🤦♀️ Female-founder teams & equity, cleantech accelerator, Robotical, Administrate, EDGE
This week, disappointing news about the progress in female-founder share of equity investments, news from Robotical and Administrate, EDGE 22 is open, and a new cleantech accelerator launches in Aberdeen.
But first - an update from the cofounder matching post from last week.
Here's your Campfire for 17th of July 2023.
💼 This issue of Campfire is caffeinated by Shepherd & Wedderburn, the legal firm that's there for you every step of the way. Find out how they've helped companies like BetDEX below.
🤝 Cofounder Curious
Last week we launched a cofounder matchmaking tool, and already have more than a dozen submissions! Starting each Tuesday anyone with a reviewed profile will receive an email with links to new profiles. To sign up, you don't have to be actively working on a startup. Find out more and fill in your profile here.
Listings this week include:
Skilled software engineer with a decade+ expertise in tech leadership, full-stack dev, React, NodeJS, Python, AWS. Passionate about alternative social networks, blockchain, digital identity & AI. I strive for user empowerment, privacy enhancement & responsible tech use.
Passion for tech and companies. I love challenges, and I believe that you can learn pretty much anything if you set your mind on it.
Health, Political Theory, Protocols - I spend time thinking about how tech can facilitate positive outcomes, personal or social in these areas.
Passionate about community empowerment - starting in Scotland.
Customer obsessed and data driven. I am on my 3rd startup, one exit and two active. Now focused on the 3rd in the AI space.
Commercially driven product manager, and former exited startup CEO.
Serial founder with technology and commercial expertise. Led & advised multiple startups. Raised pre-seed & seed from local & international VC. Experience across dev, design, product iteration, sales, finance & investment. Looking for the next exciting business opportunity to jump into.
Product and commercial founder (non technical).
Plus folks interested & working on fintech, web3, ai and more.
Want to connect with any of them? Be sure to fill out your profile and join our Scottish-based Cofounder Curious list.
Have a spicy take? Want to write about an aspect of being a founder? Get in touch and suggest a topic!
🌊 Updates
🤖 Edinburgh-based Robotical (programmable robots for kids) signed a deal with the largest school district in Orange County, California for 360 Marty robots to be delivered to classrooms. Awesome! DGT
🎓 Edinburgh-based Administrate (enterprise training operations SaaS) raised £5 million from Hambro Perks, Archangels, Mercia, and Scottish Enterprise/SIB. FS DGT TS
🤦♀️ New report shows no improvement in the share of VC investment into female founder teams over the last decade. All-female founding teams received only 2% of equity investment, and 9% of equity deals (up 4% from 211 to 2021). 13% of first-time equity deals went to all-female founder teams in 2022. BBB
♻️ New cleantech accelerator announced: TechX by the Net Zero Technology Centre. 15 week programme (3 weeks required in Aberdeen), grant funding of up to £100k or SAFE, open to cleantech startups around the world at a tech readiness level 2-6. Funded by Scottish Gov, UK Gov, Aberdeen City Regional Deal Investment. Deadline 1 October. *Partners include bp, ADNOC, and Equinor ventures . DGT FS
🔫 Edinburgh-based Skylark Lasers (photonics company that makes industrial lasers) received £2.34m from Innovate UK to help produce quantum gravity sensors that help ships navigate in conditions where GPS doesn't work. SS DGT
🧗♂️ Scottish EDGE 22 is open for applications including a new category of food and drinks business idea. Deadline 2nd August. LNC
📣 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.
💡 Who do you know? Edinburgh-based clean-tech spinout Energy3 (ultra-high temperature energy storage technology) has closed a funding round and is hiring:
🇸🇩 Hire from Sudan: The war in Sudan is wreaking havoc on people's lives. There are several high-quality developers and designers available for hire. More info here.
🙋 Interested in being a COO/CEO? A successful startup (12-15 people) are looking for someone to lead it into its next phase. Seeking a founder mentality who is willing to experiment and explore new avenues while being in charge of the company's operations. A great opportunity for the right person who can have a genuine impact on the company in an exciting industry (Earth Science Tech). Reply to this email for more info.
🎨 Fancy a new adventure? An established Applicant Tracking System (ATS) SaaS platform is looking for a growth & marketing lead. Offering founder-level equity for the right candidate. Reply if interested.
✍️ Want to help write Campfire? We're looking for some part time paid help (~3-4 hours a week). If you know anyone, ask them to get in touch!
🎓 Useful finds
📫 Picture it: you've got that great idea, you're ready to start getting in touch with the world. You register a new website and email service and.... all your emails go to spam. Check out Boxward for a dead simple email warm-up service that works in the background to make sure your email delivery is great right off the bat.
💅 Keeping with the theme, if you're wanting a really slick webpage builder but think Webflow is a bit overkill, check out Umso - easy to use, beautiful, quick, say no more (thanks Claire from Reath.id for the suggestion).
📖 Bookclub: The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth, as suggested by Olly Headey
🦸 They take time to understand our business.
"Given the infancy and nature of our business, it's critical that we work with legal counsel that gives due consideration to the nuances of our specific business and offers creative and practical solutions for our particular challenges. Shepherd and Wedderburn has provided high-quality, practical and business-minded guidance that has helped contribute to our early successes.
While the entirety of the firm has been a great partner for us, Hannah Bruce in particular has done an excellent job guiding us through a myriad of legal challenges by taking the care and time to understand our business and operations to ensure we are provided the best and most pointed counsel possible. I would strongly recommend Shepherd and Wedderburn as a trusted partner for providing expert advice and support on a wide range of legal and compliance matters." - Kevin Kreuser, Head of Legal, BetDEX Labs, Inc.
