In this Q&A, alum Omar Bilgin Mawson shares how he launched Smokefree Innovations, a start-up tackling youth vaping and vape waste. Backed by Durham’s enterprise support, he’s pioneering Flair - a safe, sustainable alternative to nicotine products.
Smokefree Innovations, or SFI, is a medical technology start-up, dedicated to building the smoke-free future, for smokers and vapers around the world. Our flagship product, Flair, is a vapourless, battery-free, nicotine-free alternative, that provides smokers and vapers with a safe, sustainable, and supportive way to curb boredom, manage stress, and improve focus.
In the summer of 2023, I was watching the news and saw two concerning stories: a youth vaping epidemic in the UK, and a single-use vape waste crisis. The former was associated with children, as young as 10, becoming addicted to vaping, due to the colourful branding and flavours of vapes. The latter involved 5,000,000 vapes being sent to landfill every week, where they leaked battery-acid into the soil, and caused electrical fires.
These two societal challenges, as well as the negative health consequences associated with vaping and smoking, were the call to arms that led me to found SFI.
I would say there were two key factors in terms of how my business school experience helped me develop and launch my business.
Durham University Business School is an exceptional institution, that encourages its students to change the world, and believes in them if they have the courage to try and do so. From day one, I displayed my drive and ambition, and every member of faculty I worked with from that point cheered me on, which was highly motivating.
On top of that, the unprecedented level of support at Durham provides a solid foundation to launch a new business. This includes everything from expert faculty members who can advise you, caring college communities that can support you in managing your wellbeing and mental health, and an enterprise community with 1-2-1 mentoring and start-up competitions.
Regarding specific modules, I can honestly say that every module during my MSc in Management was useful in preparing me for leading a start-up within the healthcare sector. For example, my Strategy module helped me explore macro and micro environmental factors that would be relevant to my venture. Additionally, my Strategic Marketing module enabled me to develop a whole marketing and advertising plan for my product. More than anything, the Blueprint Start-up Challenge, facilitated by the Venture Lab was the most useful activity for developing my healthcare business. It was a structured competition against 60 other start-ups, which I was proud to be a finalist in, which was accompanied by some generous funding.
“Accept that in healthcare innovation you will have many skills gaps, so go out and find great people to join your cause and, regardless of how your team dynamics fluctuate, always learn from your mistakes and strive to become a better leader. – Omar Bilgin Mawson
“Accept that in healthcare innovation you will have many skills gaps, so go out and find great people to join your cause and, regardless of how your team dynamics fluctuate, always learn from your mistakes and strive to become a better leader.
The main challenge I encountered was developing a physical product, to bring the Flair concept to life. Whilst I have no STEM experience, I have always been curious and driven to learn new skills, which enabled be to complete a course on 3D modelling with AUTOCAD. After that, I bought a 3D printer, and developed a functioning prototype, which I am continuing to iterate.
Now, my biggest challenge is managing my mental health and motivation. Launching a start-up is a very difficult feat, accompanied by strong feelings of self-doubt, and ambiguity. Before any of the other technical or professional objectives can be achieved, a founder has to be in good health, so that they can grow their business in a sustainable way, over a long period of time, and not burn out.
Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I have had several invaluable mentors. During the height of my participation in the Blueprint Challenge, I had three advisors who were seasoned C-Suite business veterans, that supported me in building up the skeleton of SFI in an ethical and sustainable way, focused on optimised product-market fit.
All of the staff at the Venture Lab were phenomenal mentors, who now, truly, feel like family, and still always support me, even though I have graduated. I also recently completed the Durham City Incubator programme, and the leaders there helped me navigate the difficulties of being a solo founder, and provided me with a community of fellow entrepreneurs.
Although business acumen is invaluable in any entrepreneurial endeavour, I would say, in the case of healthcare, networking and research skills are essential. Namely, this is because operating within the medical space is accompanied by rigorous regulation and compliance, therefore any founder in this sector must be able to reach out to regulatory experts, and accurately read through any documentation they send you.
Unfortunately, for the moment, my start-up is going to have to become a part-time endeavour, as I am approaching the end of the period I said I would focus on it full-time, and will be returning to employment. Despite that, I am in the process of securing support from some consultants to help me optimise SFI’s main product, Flair, which can go on in the background whilst I’m getting up to speed in a new career.
To any entrepreneur with aspirations in healthcare, I would firstly say you should be proud that you are someone clearly motivated to support the improvement of ordinary people’s lives. Let that pride motivate you.
Perhaps more I importantly, I would say accept that in healthcare innovation, you will have many skills gaps, so go out and find great people to join your cause and, regardless of how your team dynamics fluctuate, always learn from your mistakes, and strive to become a better leader.
Of course, be a little bit crazy too, and have the courage to believe in yourself. Best of luck!
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