox caught up with him as he embarks on a new project and found that there is far more to the influential businessman than meets the eye.

GOLD is a walking contradiction. Behind the smart suit and the serious demeanour is a man whose career, as well as his tastes, could be said to be a little unorthodox.

For instance, the last album he bought was The Prodigy’s greatest hits, which contains one of his favourite songs, the rave anthem Firestarter. The business guru believes that entrepreneurs could learn a lot about how to create a successful start-up by listening to the crazed lyrics of the song.

His penchant for all things pyrotechnic doesn’t end there either. Before pursuing an early career in science, he accidently blew himself up at the age of eight with a chemistry set in his parent’s back yard.

The incident has left him partially deaf in one ear, a condition that was not helped by his brief time as a motor- racing fire marshal after leaving university.

That’s not to say that the 46-year-old is eccentric, far from it. His calm and measured manner portrays a man who is in deadly earnest about what he does and it is not surprising that his oratory skills have been called upon by the Government.

Although currently sitting in the rather grand confines of the Northern Counties Club, Newcastle’s last remaining private members’ club, Gold is keen to stress his humble roots.

“My two favourite drinks sum me up perfectly. Although I run a wine-tasting club, I am more than a little partial to a nice pint of English bitter. I went to a normal comprehensive school in North London and have never considered myself to have a silver spoon in my mouth.

“Although it is true that this line of work does institutionalise you to some extent, I have never lost sight of my roots. This has given me the ability to strike up a relationship with most people, which is important when you are trying to look at the possibilities of different business propositions.”

It was during his time working for the Government, as assistant director of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, that he realised that there was a lack of funding available for early- stage businesses in the North East.

He said: “I was part of a team that had to put together the University Challenge Fund which provided seed capital for a number of university spin-outs. There were 15 universities that were included throughout the UK, but I remember noticing that none were based in the North East. Little did I know at the time that I would eventually be based up here, but it was always something that stuck in my mind.”

He got his chance to rectify the situation in 2003 when he was called up by business associate Andrew Mitchell, who asked him to be part of a new business investment venture in Newcastle.

NStar has now become one of the first ports of call for budding entrepreneurs looking for start-up finance in the science and technology sector.

The group, which is partly funded by the Government, has helped thousands of firms get off the ground, either through business coaching or direct investment.

Its Proof of Concept Fund (PoC) in particular, which is run by subsidiary NorthStar Equity Investors, has been instrumental in helping more than 131 projects and has invested more than £19m since it was launched in 2004.

The fund, which has £10m still to invest, is one of Gold’s greatest achievements and has helped a diverse range of firms set up, including drug research company Newcastle-based e-Therapeutics, which floated on the Alternative Investment Market last year.

Gold said: “I would have to say that the fund is up there as one of the things I’m most proud of. It has really helped a number of firms and done its bit to create a vibrant science and technology sector in the region.

“When I first came to the North East I was expecting the cliched picture of heavy industry and closed-down coal mines. I was amazed at how strong the technology sector was up here, which made starting NStar even more exciting.”

He is now embarking on a new challenge with Finance Tree, the rebranded training and support arm of NStar which he has bought out along with its course director Peter Hiscocks.

The pair, who financed the buy-out with their own funds, first met seven years ago when Gold was chief executive of a university spin-out support group at Oxford and Hiscocks was lecturing on business and enterprise at Cambridge, where he continues to work.

“I am proud of what I have done at NStar and know that the team I have left behind will ensure its success in the future. However, I wanted a new challenge and believe Finance Tree can become another successful source of support for North East SMEs,” Gold said.

“I don’t have ambitions to save the world, but I would like to be remembered as someone who helped open doors for a number of people going into business.”

Gold is well-placed to dispense advice on the science and technology sector after spending a number of years visiting Japan as part of his time working in Oxfordshire with energy and environmental consultancy AEA Technology.

“Apart from the advanced technologies the country has to offer, one of the main things that firms in the UK can learn from Japan is to listen more. There is an ancient saying by Archimedes that we have one mouth and two ears and should use them in that proportion.”

Working with government also thrust Gold headfirst into some of the UK’s most complex and cutting-edge technologies. After being head-hunted by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, he found himself drafting a White Paper for the £260m Diamond Synchrotron facility in Oxfordshire, which uses radiation to research complex structures such as proteins and is the size of a football pitch.

“Although there were many people involved, I would have to put the Synchrotron up there with the things I am most proud of, purely because of the scale of the project. It is satisfying to see something you have helped to create standing in front of you, especially when it is this big.”

Although there are many things that Gold misses from living down south, commuting is not one of them. “All I ever seemed to be doing when I was working around London was commuting, either on the Tube or in taxis. What with this and all the trips I had previously taken to Japan, working in the North East is far more relaxing,” he said.

“Living in Gosforth, my family is about 25 minutes from the coast and 20 minutes from the city centre. I would recommend living in the region to anyone.

“In fact, I was recently entertaining a private investor from Paris and afterwards he said that Newcastle is one of the few places he could see himself living. And you know how picky the French are.”

He now has more time to spend with his wife Fiona and young daughter Emily as well as pursue some new hobbies and revisit some old ones.

“Being into science and science fiction I always loved Doctor Who. With the new episodes I can now watch it all over again, only this time it is my daughter that hides behind the settee.”

He has also returned to photography, a hobby he picked up while playing with his grandad’s old cameras as a child – which were used to take pictures of the Second World War.

He has also picked up the saxophone for the first time and is looking forward to learning a few jazz numbers.

“That’s the thing with me, I can be listening to a bit of Prodigy one minute and the next I’ll be listening to Joni Mitchell and trying to learn a few jazz standards.”

CV

1983-1984: Analytical chemist, Johnson Matthey Chemicals

1985-1986: Analytical chemist, Loughborough Consultants

1986-1988: Marketing manager, Surface Analysis Technology

1988-1998: AEA (technology and environmental firm), various roles including marketing manager Asia Pacific

1998-2000: Assistant director, Office of Science and Technology

(UK Department of Trade and Industry)

2001-2003: Business development adviser, Qi3 – Technology consultant

2003-2007: Founding director, NStar – venture capital firm

2008: Director, Finance Tree – business support and training

The Questionnaire

What car do you drive? 5 Series BMW.

What’s your favourite restaurant? Cafe 21, Newcastle.

Who or what makes you laugh? Jack Dee, I love his dry humour. Then again, I’m also partial to a man slipping on a banana skin.

What’s your favourite book? Anything by Isaac Asimov.

What was the last album you bought? The Prodigy, Their Law.

What’s your ideal job, other than the one you’ve got? Airline pilot.

If you had a talking parrot, what’s the first thing you would teach it to say? Hey, baldy!

What’s your greatest fear? Heights.

What’s the best piece of business advice you have ever received? Don’t get too close to your business, take a step back.

And the worst? Only trust yourself.

What’s your poison? Red wine.

What newspapers do you read, other than The Journal? Sunday Times, FT.

How much was your first pay packet and what was it for? £90 a week as a park keeper.

How do you keep fit? Going to the gym.

What’s your most irritating habit? Repeating myself.

What’s your biggest extravagance? Wine.

Which historical or fictional character do you most identify with or admire? Doctor Who.

Which four famous people would you most like to dine with? Einstein, Aristotle, Archimedes and Leonardo da Vinci.

How would you like to be remembered? As someone who helped people fulfil their potential.