Vanessa Colomar is the co-founder of Dalloway Partners, established in September 2025 with Helen James, to challenge the notion that the UK’s leadership in foundational science cannot produce globally scaled companies. Dalloway Partners collaborates with academic and scientific founders who have innovative ideas and aim to build companies at scale and speed, helping them navigate some of the structural challenges within the system. Operating across science, academia, entrepreneurship, finance, media and government, the firm provides strategic advice at critical points in a company’s growth trajectory and takes equity positions to ensure alignment with founders and their investors.
Dalloway Partners’ remit spans the non-technical aspects of scaling a business, from defining go-to-market strategies and international expansion to fundraising and M&A. Drawing on experience of developing companies from back-of-the-envelope idea through to exit, the firm helps scientific founders focus on breakthrough innovation while supporting the commercial growth required to bring those innovations to market.
Vanessa has extensive experience in helping founders create and grow technology companies. She was a co-founder of Invoke Capital, which created some of the UK’s highest-growth businesses, including Darktrace and Luminance. Over her career, she has worked at the intersection of ideas and their development in roles spanning media, politics, technology, business, academia and the law.
She has a particular interest in health technology, particularly in women’s health, and holds several board positions. Vanessa is a Fellow of the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy and supports several arts organisations.