Bryan Ng has recently finished his DPhil in Inorganic Chemistry and has founded
Repolywise to transform waste plastics into new plastics. The startup uses a novel technology to degrade plastics atomically back into their starting materials, a venture that he exhibited at the 2024
#StartedinOxford Demo Night.
What is your background? What made you decide to become an entrepreneur?
I have been enthusiastic about chemistry since secondary school. Having completed my undergraduate in Oxford I joined a catalysis research group. I saw the commercial potential of one of my projects to complete the puzzle for a circular economy for plastics, and so decided to become an entrepreneur to bring this technology to life.
What is your definition of entrepreneurship?
The ability to build something aiming to satisfy the market need.
How and when did you know your idea was good enough to develop it?
With assistance from
Oxford University Innovation, I brought the technology to
Innovate UK, which kindly funded me £35K on a journey of market exploration.
What would you say are the top 3 skills that are needed to be a successful entrepreneur and why?
Perseverance, eloquence and focus. Entrepreneurship is also about connecting with people.
What is your favourite part of being an entrepreneur?
Meeting people from different backgrounds, learning about them and being amazed by different things every day.
What individual, company or organization inspires you most? Why?
Elon Musk - his dedication towards building SpaceX and Tesla are remarkable.
If you had 5 minutes with the above individual/ company/organization, what would you want to ask or discuss?
I would love to learn what he was thinking when he risked keeping SpaceX and Tesla alive with no funding.
What has been your most satisfying or successful moment in business?
Getting the
ICURe exploit grant from Innovate UK, demonstrating that our technology is interesting enough to be funded.
What would you say have been some of your mistakes, failures or lessons learned as an entrepreneur?
Managing expectations is hard but inevitable as an entrepreneur
How have you funded your ideas?
Various grants from
Innovate UK.
What is good about being an entrepreneur in Oxfordshire? Bad?
High prices of lab spaces are pushing people away from Oxford but the Oxford ecosystem is generally very helpful and people are talented.
Are there any Business or Entrepreneurship Related Courses that you would recommend?
Jamie Ferguson Award, organized by OUI
Student Entrepreneurship Program (StEP), organized by Oxford University Innovation
Business & IP Centre
Innovation to Commercialization of University Research (ICURe), funded by Innovate UK and delivered by Midlands Innovation
Any last words of advice?
Just do it. Don't fear
You can keep up to date with Bryan by following him on LinkedIn. You can also get in touch with Bryan by emailing him at bryan.ng@repolywise.com.
