Suited and booted

Possessing the engineering knowledge and welding it effectively to the entrepreneurial skills required to ‘sell’ your company is a rare combination indeed and it’s at this point that many new ventures can fail. Business entrepreneurs have strong beliefs about a market opportunity and are willing to accept a high level of personal, professional or financial risk to pursue that opportunity. James Lewis is a member of a rare species in that he is equally comfortable wearing different hats for a role that encompasses both engineer and entrepreneur. In fact, when the need arises, he can even don a salesman’s winning smile for the next round of funding with his latest project, Bac2 Conductive Composites. Formed in 2002 by Dr Graham Murray, privately held Bac2 is the developer of an innovative electrically conductive plastic called ElectroPhen. Used to make bipolar plates, a key component in fuel cells, the company is now in the throes of exploiting the material commercially after a round of funding from London Seed Capital, London Business Angels and other committed investors.