🕴️ Build A Rocket Boy Series D, Trojan Energy and IGS raises, Civtech and Suits?
Buckle-up, it's a long one today.
Here's your Campfire for the 22nd of January, 2024. Please note, your email provider may truncate this issue. To view the full issue, tap ‘view in browser’.
💼 This issue of Campfire is sponsored by Shepherd and Wedderburn's initiative to supercharge start-ups and scale-ups. Be sure to follow the Start to Scale LinkedIn page for useful videos and posts designed to help founders.
🌊 Updates
🪙 Scotcoin (Scottish-based crypto currency) and and Kin (“Scotland’s only” search engine), have joined forces as part of a new partnership to expand their operations. TN TS
🌱 Trojan Energy raised £26m, including £8m from BGF, alongside £18m follow-on by the Scottish National Investment Bank. Existing Investors include Scottish Enterprise, Equity Gap, Alba Equity and Social Investment Scotland. ACS DGT TS
🎯 Scottish Enterprise has announced its new future focus to deliver a ‘more successful, greener and fairer economy’ with three new missions on energy transition, innovation and productivity. TS DGT
🎮 Edinburgh-based game developer and publisher Build A Rocket Boy raised $110 million (~£87m) Series D led by RedBird Capital Partners. SFN DGT IN
🧠 N4 Partners has increased an undisclosed investment amount in Glasgow-based NeuroClin (neurological research organisation) with a focus on conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. SBN IN TH
🌾 Edinburgh-based Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) raised £22.5 million in a Series C funding round led by existing institutional investors, with COFRA Holding A/G, DC Thomson, and S2G Ventures, supported by Cleveland Avenue LLC, Ospraie Ag Science, and Scottish Enterprise. Private shareholders and IGS staff also contributed to the Series C raise. CEO David Farquar is expected to depart the company. SFN DGT IN
🚁 Flowcopter designs (a drone technology manufacturer) has received £900k from Scottish Enterprise to support the development of a new hybrid, heavy-lift, unmanned aircraft capable of operating on less than 30% of the aviation fuel used by a helicopter. SFN IN DGT
🏁 A total of 13 companies have made it through to the final stage of the CivTech Accelerator (accelerator for digital public services funded by Scottish Government). Full list here. SS DGT IN
📊 New conference alert: Scottish National Investment Bank in association with The Scotsman and Insider Media will discuss ‘Investing with Impact: Innovating Across Scotland’. The event aims to bring together experts and stakeholders to discuss and promote impactful investment practices in the region. Scheduled for March 4. More info here. TS
💭 Opinion: Margaret Taylor writes a summary of critique for the "Scale-Up Nation" plan for Scotland, criticising it for lacking ambition, and calling for a more comprehensive and ambitious approach to address the nation's economic challenges. The piece touches on the debate about a growth funding gap, however doesn’t question whether the lack of companies securing growth funding outside of Scotland could be due to company quality rather than finance availability. HOLYROOD
✍🏼 VCs take note: Deeptech and SaaS are on the outs, Good-looking suits are in: best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith invests in Stewart Christie & Co (Scotland’s oldest bespoke tailor). SBN TH
📣 Asks & Offers
👭 Interested in connecting with possible co-founders? Fill in your listing on Cofounder Curious today! Connect with others for possible cofounder matching here.
✍️ Want to write something for Campfire? Have an opinion you'd like to share? get in touch!
Shepherd & Wedderburn's innovative and personable approach helps companies from first incorporation onwards (including through to an exit – if that’s the goal). Their global reach means they can scale and grow with you, like they have with clients like Epic Games, FanDuel, Parsleybox, and TVSquared.
👉 To learn more, send an email to starttoscale@shepwedd.co.uk & set up a chat.
