Key Learnings from Episode: Building Innovation at Speed with Imad Ahmed, CEO of Nanolyse

In this episode of Beyond the Raise, Imad Ahmed shares the journey behind Nanolyse, an environmental intelligence company using technology and data to help bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world implementation. Starting from research at Oxford University, the business has evolved from developing chemical sensors into a broader environmental monitoring and intelligence company. The conversation explores regulation, innovation, partnerships, funding and the challenge of moving promising technology from the lab into practical use.

Innovation Only Matters If It Reaches Implementation

One of Imad's central themes is the gap between scientific discovery and practical implementation.

He describes innovation using the analogy of a spark and a stove. The initial invention is the spark: exciting and full of potential, but uncontrolled. The stove represents translation, where that innovation becomes useful, practical and capable of solving a real problem.

For Nanolyse, the goal is not simply to monitor environmental problems, but to use data and insight to help move towards remediation and implementation.

Key Takeaways

• Scientific discovery is only the beginning of innovation.

• Successful technology needs a route to real-world implementation.

• Environmental monitoring becomes more valuable when it informs action.

• Translating innovation requires focus, market understanding and practical expertise.

Knowing When to Pivot Matters

Nanolyse began at Oxford University developing advanced chemical sensors capable of detecting different chemicals in water. The team secured funding, worked with an established technology partner and successfully developed a prototype.

The challenge came when they assessed the commercial market and realised the technology was ahead of demand.

Rather than continuing down the same path, Nanolyse pivoted towards environmental intelligence, building on its expertise in environmental monitoring and materials while focusing more closely on what customers actually needed.

Key Takeaways

• A successful prototype does not guarantee a viable market.

• Founders need to distinguish early interest from mainstream demand.

• Pivoting can preserve valuable expertise while changing the commercial direction.

• Market insight should shape technology strategy.

Regulation Has to Shape Innovation

Operating across water, mining and environmental markets means Nanolyse works in highly regulated sectors where decisions can affect public health and the environment.

That adds another layer of complexity to innovation. The team needs to understand not only current regulation, but where regulation is heading, alongside changing customer requirements and technological possibilities.

Imad contrasts this with more straightforward technology businesses where a product can be built and taken directly to customers. In environmental technology, regulation needs to be considered much earlier.

Key Takeaways

• Regulation should be considered during product development, not after it.

• Founders need to understand where policy and regulation are heading.

• Highly regulated markets require greater commercial and strategic discipline.

• Technology decisions cannot be separated from the environment in which the product will operate.

Speed Should Be Applied Selectively

Building innovation at speed does not mean moving quickly in every area of the business.

In a highly regulated sector, quality, evidence and reliability cannot be sacrificed for pace. The challenge is knowing where speed creates an advantage and where taking more time reduces risk.

For Imad, focus is central to managing that balance. With opportunities across AI, data, sensors, biosensors, chemicals and materials, the business cannot pursue everything simultaneously.

Key Takeaways

• Moving faster is not always better.

• Quality and reliability remain essential in regulated markets.

• Focus helps businesses manage technological complexity.

• Strategic priorities determine where speed creates genuine value.

Understand the Market Before Scaling

Imad references Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm when discussing the difference between early enthusiasm for innovation and mainstream adoption.

Early interest can create the impression that a large market exists before customers are actually ready to adopt the technology at scale. Nanolyse experienced this with its original sensor technology.

Understanding customers, regulation and market readiness before committing significant resources helps reduce that risk.

Key Takeaways

• Early adopters do not necessarily represent the wider market.

• Market readiness should influence investment decisions.

• Customer insight is essential before committing to scale.

• Founders should test assumptions rather than relying on initial enthusiasm.

Staying Lean Creates Flexibility

Nanolyse has deliberately kept its core team lean while drawing on specialist expertise when required.

This model allows the company to broaden what it can offer without carrying the cost and complexity of building every capability internally. As the range of customers and projects grows, however, decision-making naturally becomes more complex.

For Imad, the answer is not to control every decision personally, but to surround himself with people who bring expertise he does not have.

Key Takeaways

• Lean teams can retain flexibility during growth.

• Not every capability needs to sit permanently inside the business.

• Specialist expertise can be brought in as requirements change.

• Growth requires founders to become comfortable delegating decisions.

Founders Have to Learn to Let Go

As Nanolyse has grown, Imad has become increasingly conscious that being the founder does not mean being the expert in every room.

He sees delegation as an important part of scaling, provided there is clear governance around who owns different areas of the business.

That also applies beyond the internal team. Imad believes founders need to recognise when another organisation has capabilities they lack and be prepared to collaborate rather than trying to build everything themselves.

Key Takeaways

• Founders do not need to own every decision.

• Delegation should be supported by clear governance.

• External expertise can strengthen internal capability.

• Letting go becomes increasingly important as complexity grows.

Partnerships Extend What a Small Team Can Do

Partnerships are central to Nanolyse's operating model.

One example is Mosaic, a project that combined satellite data with chemical, biological, environmental and meteorological data to create an integrated AI system for a farm in Devon. Delivering the project required Nanolyse to partner with two space companies rather than attempting to develop every capability itself.

For Imad, collaboration is about recognising where expertise sits and being flexible enough to bring the right organisations together around a problem.

Key Takeaways

• Partnerships allow small companies to access specialist expertise.

• Collaboration can expand what a lean team is capable of delivering.

• Founders should be flexible about how innovation is developed.

• The value of a project matters more than owning every part of its delivery.

Funding Adds Another Layer of Complexity

Environmental technology can require significant investment before innovations reach commercial implementation.

Imad believes the UK does not currently have enough investment available for environmental technology, adding another challenge for businesses already navigating regulation, market adoption and technical complexity.

This makes capital strategy part of the innovation process rather than something founders can consider separately.

Key Takeaways

• Environmental technology can require significant capital before commercial adoption.

• Funding constraints influence strategic decisions.

• Founders need to balance technical ambition with financial reality.

• Investment strategy and commercial strategy are closely connected.

Data Turns Monitoring Into Intelligence

Nanolyse's evolution reflects a broader shift from collecting environmental data towards understanding what that data means and what should happen next.

Monitoring can identify contamination, pollution or other environmental problems. Combining those findings with other sources of data and specialist insight can help organisations understand the problem and determine how to respond.

Projects such as Mosaic demonstrate how AI and integrated datasets can extend environmental monitoring into practical decision-making.

Key Takeaways

• Collecting environmental data is only the first step.

• Combining datasets can create more useful environmental intelligence.

• AI can help turn monitoring into actionable insight.

• Technology creates greater value when it supports implementation.

Looking Ahead

Nanolyse's journey has taken the company from a university-based sensor innovation to a broader model built around environmental intelligence, partnerships and implementation.

Rather than trying to build every technology or capability internally, the company is focused on bringing together data, technology, market insight and external expertise to deliver high-impact environmental projects.

Final Thought

Imad's experience shows why the journey from invention to implementation is rarely straightforward. Scientific innovation may provide the starting point, but regulation, market readiness, funding, partnerships and customer need determine whether that innovation reaches the real world.

For Nanolyse, progress has meant being willing to pivot, stay focused and recognise that the best route to implementation does not always involve building everything yourself.