Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Liquavista was founded in 2006 to develop products using its patented HEOS display technology. Based on a decade of work done inside Philips Research Labs, the ‘electrowetting’ technology that underpins HEOS devices is a radical, yet simple way of producing high value displays for mobile device display screens.

Electrowetting has the same range and ability to show videos and full colour images as current LCD screens, while also addressing two main problems inherent in today’s displays: poor readability in bright lighting conditions and high power consumption that drains batteries quickly.

Liquavista’s electro-wetting displays (EWDs) are reflective rather than transmissive and so offer the potential for clear viewing in all lighting conditions, from a dimly lit office environment to the bright light of a sunny day, while consuming a tenth of the power of similar sized LCD screens. The opportunity for a new display technology that addresses these problems is huge, with today’s global market for mobile displays at €16 billion and for LCD displays at over £42bn.

1) How have you managed to make such a great deal of progress in such a short period of time?

Through a combination of good people and good technology. One of our key differentiators is that the display effect strongly mirrors LCD, so we’ve been able to import a lot of techniques which they use to manufacturer that technology.

Also, because we use a mature material set there is little to no material science involved – Material Science is one of the things that can take a long time and a lot of effort when developing display technologies.

2) When we will see the first Liquavista powered product in the market? What will it be?

We showed prototype products at SID 2007, in California last month, one of which was a watch and we are planning to bring forward commercial product based on this kind of display.

These simple displays can be used not only in watches but in other products such as toys, games, mp3 players.

The timing for launch depends on plans we have to increase our manufacturing capacity and will also need to fit with our customers’ product cycles.

We currently plan for this to be ready in six months.

3) You were also involved in the founding of CDT. How does Liquavista benchmark against that company?

Although they are both display companies, the technology is very different and they address different segments of the market.

CDT has a technology based around a fundamental materials invention which takes time to develop to the market; they have done a fantastic job in leading that effort and the innovation of manufacturing and drive schemes necessary for success.

As I outlined earlier, Liquavista is in a different position and so we have developed a business model and route to market based on our strengths and the different market dynamics which exist now.

4) Can you become a billion pound company?

Yes. The Electrowetting display effect that Liquavista invented is the only other so called ‘three mode’ display technology other than LCD.

This is important because it means we can ultimately address any market currently using LCD.

In addition, because of the work we’ve done, our technology leverages a lot of the LCD supply chain to manufacture its products.

So we produce displays with superior performance, significant power savings and reduced bill of material costs but largely using the existing display industry manufacturing infrastructure.

These things are not enough on their own but, together with our business model, which is not centered on licensing, means we believe we can build substantial value in the business.

5) What would you highlight as the most important defining factor in whether or not Liquavista achieves its potential?

A good team of people who can develop not only the technology, but also networks of relationships with other companies, will accelerate our progress and build value – these are fundamental.

There are lots of examples where good technology doesn’t succeed or doesn’t become dominant – but there are also many examples where a strong business model plus good motivated people wins.

So we don’t become purely technology focused – market, routes to market and a credible supply chain are equally as important

6) When do you plan to float and how much do you envisage the company will be worth at that stage?

We don’t have any plans to float at this stage – we only completed our first round of funding last year and the team is focused on delivering what it said it would. We will be looking to raise a B round next year and we don’t have any other plans than to continue developing a valuable business.

7) Where does your technology fit into the display space?

In its first phase the technology is aimed at small portable displays, watches, clocks, mp3 players, GPS devices, mobiles phone - a market worth about $14 billion. This is a good place to mature a technology and supply chain.

Once we are successful there, we would start considering larger displays such as laptops, portable DVD players etc where we can also bring substantial performance and cost advantages.

8) What are your growth targets over the next five years?

We have a go to market strategy which is built on establishing solid foundations in early markets and building technology performance and volume in the market place.

Because in the displays world ability to supply and supply chain are key differentiators for success - we will spend the first period establishing our supply chain, using relatively low value applications, such as the watch and others, as a growth platform to tackle higher volume and higher margin opportunities.

9) How prominently does Cambridge feature in your future plans?

Displays are a business with a global customer base but where all of the supply chain and infrastructure is located in the Far East. Given our business model this means we need to grow appropriately in the right areas – Europe (inc. Cambridge) provides the core of the technology and business strategy development for Liquavista.

However we also have an operation in Hong Kong where we are now recruiting product engineers and forming a hub for our relationships with supply chain partners. We believe in recruiting talent as and where we find it, and in Cambridge that is most likely to be strong commercial people with experience of developing innovative technology to market.

10) What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Know yourself and recognise that other people have valuable contributions to make, and that you should aim to build the best team you can.

It’s also important to find people you won’t mind spending lots of time with because if the team chemistry isn’t right, you can end up spending more time on addressing that and the issues arising from it than doing your “real” job which is developing the business. That applies not only to your own team but also your ‘expanded’ team, such as investors, co-developers, technology partners and so on.

Getting the chemistry right makes things go a lot more quickly, and is probably an area we don’t spend a lot of time on up front when growing the team quickly can be considered more important.