Case Study
Xerode Spinout Founder
Support Pilot
What happened when a founding team got structured support
through the transition to commercial leadership — and what it made possible.
Xerode is a battery technology spinout from the University of Sheffield — four co-founders, at different stages in their academic careers and within the company, collectively navigating the transition from academic research to commercial leadership. Xerode was identified as a good fit for this kind of support — a team where investment in how they understood themselves and worked together could lay strong foundations before the pressures of incorporation and commercial realities fully arrived.
“Founders often lack the experience to assess their own strengths and weaknesses, and therefore lack the skills to decide how to build their team. They also typically have very little experience of line management and leadership.”
Andy Hogben — Head of Commercialisation, University of Sheffield
+1.50
Confidence in the Next Stage
3.00 → 4.50
+1.12
Commercial Operating Identity
2.63 → 3.75
+0.83
Roles, Accountability & Decision Ownership
3.50 → 4.33
“The first step is moving away from that comfort zone, where, ‘yeah, we are fine, we can talk about things’, to actually now being there. They might not know yet what tools and mechanisms to use to make decisions and get unstuck, but at least they’re being open enough to say, ‘we’ll have to talk about this, we’ll have to figure out what to do.’ I think that’s very brave from them. I like it because it feels real, and I think for the team, it should also feel real. They should be able to see the progress and see that this is a process.”
Fer Velázquez de la Paz — Commercialisation Manager, University of Sheffield
Growing Beyond — May 2026
What We Did — The Intervention Arc
What
Individual Insight
Tools
Lumina Spark profile + one-to-one debrief
Value created
A shared framework for understanding self and others — preferences, strengths, and responses under pressure
What
Team Integration
Tools
Lumina exercises + team mandala + baseline diagnostic data
Value created
Clarity on how the team operates together — including communication patterns, working styles under pressure, and approaches to decision-making
What
Applied Coaching
Tools
Live challenges + team dynamics
Value created
Translation of insight into practical action, with clearer ownership and more direct engagement with team challenges
The work became most valuable when working directly with live tensions, decision-making patterns, and operating pressure. Each stage built on the last, creating compounding value: from self-awareness → shared understanding → direct engagement with team dynamics.
What Shifted
Decision-makingFounders reported making decisions and moving things forward as a team more effectively, with clearer ownership and less ambiguity.
Operating under pressureThe programme increased awareness of how individuals respond under pressure, helping the team navigate difficult conversations more directly.
CommunicationImproved openness to difficult conversations across commercial strategy, technical issues, and personnel matters.
Commercial readinessTeam members reported operating more as a company than a research project and handling investor and funding pressure with greater confidence.
Team voice
Alignment“We have a smart team all aligned in our overall goal of making Xerode a success. We work well together and are not afraid to raise even the most challenging issues in a constructive and timely manner.”
Communication“Improved communication and openness to having difficult conversations, whether it’s commercial strategies, technical issues or personnel matters.”
Role clarity“I think we have clarified our roles and better understand the individual team members’ default styles under pressure, which means we are more able to understand each other’s behaviour.”
Transparency“The team session facilitated an open discussion about each other’s qualities and areas for development. This kind of transparency helps build stronger relationships and ensures everyone is aligned moving forward.”
Self-awareness“Understanding personal and team dynamics and how we function in different situations.”
Action planning“I also found the follow-up session very useful to make a tangible plan.”
In their own words
“I think it’s really helpful. I understand myself more now — thank you. I would definitely recommend this to others at the university. I think it gave us the opportunity to reflect on ourselves and the team together, which is very important.”
Dr. Yufeng Lai — Entrepreneurial Lead, Xerode
“Going from academic research to running a spinout is hard. The skills that make you a good researcher don’t automatically make you a good leader, and we felt that gap early on.
Rebecca is one of those rare people who makes you feel at ease and challenged at the same time. The sessions were practical. We worked through real issues we were dealing with as a team — different working styles, and how we make decisions under pressure. Personally, I left each session with actionable insights that reshaped my mindset and how I operate.
If you’re part of a founding team, especially transitioning from academia, I’d strongly recommend Rebecca.”
Technical Lead — Xerode
What This Means for Future Teams
Why this matters for spinout founders
This pilot targeted the transition points that place unique pressure on spinout founding teams — unclear ownership, decision bottlenecks, tensions left unspoken rather than surfaced, and academic working patterns that don’t automatically translate into company leadership. At the heart of it is the people side of the equation: how the team understands itself, how individuals understand each other, and whether that shared understanding is strong enough to hold under commercial pressure. This pilot was designed to support those dynamics early enough for the team to shape them deliberately.
The replicable model
The pilot points to a clear model for future cohorts:
01
Timing
Start just before spinout; continue into the active operating phase. Structured review points at 3 and 6 months once the team is operating.
02
Structure
Individual psychometrics + one-to-ones → team integration session → applied coaching on real challenges as they emerge.
03
Purpose
Help teams identify challenges and build the tools to work through them — independently and together.
Programme Outcome
This pilot demonstrated that targeted behavioural and relational support can materially strengthen how spinout teams navigate the transition from academic collaboration to company leadership.
The model is repeatable, scalable, and capable of being embedded within the Commercialisation Journey’s existing support infrastructure.
