Jon-Paul Griffiths: ‘Starting a small company is a phenomenal experience’

Illustrated portrait of Jon-Paul Griffiths with two fencing silhouettes in the background

Source: © Peter Strain @ Début Art

The chief technology officer of Oxeco on spinning out, supporting entrepreneurs and the difficulties of identifying a market

I’ve been interested in chemistry ever since I was a kid. I loved fireworks – bangs, flashes, explosions, colours, all the things that are fun when you’re a small child.

Fundamentally at my core, I love making things. As I started to go through my education, I realised the other thing I really enjoyed was the R&D side. I liked trying new things, pushing the boundaries of where the knowledge was, and that combination led me to doing a PhD.