Client based in

Edinburgh, Scotland

Industry

Biotechnology

Scope of Work

Brand Foundation + Executive Coaching

Business Challenge

Global demand for Omega-3s is rising fast, yet traditional fish oil depends on finite wild fish stocks. Fish do not produce Omega-3s themselves; they get them from algae. MiAlgae’s breakthrough is going straight to the source: producing marine Omega-3-rich microalgae using by-products from whisky distillation.

As the company entered a new growth phase — scaling production, attracting investors and hiring senior leaders — the challenge became twofold:

  • Clarify a compelling Brand Foundation that could align science, sustainability and commercial ambition.
  • Support the Founder/CEO in evolving from founder-scientist to enterprise leader, able to inspire teams, partners and investors at scale.

Deliverables

PLB LAB partnered closely with the Founder in a blended coaching, mentoring and strategic process designed first and foremost to evolve his leadership identity at a critical scaling moment. Together, we worked to

  1. Redefine his role for the next 18 months — moving from reactive problem-solver to enterprise leader
  2. Strengthen accountability and decision ownership across his executive team
  3. Establish clearer boundaries, priorities and operating principles to reduce firefighting and escalation
  4. Clarify and articulate MiAlgae’s Mission, Vision and Positioning as a shared leadership compass
  5. Align the company’s external narrative with the Founder’s evolved leadership presence

The articulation of the Brand Foundation and the shoring up of the Founder’s leadership identity worked hand in hand, strengthening culture, accountability and strategic clarity as the company scaled.

3i focus
Ideas + Impact

The engagement was two-pronged:

  • Executive Coaching: we partnered 1:1 with Doug through an executive coaching engagement blending coaching, mentoring and real-time strategic calibration. Sessions focused on leadership presence, decision-making under scale pressure, team alignment, and translating conviction into narrative clarity — consistent with ICF-aligned coaching principles. One of our key focus was strengthening the accountability and decision ownership across leaders, shifting from “umbrella leadership” to “scalable leadership”.

  • Strategic Workshop: separately, we facilitated a one-day, in-person strategic session with the CEO and his direct reports. Through structured discussion and alignment exercises, we distilled their collective ambition into a clear one-page articulation of Mission, Vision, Positioning and strategic priorities — providing a shared compass for the next phase of growth.

Results

MiAlgae emerged with a clear and energizing Brand Foundation that now informs hiring, culture, investor storytelling and go-to-market strategy.

At the leadership level, the CEO stepped more fully into a confident, enterprise-ready identity — aligning purpose, strategy and presence — helping position MiAlgae confidently bringing its "biotech for good” positioning to life.