Ben Hartley

Ben Hartley is Head of ideaSpace, a community of founders and entrepreneurs across three locations in Cambridge – ideaSpace West, ideaSpace City and ideaSpace South.

ideaSpace supports founders, entrepreneurs, innovators and members of the University of Cambridge in exploring ideas, innovations and building start-ups. Initially opened in July 2010 at the Hauser Forum in Cambridge before expanding to include offices in the city centre and Cambridge Biomedical Campus, ideaSpace is a hub for early-stage innovation, providing space and resources to a flourishing community of over 150 people.

As well as helping start-ups create successful businesses and economic value, ideaSpace works with governments, agencies and higher education institutions to develop policies, strategies and programmes to support a thriving start-up sector.

Before joining ideaSpace, Ben founded and ran a company supplying specialist action personnel and equipment to major UK and Hollywood film productions. Ben is also an ex-Royal Navy Officer/Helicopter Pilot and experienced manager in diverse sectors such as film production, events, high-end retail and start-ups.

Ben is a fellow of the RSA and is currently completing an MSc in Performance Psychology.