Case Study Dr Saumya Sood

Dr Saumya Sood had always been interested in pursuing the commercial application of academic research, but it wasn’t until she took part in the YES competition that she acquired the tools she needed to accelerate her own career in the world of industry.

With a professional background in food and nutritional science in India, Saumya Sood came to the University of Reading to study for a PhD with a clear idea of what she wanted to do with her career. She knew she wanted eventually to return to industry, but she first needed the tools and knowledge to apply her own academic research to the field in which she was interested. It was halfway through her PhD that Saumya first heard about the YES competition.

“While I’d previously worked in commercial settings, I’d always been on the science side of product development, so I had a limited understanding of how things like finance and marketing worked,” she explains. “I’m very interested in entrepreneurship, so the YES competition seemed like a good opportunity to develop my business management skills.”

Despite having some initial reservations about the time commitment and about how to manage any potential clashes within the team, Saumya quickly adapted to the pace and demands of the YES competition and, together with her team, threw herself into the process. “I was surprised at how fast-paced it was at first – it proved to be a very accurate insight into what an actual start-up is like!” she explains. “Working in such a high-pressure situation is very different to most roles I’ve had working in science, so I learned a lot about myself.”

Saumya and her team were supported throughout the YES competition by staff at Reading’s Henley Business School, including the director of the Henley Enterprise Lab, Jurek Sikorski. “The training and mentorship we received from Jurek and others at Henley Business School, as well as from Reading’s Entrepreneur in Residence Bill Kilgallon, and of course from the KTC itself, was invaluable,” Saumya says. “Having direct access to in-house support and expertise around business planning and pitch development definitely gave us an advantage over the other teams in the competition.”

The value of the skill set that Saumya developed during YES has extended far beyond the competition itself. “Everything that we learned about developing a business, from the language that’s used by investors to the way presentations should be prepared and delivered, has been really useful in helping me get to where I am today,” she says.

After taking part in YES, Saumya was able to apply her new business skills during a short role as an Associate for an Accelerated Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Reading and A&R House (BCL) Ltd, on a project designed to extract oil from fruit waste. She is now moving onto a full KTP Associate role, this time with the University of Nottingham and food giant Unilever, to work on a project exploring the sensory aspects of ice cream.

Saumya plans to combine the experience she gains over the next few years with what she has learned during YES, to one day become an entrepreneur herself. “I’d always been interested in the idea of starting a business, but taking part in YES solidified this ambition,” she says. “Before, I had no idea how to make it possible, but now I have the knowledge and contacts to turn my dream into a reality. All I need to do now is find a great business idea!”