Common questions.

An independent advisory practice for the founders, boards, investors, and institutions building deep technology and the future of the life sciences. It is led personally by Tom Fleming.

Tom Fleming, an operator-scientist who spent a decade as co-founder, COO, and CEO of Arctoris, an autonomous drug discovery company, and who pioneered the Partnership Research Organisation model. There is more on the About page.

It is much smaller. You work directly with Tom rather than a team, and the science, the engineering, and the commercial side sit with one person who has done the job. That suits some problems and not others: for work that needs scale, a larger firm is the better answer.

Founders and CEOs of deep-technology and life-science companies, their boards, and the investors and institutions around them. The common thread is hard technology being built under real pressure.

The deepest experience is in the life sciences and techbio, but the underlying questions of strategy, scaling, governance, and funding for hard technology travel across deep tech. The Services page lists the main areas.

In the UK, with particular depth in the Oxford, Cambridge, and London ecosystem. Work is not limited to those places.

It varies. Some clients want an ongoing advisory relationship, some a board or advisory seat, and some a single defined project with a clear deliverable. Most combine a few of the formats on the Services page.

Crucible keeps a small number of clients so each one gets proper attention. The cadence is agreed up front and matched to what the work needs.

Fees depend on the scope and format and are agreed in writing before anything begins.

Directly and early. Before taking on work, Tom checks for conflicts with existing clients and will decline or recuse himself where there is a genuine clash. If a conflict emerges later, he will raise it.

Yes. Conversations and materials are treated as confidential, and a mutual non-disclosure agreement is welcome where it helps. Nothing about your situation is shared without your agreement.

With a short introductory call, at no charge, to understand your situation and whether Crucible is the right fit. From there: scoping, a written proposal, and, if it makes sense, an engagement.

Email tom@crucible.consulting or reach Tom on LinkedIn. The Contact page has both.

Nothing formal. A sense of what you are building and what is on your mind is plenty. The call is to understand the problem, not to pitch you.