+44 (0) 7717 218767
Lawrence Faulkner MBA BSc.
Partner
Top 3 Skills
About Me
I’m a single dad of two young boys who alternately keep me young and make me feel very old!
Growing up in Plymouth, I got a love of hiking by often trekking over Dartmoor and, at 16, I walked from John O’Groats to Lands-End and then walked 100 miles in a day. I can’t manage that now I’m old, but I still get out in the hills when I can. In recent years I’ve managed to trek to Everest base camp and Kilimanjaro summit.
I’ve also played blues harmonica in few bands if anyone needs me to scare cats away!
Qualifications & Accreditations
- MBA – Masters in Business Administration
- DMS – Post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies
- BSc. – Degree in Electronics Engineering
- ICERM – International Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management
My Experience
Throughout my managerial career, I have mainly worked in new ventures, helping global companies and SME’s to diversify with new product developments (NPD) and new market developments (NMD). Sometimes, we achieved non-linear growth through mergers and acquisitions or licensing IP to partners who may better exploit it.
My last ‘proper job’, before becoming a consultant, was to identify and exploit new business ventures for a mature private company who needed to diversify in the face of technology redundancy, so my role for 12 years was to manage the patent and IP portfolio and spin off new ventures.
As a specialist project manager at Cambridge Consultants I managed the rapid development of new products on behalf of many blue-chip companies, defence agencies and private entrepreneurs. As Principal Consultant for the Higher-Education Smart Campus Association, I helped universities to introduce technologies which would be transformative in their business processes and their student experiences.
I have worked extensively with entrepreneurs, from running training sessions at the Judge Business School’s Entrepreneurs Summer School (Cambridge University’s Business School) to being a mentor with the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator program. This included IP training or one-to-one mentoring and, sometimes, I would be a ‘dragon’ for their investment-readiness pitches. In some cases, I would join a new venture as a commercial director for a limited time to set the growth strategy, draft business plans and to attract proper growth funding. Now, I work with a wide range of entrepreneurs and SMEs who want to protect and grow their businesses.
Services I Provide
As a mentor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I can support, encourage and assist to develop robust business plans, attract funding, reduce risks and maximise the chances of profitable success.
When it comes to NPD and NMD, I conduct thorough market and competitor research to establish the value of target markets and then I help to brainstorm new product/service ideas and develop product concepts, Through the development of the business case and financial projections, I help to develop the go-to-market strategy for successful new product launches and this requires a combination of market research, creative thinking, strategic planning, and ongoing support. By leveraging my skills and expertise in these areas, I can help your business develop new products and enter new markets to drive profitable growth and success.
A thread that has run through my experience of NPD and NMD has been the protection and exploitation of Intellectual Property, IP. I have developed dozens of patented products, registered many hundreds of trademarks and designs, and I train consultants and manging/product development teams to advise how best to protect and exploit their IP. Often, this includes a thorough IP Audit to evaluate gaps and opportunities and I help to embed the identification and management of IP in the day-to-day activities of companies in the same way that enterprise risk management should be embedded into regular operations.
Why am I a Khensu Advisor?
As a trusted advisor, I am often asked if I “know someone who…?” so I find it extremely useful to be part of a bigger network where I can keep in touch with like-minded advisors. Like other Khensu® advisors, I have been responsible for Profit & Loss in various director roles (we’ve all be around the block!) so it’s great to have the flexibility / opportunity to work in a variety of sectors and with businesses of all sizes.
Key Skills & Services
- The protection and exploitation of Intellectual Property
- Business growth planning
- Entrepreneur skills acceleration
- New product creation & development and new market creation & development
- Thorough market and competitor analysis to disrupt or create new markets.
- Mentoring and support to busy business owners/managers
What Problems Do I Solve?
These are the typical questions that business owners ask, where I am asked to help:
- How can I turn my idea into a profitable business?
- What different markets can use my products or services?
- How do I diversify in the face of declining markets?
- How can I achieve the most rapid growth from my new venture while managing risks and exposure?
- How can I protect my brand, ideas and products from copying?
- What can I do if someone else is copying my products or creations?
My Advice to Businesses
Network, network, network! From experience, I know it’s lonely as a manging director. People turn to you for guidance and decisions but who do you turn to get advice and cross-check your ideas? Someone else may be able to identify risks and opportunities that you can’t see when you are fire-fighting or engrossed in the day-to-day activities, so use your network or a trusted advisor to get perspective and fresh ideas.
Additional Information
I am a Founder and Designated Partner of Khensu LLP and have also been:
- Principal consultant for Higher Education Smart Campus Association.
- On the technical working group for ITSO, the UK interoperable transport ticketing standard.
- Steering group member for LASSeO, the local authority ‘smart’ standards organisation for smartcards.
- Principal consultant for Smartex Ltd, advising on the exploitation of smart cards and RFID technologies