🧬 Cytomos raise, new funding for social entrepreneurs, Trogenix launch
Plus new grant deadlines and more.
Here's your Campfire for the 25th of November, 2024.
💼 Johnston Carmichael are a leading accountancy and business advisory firm, with offices throughout Scotland, in Newcastle and London. A partner owned firm for over 85 years, they have grown to offer core and specialist services to business of all sizes. With specialist sector teams, they are fast becoming one of the most trusted advisers for entrepreneurs, founders and businesses that are successfully scaling. Talk to the team today to discuss what growth stage your business is at.
🌊 Updates
👩🔬 Edinburgh-based biotechnology company Cytomos (developing rapid cell analysis technologies for the biopharmaceutical industry) raised £5 million in funding to scale up its cell analysis technology. The round was led by Archangels, with support from Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise, and the British Business Bank. ACS DGT
🚀 Social enterprise entrepreneurs: The Scottish Government has launched a new Social Enterprise Action Plan for 2024-2026 that includes £3.2 million for the Social Entrepreneurs Fund and 0% interest loans to support organisations. SBN
♻️ The University of Strathclyde’s former Student Union is being turned into a £30 million digital and entrepreneurial hub, thanks to an alumni donation. The Charles Huang Advanced Technology and Innovations Centre (CHATIC) will support research in areas like AI, health tech, and FinTech, while promoting innovation and social impact. Set for completion in 2026. DGT
📢 Young entrepreneurs in the Highlands and Islands have one last chance to join the IMPACT30 programme, offering mentorship and support to help grow their businesses. Launched by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the final cohort begins in early 2025, with applications due by 17 January. IN
⚡ University of Edinburgh spin out Trogenix, has revealed its 'super' technology for fighting brain cancer. The company’s Odysseus platform uses synthetic super-enhancers (SSEs) to specifically target cancer cells, sparing healthy ones and activating the immune system. With seed funding and support from organisations like Cancer Research Horizons, Trogenix plans to begin trials for glioblastoma next year. FWP
📣 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!
📅 Events
🌱 26/11, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Greentech Meetup - Sustainable hydrogen ecosystem applications: This event is open to anyone with an interest in sustainability or greentech, and you’ll have the opportunity to meet other people in the space and get to know the Edinburgh Greentech community. MORE INFO
🌟 26/11, 10:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Build an EVP to Improve Talent Attraction and Retention: Join this event in Glasgow and learn more about the importance of employer brand and value propositions. MORE INFO
🩺 26/11, 11:00 🗺️ Dundee: Barclays Eagle labs at MSIP November Drop-in Clinic 2024: Drop in and let’s have a chat about your business goals and ambitions here at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc. MORE INFO
⚙️ 26/11, 17:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Beyond the Pitch: Building investor confidence when capital is tight!: In today’s challenging economic climate, securing investment requires more than a compelling pitch deck. Investors are increasingly cautious, scrutinising every potential partnership to ensure their capital is directed toward ventures that demonstrate resilience, strategic foresight, and clear paths to growth. MORE INFO
📝 26/11, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Scottish Notion Meetup: Enjoy excellent chat, with speakers and case studies to develop your Notion knowledge. With free soft drinks and food, this is the perfect post-work hangout. MORE INFO
🥂 26/11, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Cheers to Change: Navigating the Menopause with Smart Choices: Celebrate World Menopause Day by joining this empowered and inclusive discussion on menopause and HRT, alcohol and wellness. MORE INFO
🥼 26/11, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Barclays Health Elevate Scotland: Your chance to showcase your business innovations and discover how to navigate commercialisation in life sciences. MORE INFO
🗃️ 26/11, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: Dundee Data Meetup: Join us for our monthly Dundee Data Meetup, featuring two expert speakers who will share their insights into game testing and handling sensitive data with open science. MORE INFO
🎯 26/11, 18:30 🗺️ Online: Selling Online series - Learning from ecommerce competitors - online event: Learn about selling online as a great way to start, diversify or grow a retail business – and anyone can do it! MORE INFO
🍁 27/11, 11:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Startup First Steps Autumn '24 | Week 10 | Showcase: Join us for an impactful day of connection and reflection as we mark the end of the Autumn ‘24 cohort of Techscaler Startup First Steps. MORE INFO
🥂 27/11, 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
🌟 27/11, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: Boosting Your Business With Games Technology: Discover how games technology can transform your business at our event in Abertay's Cyberquarter. From training to marketing, learn how local gaming talent can enhance key areas of your business. MORE INFO
🌍 28/11, 09:45 🗺️ Edinburgh: Scottish EDGE Round 24 Live Final: Round 24 of the UK's BIGGEST small business funding competition will take place on 28th November at RBS Conference Centre with the latest batch of finalists pitching for up to £100,000 in funding. This year's event promises to be one of the most exciting yet, with a brand-new format designed to enhance your experience. For the first time, the usual two-day schedule will be condensed into a dynamic, single-day event, all while expanding the offering for attendees. MORE INFO
💼 28/11, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Online Office Hours with Lawrie: Managing and Protecting Your IP: Meet with a Director and Patent Attorney from Lawrie for direct, personalised advice on IP! MORE INFO
🩺 28/11, 10:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Eagle Has landed at One Tech November Drop in Clinic: Drop in and let’s have a chat about your business goals and ambitions here at One Tech Hub. MORE INFO
👥 28/11, 17:00 🗺️ Stirling: The Social: Game Night with Ping Creates!: Join us for this month’s exciting social event, where we’re bringing the community together in a relaxed, fun atmosphere! This time, we're teaming up with Ping Creates! to celebrate their rebrand in style—featuring awesome video games that will light up the Stirling hub. MORE INFO
✍🏼 28/11, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Barclays Eagle Labs and CodeBase monthly Quiz - Edinburgh (November): Join us for this month's pub quiz - bringing together the CodeBase and Edinburgh community for a bit of fun! MORE INFO
💼 28/11, 17:30 🗺️ Galashiels: Business & Community Networking (Galashiels): Join us at a town near you for one of our informal networking sessions, open to all! Find out all about SOSE and what we can do for you. MORE INFO
🥂 28/11, 18:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Tech, Toasts, & Ten Years: Startup Grind Scotland Christmas Party!: Join us to celebrate the season and raise a toast to another fantastic year with the Startup Grind Scotland community. This year, we’re also marking a major milestone: 10 years of Startup Grind supporting and shaping Scotland’s startup landscape. So much has transformed since 2014 - let’s celebrate just how far we’ve come together! MORE INFO
🎄 03/12, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: ProductTank Edinburgh: End of Year Celebration!: Join us for a festive and fun-filled evening as we gather to wrap up an incredible year of ProductTank Edinburgh meetups! This is a chance for our vibrant community to come together, reflect on the milestones we've achieved, and shape the future of our meetups. MORE INFO
🎉 03/12, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech Startup Founders Festive Party 2024: Another year of building startups passes us by and what a year it's been! You'll be joined by fellow tech startup founders, operators and investors - so, share war stories, successes and visions for the future! 🎇 MORE INFO
💪🏼 03/12, 18:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Be Bold: Women in Tech Meet-up Aberdeen: Join us on the 3rd of December at the ONE Tech Hub for our “Be Bold!” event, an inspiring evening designed to empower women in tech to step into their power, take up space, and communicate with confidence. Learn effective strategies to help you achieve your goals and make a lasting impact in your field. MORE INFO
💻 03/12, 18:30 🗺️ Online: Selling Online series - Using your own ecommerce website - online event: Learn about selling online as a great way to start, diversify or grow a retail business – and anyone can do it! MORE INFO
🚀 03/12, 20:00 🗺️ Online: How to Leverage AI in Your Products: Join us for an informative conversation about how founders can utilize AI in creating world class products. MORE INFO
☕ Series: Unfiltered: An in-person and informal catch-up with people from across the tech ecosystem. Come along for coffee, breakfast and networking!
⛾ 04/12, 08:30 🗺️ Dundee, MORE INFO
⛾ 04/12, 08:30 🗺️ Inverness, MORE INFO
⛾ 04/12, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh, MORE INFO
⛾ 04/12, 08:30 🗺️ Aberdeen, MORE INFO
⛾ 04/12, 08:30 🗺️ Stirling, MORE INFO
⛾ 04/12, 08:30 🗺️ Glasgow, MORE INFO
💡 04/12, 09:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Understanding Co-ops – Glasgow: Considering a co-op? Whether starting a new venture or seeking a new approach for your existing business, a co-op could be the perfect fit. MORE INFO
💼 04/12, 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
👨🏻💻 04/12, 10:30 🗺️ Lauder: Coworking Days [South of Scotland]: Join us at our coworking days with the South of Scotland Community. MORE INFO
💻 04/12, 12:30 🗺️ Online: Unlocking Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses: A webinar with Dell: Join Dell to hear about funding opportunities in the UK, how to apply for funding, and learn about Dell's funding programme! MORE INFO
🚀 04/12, 13:00 🗺️ Online: Nordics Space Data for Industry: Join this webinar and find out about upcoming grant funding for space data companies. MORE INFO
📱 04/12, 13:00 🗺️ Dumfries: Building Apps with No Code - Dumfries: Have you thought about building an app for your business, but don’t know how to code? This workshop is for you! MORE INFO
🎯 04/12, 17:00 🗺️ Norwich: Unlocking Tech Potential in Norfolk & Suffolk: Explore challenges & opportunities for tech growth in Norfolk & Suffolk, with insights to strengthen the regional tech ecosystem. MORE INFO
⛓ 04/12, 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
🎯 05/12, 09:30 🗺️ Kilmarnock: Improving Your Business Using Lean and Digital Tools: Join our free session as you learn how digital tools are linked to lean and how you can use both in your business. MORE INFO
✨ 05/12, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Inclusive business models: identifying opportunities for plural ownership: This workshop will show how employee ownership and co-operative business models can help organisations with Community Wealth Building (CWB). MORE INFO
💼 05/12, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Office Hours with Potter Clarkson: Our Office Hours are a series of one-to-one sessions with various experts from the legal and accounting sectors to support tech startup founders on their journey. In this one, participants will be able to engage directly with and receive personalised advice from IP Attornies for Potter Clarkson. MORE INFO
📱 05/12, 13:00 🗺️ Hawick: Building Apps with No Code - Hawick: Have you thought about building an app for your business, but don’t know how to code? This workshop is for you! MORE INFO
🌃 05/12, 18:30 🗺️ Glasgow: FuckUp Nights Glasgow Vol.III: nnovators, rebels, misfits and dreamers! Join us at FuckUp Nights Glasgow to laugh, learn, and embrace the beauty of mistakes – because failure is simply a stepping stone on the journey to success. There will be tons of networking, good vibes, and the best company around! MORE INFO
🎄 05/12, 19:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Glasgow Tech Christmas Night Out: All are welcome and there is no requirement to have any level of tech knowledge or experience to attend, just a desire to learn. Come along (bring your friends), network and learn something new with us! MORE INFO
💼 10/12, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Online Office Hours with European Space Agency: Our Online Office Hours are a series of one-to-one sessions with various experts from the legal and accounting sectors to support tech startup founders on their journey. MORE INFO
🛠️ 10/12, 12:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Prototype Workshop: Build your dream app with Builder.ai: Join Builder.ai as they show you how to build your dream app, without coding! MORE INFO
💻 10/12, 18:30 🗺️ Online: Selling Online series - Using ecommerce marketplaces - online event: Learn about selling online as a great way to start, diversify or grow a retail business – and anyone can do it! MORE INFO
💼 11/12, 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
🎄 12/12, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: CodeBase x Dundee Data Meetup Festive Social: Come along to the joint festive social of CodeBase Dundee & Tayside and the Dundee Data Meetup! This will be a chance for everyone in the tech and data community to socialise, reflect on their year and discuss plans for the future. First drink's on us! MORE INFO
🤝 12/12, 18:00 🗺️ Lauder: 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
🍺 12/12, 18:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Glasgow- 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
🎯 Deadlines
🚀 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:
Eureka Globalstars Japan Round 3 Applications close 4 December
Launchpad: Bio-based Manufacturing, Scotland – Rd2 CR&D Applications close 11 December
Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing, Scotland – Rd 2 MFA Applications close 11 December
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