For Lomax, the crucial word is early.
He has spent much of his career investing in early-stage technology companies and has seen first-hand how a relatively small amount of money at the right moment can make a difference to an idea becoming a successful business.
One investment he describes has since reached a valuation of billions of dollars. But four years earlier, the company needed just $150,000 to get started.
“If it didn’t get the $150,000, it wouldn’t have got off the ground” he says.
That, Lomax argues, is the gap the Founders Fund can help address.
“The earliest stage of building a company is also one of the riskiest, 8 out of 10 early ventures may fail. That is precisely why conventional investors can be reluctant to provide the first funding.”
Lomax believes that risk is essential.
“That’s where the future is. New companies are where much of the future economic growth and job creation will come from. Established businesses can become more efficient and grow steadily, but it is often new businesses that have the potential to grow rapidly and create entirely new markets.”
The Founders Fund is more than simply writing cheques. It is about creating the opportunity to test an idea, learn, adapt and, crucially, sometimes fail. The courage to change direction is something Lomax understands from his own experience.
Misys began with a different ambition. Initially, Lomax wanted to develop computer-aided design technology, but he realised that the company could not build the momentum to compete effectively in the American market. He changed course, turning instead to insurance software.
For today’s entrepreneur, he believes the lesson is simple: don’t become so attached to the original idea that you fail to recognise when the market is telling you to change.
“You start off with one aim, but you quickly recognise that actually you’re going in the wrong direction, and you need to have a different one.”
There are many lessons to learn in business. For Lomax, a fundamental one is that people matter more than ideas.
When he considers investing in an early-stage technology company, he says the first thing he looks at is the people.
“You can have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t have the skill set to deliver on that it won’t succeed. And that means recognising your own limitations.”
For highly technical minds, it could mean bringing in people who understand sales, markets, finance or how to turn brilliant technology into a commercial proposition.
“Understand what needs to be done and trust in the right people to do it.”
The Founders Fund will be launched at the beginning of a week-long programme of activity across The University of Manchester’s inaugural Innovation Festival.
High-potential ventures are expected to typically receive investments of £25,000 to £250,000, in return for a small, non-controlling equity stake. The call for applications is expected to open in January 2027.
Lomax says there is so much to celebrate about Manchester – its innovation, cultural diversity, and welcoming spirit. For him, bringing entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and students together is valuable because nobody knows where the next idea will come from.
“Innovation requires people to put ideas on the table, challenge them and see what happens.”
Lomax fondly remembers doing just that in the early days of his career.
“We would finish work and head to the pub, where they would debate what the company should do next.”
“It was a very creative process where people were coming up with ideas all the time, obviously not all good.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“The important thing is creating an environment where people feel able to suggest something different.”
“The University of Manchester is a public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester City Centre on Oxford Road.”
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