William Cullerne Bown has been writing about research and innovation policy for 30 years. He worked on the City desk at The Independent in the 80s. Then, at New Scientist, he explained David Deutsch’s first work on quantum computing, how particulates were killing 10,000 people a year in the UK and why Glaxo’s new wonder drug for asthma was not wondrous. He founded Research Fortnight with the help of a bank loan secured with the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme in 1994 and grew it into a company with about 100 employees and a semi-global footprint before selling it to a bigger US competitor.