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
👐 20/07, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Does your Board help you soar? - Elevate your Board for growth!: Workshop and peer coaching session hosted by Kirsty Bathgate to identify how best to get the most from your board. MORE INFO
🏳️🌈 20/07, 12:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: LGBTQ+ Meetup: How Can We Support Transgender People in Tech?: This month we will be talking about how we can support transgender people in tech. MORE INFO
👩🦰 20/07, 12:00 🗺️ Dundee: AccelerateHER + Techscaler Meetup: Dundee and Tayside (women & non-binary): Whether you’re working on a fledgling idea for a startup or already in the thick of scaling your tech enterprise, having a community of folks to connect with, share knowledge with, and generally find support amongst is invaluable. MORE INFO
🍻 20/07, 17:15 🗺️ Edinburgh: Barclays and CodeBase, Edinburgh's monthly quiz!!: Dave, from Barclays Eagle Labs, is hosting a pub quiz each month from the CodeBase, Edinburgh, event space. The winning team will receive a trophy that they can display proudly in their office/on their desk for the month, until someone else tries to win it at the next quiz! Beverages and snacks will all be provided - just bring your team and your brain power!! MORE INFO
🌍 20/07, 17:30 🗺️ Glasgow: People, Planet, Pint: Sustainability Meetup: Come and meet others interested in the Net Zero, Bcorp and Environmental space!. MORE INFO
🤝 20/07, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Startup Huddle: Edinburgh: Connect with fellow entrepreneurs in Edinburgh to network, learn and share expertise. MORE INFO
🤝 20/07, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edi Tech Social: Come mingle, meet new people and enjoy a drink (or two!). MORE INFO
🤝 22/07, 14:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Founders meetup: An opportunity to talk about your startup or your side hustle in a relaxed pub setting. MORE INFO
💻 25/07, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: ProductTank Pub Night: Deep dives into product design, development, management & marketing. MORE INFO
🐊 25/07, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: Dundee Data Meetup: a vibrant community-driven event that brings together data enthusiasts, professionals, and curious learners to explore the captivating world of data and its applications. MORE INFO
🏄♀️ 26/07, 12:00 🗺️ Glasgow: AccelerateHER + Techscaler Meetup: Glasgow and West (women & non-binary): Whether you’re working on a fledgling idea for a startup or already in the thick of scaling your tech enterprise, having a community of folks to connect with, share knowledge with, and generally find support amongst is invaluable. MORE INFO
🤝 26/07, 19:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Entrepreneurs Social Club (ESC): The social club for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs - skip the talks, presentations and lectures - and go straight to networking! MORE INFO
🧗♀️ 27/07, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Inspired confidence! (Scottish Women in Business): Panel discussion featuring chat about their journeys, and how they have inspired confidence in themselves and others. MORE INFO
🔌 27/07, 16:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Unplugged Aberdeenshire: Open to everyone, CodeBase Unplugged is a networking event for professionals working in, or interested in, tech startups. MORE INFO
🧑🎨 27/07, 18:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Creative Edinburgh Summer Party!: As freelancers, we often miss out on office parties, so here is an opportunity to mingle and make meaningful connections with new friends in the industry. MORE INFO
🤝 28/07, 08:30 🗺️ Stirling: Let's Network at CodeBase Ltd [Stirling]: This Networking Series will be hosted by some fantastic Chamber Member Venues across the Forth Valley, with exciting new locations in Stirling, Clackmannanshire, and Falkirk every month! MORE INFO
💻 01/08, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Tech Meetup: The original Edinburgh Tech Meetup is back and booming. We have some interesting speakers, talks and games lined up with lots of time for networking. MORE INFO
Deadlines
🎯 01/10 ♻️ TechX Accelerator: Cleantech at a tech readiness level of 2-6, up to £100k in grant or SAFE note, 15 week programme with 3 weeks expected in Aberdeen. Looking for "diverse, innovative start-ups that will pave the way in clean energy." MORE INFO
🎯 02/08 🧗♂️ Scottish EDGE: 4 categories:
Scottish EDGE: early-stage companies/social enterprises across all sectors - £100k, 30% grant, 70% loan
Young EDGE: all directors are under the age of 30 - £15k grant
Wildcard EDGE: pre-trading companies, sole-traders and partnerships - £15k grant
Social Enterprise EDGE: Social Enterprises who clearly demonstrate how their business enriches communities and makes a contribution to society - up to £75k, 70% grant, 30% loan
🎯 Open 💡 Applications are open for the RBS Accelerator programme MORE INFO
🎯 22/08 🏗️ CivTech 9 Challenge call deadline for companies to submit proposals for a share of £7.8 million of contract opportunities for teams and businesses able to solve problems for government backed agencies and organisations in Scotland.
🎯 01/09 🤓 Applications are now open for the Scottish Cyber Awards. MORE INFO
🇬🇧 Upcoming Innovate UK deadlines:
Unlocking Potential Begin (£5k grants for business ideas) Submissions close 6 September
Unlocking Potential Build (£50k grants for business ideas) Submissions close 6 September
Ofgem Round 3: Call for Ideas Submissions close 21 August
India – UK Collaborative R&D for industrial sustainability Applications close 6 August
UK-Israel Eureka Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 2 Applications close 13 September
Innovate UK Smart grants: June 2023 Applications close 27 September 2023
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