📅 Events
🤝 22/01, 09:30 🗺️ Online: Online Coworking Session - Week 1: Join us for an accountability session and let's get things done in 2024! MORE INFO
⛑️ 22/01, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Startup Founders Meetup: Each month, we'll have a combination of tactical fireside chats with experienced entrepreneurs and plenty of opportunities to network with other founders, potential cofounders, and investors. MORE INFO
🔧 23/01, 12:00 🗺️ Online: Using Tools to Supercharge your Fundraising Process: Join HubSpot for Startups and CodeBase to learn the key elements of managing a fundraising process! MORE INFO
🧑🏫 23/01, 12:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Presentation Club: A space to practice presenting and pitching in a safe, low-stakes environment, with the opportunity to get feedback from peers. MORE INFO
🧘 23/01, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Find Your Focus: Preparing For The Year Ahead: Start the new year feeling energised, motivated and with clear goals to guide you through 2024. MORE INFO
👔 23/01, 19:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Building Feedback Loops with Jobs to be Done (JTBD): Join us at ProductTank Edinburgh to kick off the new year with an inspiring and engaging meetup! We're excited to welcome product professionals, enthusiasts, and newcomers to our first event of the year, themed around Jobs to Be Done. MORE INFO
👨💻 24/01, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Commercialisation with Data and AI: The second of four workshops that will help Scottish SMEs leverage the power of data and artificial intelligence to support business growth. MORE INFO
🍻 24/01, 11:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Foras SXSW 2024 Pitching Showcase & Mixer: Hear from 20 of Scotland's high-growth startups from AI to robotics, and Creative Industries: MORE INFO
👨💼 24/01, 11:30 🗺️ Online: Fair Work Workshop by Scottish Enterprise: What's the event about? This is a fully funded workshop which will help participating companies to understand the benefits of fair work. MORE INFO
🏡 24/01, 12:00 🗺️ Galashiels: Hometown Hub + Techscaler Launch | Stow: The new partnership between Techscaler and Hometown Hub is bringing the Techscaler programme south and will ensure delivery of all Techscaler events and support throughout the Scottish Borders! MORE INFO
🧑💻 24/01, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: NoCode Scotland Meetup #9 [Edinburgh]: Whether you're a NoCode enthusiast or just looking to get started learning how you can build software without writing code, you're very welcome to come along! MORE INFO
🍕 24/01, 18:00 🗺️ St Andrews: Eden Tay Founders Community: Join the EdenTay Founders Community for entrepreneurs coming from the Tay Cities universities 🚀 .Join us for an exceptional collaboration between the entrepreneurial centres from the three renowned universities in the region: Abertay (Bell Street Ventures), St. Andrews (St Andrews Innovation), and Dundee (Centre for Entrepreneurship). MORE INFO
🗃️ 25/01, 10:00 🗺️ Paisley: How AI and Chat GPT Can Make Your Business More Productive: Join digital guru and award-winning entrepreneur Stephen Whitelaw for a masterclass in AI as he shows you how to transform your business. MORE INFO
⌛ 25/01, 17:15 🗺️ Edinburgh: CodeBase monthly Quiz - Edinburgh (January): Join us for this month's pub quiz - bringing together the CodeBase and Edinburgh community for a bit of fun! MORE INFO
👥 25/01, 17:30 🗺️ Inverness: Inverness Social: The Walrus and Corkscrew: Join us for an informal get together at the Walrus and Corkscrew wine bar in Inverness. MORE INFO
🍺 27/01, 13:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh - People, Planet, Pint: Sustainability Meetup: Pop down to your local People Planet Pint meetup to find more about what's going on locally with sustainability and how you can get involved. MORE INFO
🥂 30/01, 08:00 🗺️ Glasgow: What's in store for 2024? Glasgow Ecosystem Mixer: We'll dive into interviews with founders, investors, and community champions. Then, it's your time to shine during the community open mic session – share your wins, seek advice, and connect with your fellow founders! MORE INFO
☘️ 30/01, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh GreenTech Meetup: An opportunity for those working in or interested in sustainability, greentech, or climate work to come together and learn from each other. MORE INFO
🔋 30/01, 09:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Energy Transition Business Improvement Academy: For Companies in the Energy Transition space looking to improve processes to gain an advantage in the renewable energy supply chain. MORE INFO
🤝 30/01, 09:30 🗺️ Online: Online Coworking Session - Week 2: Join us for an accountability session and let's get things done in 2024! MORE INFO
🚀 30/01, 14:00 🗺️ Glasgow: IPHatch UK 2024 Launch : IPHatch® is a transformative, challenge-based open innovation competition that enables emerging deeptech startups to expedite their technology growth journey by integrating impactful, sustainable technologies originated from MNCs into their current business strategy.. MORE INFO
🤝 30/01, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: Dundee Data Meetup: Welcome to the monthly recurring Dundee Data Meetup, a vibrant community-driven event that brings together curious learners, data enthusiasts and professionals to explore the captivating world of data and its applications. MORE INFO
🏬 30/01, 18:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Startup Grind: What's in Store for 2024? Glasgow Ecosystem Mixer: Dive into interviews with founders, investors, and community champions: MORE INFO
👨🏿💻 31/01, 11:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: How does a Black Founder create a sustainable business? [Edinburgh]: A discussion with Consolata Ogbebor, Founder at Afro Bite. MORE INFO
🎓 31/01, 16:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: High-Flying Alumni Series: From Idea to Startup: Hear from a range of entrepreneurs on their journey from student to founder: MORE INFO
🌉 31/01, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Bridging Communities by The Melting Pot: Be part of this transformative gathering. Unleash your potential, connect with like-minded professionals, and contribute to Edinburgh's thriving business community. MORE INFO
♣️ 31/01, 18:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Entrepreneurs Social Club (ESC) - Edinburgh Startup Meetup: Welcome to our monthly Entrepreneurs Social Club (ESC) gathering - skip the talks, presentations and lectures - in favour of going straight to the bar, where real connections are made! MORE INFO
🍺 01/02, 19:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Aberdeen - People, Planet, Pint: Sustainability Meetup: Pop down to your local People Planet Pint meetup to find more about what's going on locally with sustainability and how you can get involved. MORE INFO
🤝 06/02, 09:30 🗺️ Online: Online Coworking Session - Week 3: Join us for an accountability session and let's get things done in 2024! MORE INFO
👥 06/02, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech Meetup Edinburgh: The Tech Meetup is a monthly excuse for the tech community around Scotland to network, learn and share new ideas! Come along to enjoy informative presentations from your peers, listen to exciting projects in the community and make some new connections. MORE INFO
📈 07/02, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: 2024 Startup Survival Guide: Master your Fundraising, Mindset & Growth: Hear from 3x startup experts on how to make you and your business more resilient: MORE INFO
🍷 08/02, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: SWURF - CoWorking & After Work Wine for Women in Tech: This is the kick off for a series of Co-Working events organised by SWURF. Our mission is to connect people with places, create community and tackle the loneliness problem that comes with remote work. MORE INFO
🎯 Deadlines
🧘 Gearing for Growth and Foras are running a Leadership Renewal Retreat, 21 - 24 March for scaling startup leaders. Applications are open until February 2nd.
📐 The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Fellowships: A twelve-month accelerator programme designed to support talented university graduates to transform breakthrough engineering innovations into disruptive engineering and tech spinouts. Grants of up to £75k. Applications close 26 February 2024.
🇬🇧 Upcoming Innovate UK deadlines:
Innovate UK Net Zero Living Digital Applications close 24 January
UK and South Korea data driven urban innovation Bi-Lateral Applications close 21 February 2024
Creative Catalyst 2024 Applications close 6 March
Eureka collaborative R&D: Eurostars 3 Call 6 Applications close 14 March
Are we missing your event or deadline? 👉 Submit it here!
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire