🏭 Carbogenics raise, new drinking water spinout, Photonics & Quantum Accelerator launch, is right to disconnect startup compatible?
Plus last week to submit Campfire Champion nominations!
Here's your Campfire for the 16th of December, 2024.
💼 Have 3 minutes? Campfire and Shepherd and Wedderburn are looking to develop more resources and content round Share Incentives and want your help to guide what’s next. What do you want to see more of? Tell us here.
🏆 Campfire Champions
Sometimes (most times) the folks who help us the most are the ones who lend their time, experience, and network without expecting anything in return.
When you’re building your company and get this kind of support, you’d love to be able to pay them back or thank them in some way, even if budgets are tight (they’re always tight).
Campfire Champions is a small way we can recognise them.
Was there someone this year who really helped you that you'd like to recognise? Nominate investors, ecosystem members, advisors, other startup founders who you think made the difference to you, your business, or the Scottish ecosystem this year.
The process is pretty simple:
Nominate who (individuals only please!) you think deserves to be a Campfire Ecosystem Champion in 2024 by the end of the day December 19th (This Thursday!)
Indicate if it's private/anonymous, and supply a short message
On December 23rd, Champions will be named publicly and will receive private messages of thanks
🌊 Updates
📈 Carbogenics, a University of Edinburgh spinout, has raised nearly £500,000 to support its expansion into Europe and North America. The funding, led by Kaplak Ventures and Green Angel Ventures, will drive new product development and overseas growth. The company, which produces CreChar (a material that boosts anaerobic digestion performance) also reaffirmed its commitment to UK operations, following the recent opening of a facility in Glenrothes. IN
🚀 Glasgow-based Clyde Hydrogen Systems has launched a £5 million funding round to accelerate the commercialisation of its high-pressure hydrogen production technology. To date they’ve raised pre-seed funding and secured several grants. SFN DGT
💧 Heriot-Watt has launched spinout Aquazoa (no website yet) which aims to improve drinking water safety with advanced technology that detects waterborne pathogens, doubling detection rates to over 70% compared to the 30% industry standard. The innovation promises to reduce disease spread and associated economic impacts. DGT
🌱 Edinburgh-based startup the Carbon Removers, secured a deal to store 50,000 tonnes of CO2 in a depleted North Sea oil field. This is part of the Greensand Future project, the EU's first operational CO2 storage facility. The deal will help the company scale its carbon removal credits and support decarbonisation efforts. Pressat QCI
🎯 £4m of the £15m in Scotland’s 2025/26 budget has been earmarked to support developing more female founders with “early-stage business help”, addressing gaps highlighted in the Pathways Report, which found just 2% of investment goes to women-led firms despite their £8.7bn economic impact. DGT
💰 Scotland’s Photonics and Quantum Accelerator (PQA) has allocated £237,000 in funding for projects focused on timing, encryption, and retinal monitoring. An additional £3.2m is available for future funding rounds, with applications open until December 17, 2024. The PQA supports collaboration between universities and industry, aiming to grow Scotland's photonics and quantum sector to £4bn by 2030. CS
💪 A new initiative aimed at empowering aspiring female entrepreneurs and individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds has been launched in Glasgow. The Ignite programme, a collaboration between Glasgow City Innovation District Venture Studio, Glasgow Riverside Innovation District, and social enterprise Dechomai, will offer “bespoke coaching, mentoring, and business support”. Funded by Glasgow City Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the six-week programme starts in January 2025. DGT
💡 Following Australia’s new right-to-disconnect law, the UK is exploring similar measures under its “New Deal for Working People”. While the proposals are meant to combat burnout and improve work-life balance, small businesses and startups may need flexibility. Commentary here 👉 IN
📣 Asks & Offers
🚨Start to Scale by Shepherd and Wedderburn is offering eligible subscribers of Campfire exclusive access to their ‘Start to Scale Hub’ which helps companies create template legal agreements in minutes for free. To learn more and request access click here.
👓 PurpleByte is looking to connect with founders who are interested in accessibility. PB is an Edinburgh-based digital accessibility company working with tech companies and digital agencies to create truly inclusive online experiences. Led by a founder with digital experience expertise and lived experience of accessibility barriers, we are bridging the digital divide through practical, cost-effective accessibility solutions while demonstrating that inclusive design drives better business outcomes - from improved SEO and user experience to broader market reach and enhanced brand reputation. For more info, head here.
👭 Interested in connecting with possible co-founders? Fill in your listing on Cofounder Curious today! Connect with others for possible cofounder matching here.
👷Are you hiring? Send us a blurb and we’ll include it in the next newsletter!
✍️ Want to write something for Campfire? Have an opinion you'd like to share? get in touch!
We heard some great feedback from the articles we put together with Shepherd and Wedderburn around Share Incentives. Many of our readers said that Rodger and Stephen's insights were helpful.
Having explained how share incentives can help you to attract and retain the right people to power up your startup, Campfire and Shepherd and Wedderburn are looking to develop more resources and content and would appreciate founders sharing their views in a 3 minute questionnaire to help guide what's next.
👉 Take 3 minutes and share your thoughts here.
📅 Events
❄️ 17/12, 19:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: EdinburghJS December Social: All are welcome to attend, even if you have never attended an EdinburghJS meetup before. It's a great way to meet fellow developers! MORE INFO
💼 18/12, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Online Office Hours with Digital Dairy Chain: Rachel Mirfattahi: Your chance to meet with one of the Innovation Brokers for Digital Dairy Chain. MORE INFO
🎇 19/12, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech the Halls: Edinburgh & Lothians Festive Social: Join us for a festive social on Thursday 19th December in Edinburgh to celebrate everything the Edinburgh & Lothians community has achieved this year. Let your hair down, hang out with others in the community, and join in with the festivities: you deserve it. MORE INFO
👥 19/12, 18:00 🗺️ Dumfries: Tech MeetUp - South of Scotland: This event aims to bring together everyone who is interested in tech, those who want to learn more, and want to meet like-minded people. MORE INFO
🤝 25/12, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Entrepreneurs Social Club (ESC) - Edinburgh Startup Meetup: The social club for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs - skip the talks, presentations and lectures - and go straight to networking! MORE INFO
💡 14/01, 18:30 🗺️ Glasgow: January Meetup - Magically optimising your fonts: Our talks are geared towards introducing members of our community, to facilitate networking, mentorship, learning and collaboration. People with all levels of technical expertise are welcome. MORE INFO
💡 15/01, 09:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Your Voice, Your Story: Discover, create and refine your founding stories in this dynamic workshop led by Catherine Bateson. MORE INFO
👣 15/01, 11:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: NetWalking in the Park (Jan 2025): Join this Mindful Netwalking experience: Meet other Founders, enjoying the healthy way to network, inspired by a gentle walk. MORE INFO
💻 16/01, 08:30 🗺️ Perth: Perth Tech Mornings: Open to everyone, join us in the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre in Perth Creative Exchange to connect with members of the local tech community. Come for a coffee, networking and build connections. MORE INFO
🤝 16/01, 10:30 🗺️ Perth: Perth Coworking Day: Join us at the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre in Perth Creative Exchange for a day of free coworking. This is a great opportunity to connect with the regional tech and business community, use the excellent facilities available and get an extra dose of Friday motivation. MORE INFO
🔴 16/01, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Founders Live Edinburgh: The ultimate entrepreneurial experience and global pitch competition returns to Edinburgh! MORE INFO
🍺 16/01, 18:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh - Small99's 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
🌐 20/01, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Startup Founders Meetup - January 2025: Tactical fireside chats with experienced entrepreneurs and speed networking with other founders, potential cofounders, and investors! MORE INFO
🎯 21/01, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Workshop: What is an IP strategy and why do you need one?: Join Potter Clarkson at CodeBase Edinburgh for a 2-hour workshop on IP strategy, hosted by Craig Brownlie and Andrew Pearson. MORE INFO
🤝 22/01, 10:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Meet the Funder 2025 Aberdeen: Major funding organisations will come together to share their expertise, helping you discover grant opportunities and funding strategies to support your projects and initiatives. MORE INFO
👨🏻💻 23/01, 17:30 🗺️ Aberdeen: Tech Trends 2025 - Aberdeen: This year we’ll be looking at both pushing the limits of the new, some things that help bridge the gap and, as always, we’ll take a peek at what is just hype and how trends from previous years have fared. MORE INFO
🤝 29/01, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Entrepreneurs Social Club (ESC) - January 2025: 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
💻 30/01, 08:30 🗺️ Kinross: Breakfast Networking at the Court House: Open to everyone, join us in Kinross' Court House to connect with members of the local tech and business community and regulars of The Court House's workspace. Come along for coffee, breakfast and networking! MORE INFO
🤝 30/01, 09:30 🗺️ Kinross: Coworking at the Court House: Join us at Kinross' Court House for a day of free coworking in their space. This is a great opportunity to connect with the local tech and business community, use the excellent facilities available and get an extra dose of motivation. MORE INFO
⛓️ 30/01, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Blockchain Scotland Meetup: Welcome to the Monthly Blockchain Scotland Meetup at the Bayes Centre in Edinburgh. The event takes place at the ground floor in G.03. MORE INFO
🎯 Deadlines
🪜 Startup Next Steps by Techscaler: A practical course, designed for founders and senior team members looking to scale their product which is already live in the market, with active users. Apply by 16th December.
🎯 Eagle Labs Funding Readiness Programme by Capital Enterprise: A programme that looks at the different methods of funding – grants, crowd funding, angel investment and VC – giving Founders real hands on support to prepare for funding. Apply by 3rd Jan 2025. The programme will launch on 13th Jan 2025.
🚀 Nominations for the ScotlandIS 2025 Digital Technology Awards are open: Celebrating innovation and talent in Scotland's digital economy and marking its 15th year, the awards include 10 categories. Nominate here by 9 January 2025.
🇬🇧 Upcoming Innovate UK deadlines:
Mindset extended reality (XR): Digital therapeutics for mental health Applications close 15 January
Design Foundations Round 6 Applications close 15 January
Innovate UK Smart grants: November 2024 Applications close 22 January
AI solutions to develop AI competencies in key sectors Applications close 29 January
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire