🏔️ EDGE Winners, Orbex launch site paused, new deeptech accelerator, NXXA launch
Plus, don't forget to nominate someone who's helped you and your business this year as a Campfire Champion!
Here's your Campfire for the 9th 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
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 (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
🏆 Scottish EDGE awarded £1.5 million in loans and grants to 37 innovative businesses in its 24th round. Tech winners included Glasgow-based Seluna, developing wearable med-tech for respiratory disorders, and Glasgow-based Cleanifiq, a cleaning service comparison platform. Drone firm Airspection and AI-driven language learning app Vocabua also secured funding. 👉Full list here. DGT TH IN
🌌 Forres-based Orbex has shifted its launch operations to SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, pausing construction of its Sutherland site to focus on rocket development. £14m had been spent on the launch site, prompting calls for the government to look at ways to recoup funds. FT DGT IN IN
🚀 NatWest Group has launched its Fintech Growth Programme to connect folks working on payment tech with the bank’s innovation team. Over ten weeks, five pre-Series A UK-based startups will access workshops, mentoring, and networking with senior decision-makers to co-create solutions for the payments space. FS
🎯 The University of Glasgow, in partnership with STAC, has launched Infinity G, Scotland’s first deeptech accelerator, to support 15 ventures, including 10 spinouts, in areas like AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Companies include: Glanadair, AevaSpec, ForceBiology, Hoofsmart, Orthovis, RX Watt, SepSense, and Unravel Health. Hosted at STAC’s thebeyond co-working and the Skypark lab space, the 13-week programme combines mentorship with other resources. Funded partly by the Glasgow City Council - UK Shared Prosperity Fund. FS DGT IN SS
🤔 Some takeaways from the Scottish budget as it pertains to tech companies: The Scottish Budget brings £321m for “enterprise agencies”, £200m for the Scottish National Investment Bank, and £15m for entrepreneurship (including £4m for women-led businesses), alongside investments in green energy and digital infrastructure. Feedback has been mostly positive aside from concerns over income tax divergence and insufficient business rates relief, questioning whether the measures go far enough to drive growth and innovation. DGT
🎉 Edinburgh has been recognised as a leading VC hub in the UK, alongside Oxford and Cambridge, with Scotland now hosting 9,000 employees in VC-backed firms and receiving 7% of UK VC funding in 2023, according to BVCA. DGT
💡 Responses requested: ScotlandIS is calling on the tech sector to share insights for its 17th annual Technology Industry Survey, open until February 23. The survey, crucial for shaping the 2025 report, offers a snapshot of industry trends, opportunities, and challenges. Last year’s findings showed optimism, with 90% of firms expecting growth and 98% planning to maintain or expand their workforce. DGT
💰 According to Vestd’s Global Investment Report, Edinburgh secured the third most funding rounds in the UK during 2024, with 65 rounds between Q1 and Q3, despite a 17% decline from the previous year. London and Manchester led the rankings, with 1,230 and 74 rounds respectively. DGT
🤖 Aberdeen-based Evolve iMS, a digital transformation company with a presence in London, has launched NXXA – Next Generation Expert Assistant, an offline AI platform designed for industries requiring strict data privacy and security. They claim their product offers a “full-featured AI experience” without the need for internet connectivity, making it ideal for sectors such as energy, finance, healthcare, and government. SS
📣 Asks & Offers
📈 Are you an owner or founder involved in 1 to 1 sales? Martin Stellar (Sales Consultant and Author of the ethical sales framework Sales for Nice People) is in Edinburgh this week and is offering three Campfire readers a “Hidden Sales Assets” audit at no cost. 👉 Book here.
🚨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
💼 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, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: nocode.scot Festive Meetup: nocode is back in CodeBase for the last meetup of the year - with mince pies and festive cheer. 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
💰 11/12, 12:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: 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
👨🏫 12/12, 10:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Sales for Nice People - interactive masterclass: This interactive masterclass introduces the Sales for Nice People system for ethical selling, and it will show you an approach for engaging in buyer conversations that's based on empathy and integrity, and it will transform your approach and ability to the sales process. 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
❄️ 17/12, 19:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: 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
🎯 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.
🚀 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:
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