Go to the profile of Guy Levin
Guy Levin
Public policy @Uber. Interested in policy, tech and foreign affairs. Previously: @Coadec, @DFID_UK, @DCMS

Moving on (part 2)

Today is my last day at Coadec. After two years at the helm, I’m stepping down, moving to Amsterdam, and starting a new job in the policy research team at Uber.

Here’s a bit more on the future of Coadec, some reflections on my time, and some thanks.

Policy matters

I’m more certain than ever that we need a strong policy voice for UK startups. Given the huge number of digital and startup policy issues being considered in Westminster and Brussels, it’s vital that someone is fighting the corner of startups.

We’ve got the Investigatory Powers Bill threatening to force startups to hack their own users. Brexit poses huge risks to the startup community. The European Commission’s push to create a Digital Single Market could be part of the answer to helping European startups to scale (by providing a large, seamless market). The UK government is planning a Digital Economy Bill for the autumn, they’re also set to launch a ‘Digital Strategy’ in July and have just put out a call for ideas for an ‘Innovation Plan’. There’s action on fintech, on the sharing economy, on open data, and more.

The list could go on, and the uniting factor is that they all will have an impact on the future of the UK’s digital startups. And those are just the initiatives coming from government, there’s even more that we should be pushing ourselves.

I hope that over the last two years, I helped Coadec become a voice on issues like these for startups. But I know that there is a long way to go, and huge opportunity for Coadec to grow into something bigger and better.

The future of Coadec

I’m proud of all Coadec has accomplished in the last two years and want to make sure that Coadec continues to thrive.

Some personal highlights include:

But we need to keep up the momentum, and build on it. With that in mind, I’ve been working with our brilliant Chair, Alex Depledge, and the rest of Coadec’s Steering Committee to find a new Executive Director to take over my role and ensure there’s a smooth transition.

We had a Committee meeting earlier today, and should be able to make an announcement soon. Simply put, we’ll soon have someone even better running the show, so watch this space. And in the meantime, we’re going to keep the newsletters and other activities going as best we can.

Alex and the rest of the Steering Committee are staying on, and I’m also going to remain on the Committee to support my successor.

As Steve Case repeatedly says, policy is going to matter more and more for the next generation of digital innovators (what he calls The Third Wave). I couldn’t agree more, and Coadec’s new Executive Director is going to have no shortage of opportunities to have an impact.

Some lessons

I have loved my time at Coadec. I felt I won the trust of some of the leading figures in the startup community to be an advocate on their behalf, and so helped to change policy for the better.

A few reflections and lessons:

Pay it forwards. When I first started at Coadec I knew very little about the startup scene or the policy problems faced by entrepreneurs. I didn’t have a network in the community and it was a all rather daunting at first. But I was incredibly struck by the generosity of so many founders who gave up their time, insights and introductions, to help me on my way. My first few months at Coadec were endless coffees, breakfasts and lunches, with amazing people trying to support a cause they saw as for the benefit of the whole startup community. This was the notion of paying it forwards at its best.

Politics seems very far away. As someone whose entire working life has been spent in and around politics and policy, it can be hard to step back and see how other people view it. Startup founders are busy building their products and teams, and more often than not will look to hack and hustle their way around a policy problem rather than trying to engage in the long, complicated, and often unsuccessful process of trying to change the policy itself. Explaining why they should, and how startups can actually influence the debate was a far bigger part of my role than I’d initially thought it would be.

Government wants to help, but doesn’t know how. The flipside to how distant policy can seem to a founder is that government is usually desperate to actually get the startup view. The problem is they don’t know how, and the usual mechanisms at their fingertips (eg consultation documents), are very hard for startups to engage with. Simply because larger companies and trade bodies have the in-house expertise and the time to write long submissions and show up at endless working groups, there is a systemic tilt in the Whitehall system against smaller, innovative companies. For me, this is a big part of where Coadec can play a role, as it has now established itself in much of Whitehall as the credible stakeholder they can talk to for help convening startups or to get a startup view.

Thank you

Finally, I’d just like to say a huge thank you to a few people for supporting me and Coadec over the last couple of years.

Jeff Lynn, who was one of the co-founders of Coadec and trusted me to take it over and helped me get started.

Alex Depledge, who took over from Jeff as Coadec’s Chair, and has been a brilliant partner and mentor.

The rest of Coadec’s Steering Committee: Alasdair McPherson, Lloyd Price, Martin Rigby, Mike Butcher, Paul Smith and Pratik Sampat, who have set the direction for Coadec and ensured it is deeply rooted in the startup community.

All of the startup founders and investors who gave up their time, insights, and sometimes early morning Eurostars, in the cause of startup policy. In particular, I’m incredibly grateful to Debbie Wosskow, Eileen Burbidge, Nick Russell, Taavet Hinrikus, Rohan Silva, Jon Bradford, Elizabeth Varley, Kathryn Parsons, Sarah Wood, Alice Bentinck, Aneesh Varma, Christian Hernandez, Damian Kimmelman, and many more.

All the ministers, MPs, MEPs, and advisers who have been allies along the way. In particular Daniel Korski at No10; Ed Vaizey, Joanna Shields and Matt Hancock in government; Alesha de Freitas at BIS, Syed Kamall in Brussels; and MPs like Chi Onwurah, Damian Collins and Matt Warman.

And finally to all of my friends and colleagues from across the tech policy world — like Charlotte Holloway, Gerard Grech, John Midgley, Naomi Gummer, James Clark, Adizah Tejani, Jess Tyrell, Russ Shaw, Patrick Robinson and Stian Westlake to name just a few.

The next challenge

I’m incredibly excited to start work in Uber’s policy research team (check out some of their work at Uber Under the Hood), and also for the move to Amsterdam (which feels like an amazing city).

Do stay in touch!