🌕 Moon Launch, Stampfree Raise, Space News, ClimateTech Optimism, Goal Planning
Here's your Campfire for the 18th of December, 2023. We’ll be powering down for a couple of weeks, but be sure to join us early in the new year for our Goal Together - a 60 minute session working through a series of prompts to help us each (privately) prepare for 2024. More info here.
💼 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 & Opinions
🏆 Fintech companies Xpand and Skwile Ltd, have each been awarded £50,000 as the winners of UK Fintech Innovation Challenge led by FinTech Scotland and Smart Data Foundry to fuel the development of their propositions. SFN IN ACS
🪐 Shetland-based HyImpulse (a launch company working with SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst) and Forres-headquartered Orbex (a launch company working with Sutherland Spaceport) will receive around £6.7 million funding boost from UK Space Agency to develop their launch technologies in a sustainable way. DGT TH
💼 Growth capital investor BGF (office in Edinburgh), has become a certified B Corp. SFN
⚛️ Glasgow-based University of Strathclyde is establishing a new innovation hub within the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland to aid the development and deployment of technology supporting decarbonisation. DGT
📮 Edinburgh-based Stamp Free Ltd (the AI-powered digital post and shipping company) raised £1.08m through an equity crowdfunding campaign (initial goal: £500k) and from R42. SS
🚕 Edinburgh-based Moon a new private hire platform, designed to give drivers a higher % of a fare, has launched in Edinburgh after testing earlier this year and now has more than 120 drivers using it. IN
♻️ Glasgow-based Ilosta (asset monitoring software) raised an undisclosed amount from Equity Gap, Strathclyde, and Scottish Enterprise.
🚀 CodeBase celebrated the completion of the final cohort of CodeClan and is now working on rebuilding a sustainable mechanism, CodeClan 2.0, to meet the strategic tech talent pipeline needs outlined in the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review. SS
🌤️ Nick Freer gives a bit of insight and optimism around climate tech in Scotland, mentioning the potential for companies like Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) a vertical farming firm, and highlighting the growth of the climate tech sector since COP26 in Glasgow. TS
📣 Asks & Offers
🤔 Know someone? Life sciences startup is looking for a Board Chair! Ideally, the right candidate would be: local to Scotland, confident, have startup & company growth experience, board experience (not necessarily chair), interested in life sciences (experience not required), keen to work for equity and cash blend, ready to start Dec/Jan if possible. Get in touch if that's you or you know someone.
🤝 Can you help? Eagle Labs is carrying out some research as they work on something to allow startups/scaleups to demo themselves to corporates who need their innovation, and is collecting some data to help them in their development. Any founder who has a spare 2 minutes to help fill out this survey would be really appreciated!
✍️ Want to sponsor Campfire? We're planning some new initiatives in 2024, so say hello and let's chat!
🤨 Campfire is looking into something: know any foreign founders based in Scotland who are or were on the UK Innovator visa and who used a for-profit organisation to help secure or sponsor it (e.g. not a University)? If so, we'd love to speak with them.
👭 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!
🦸 Absolute Superheroes
"John Morrison and Joe Fitzgibbon are absolute superheroes within the Scottish ecosystem. They're always there to help my company and other startups. From free mentoring in the early days, quality advice, even the occasional office space to use in Edinburgh and London, they are genuinely there to help out while still being cost-effective." - John Gordon, CEO & Co-founder, Incentive Games
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
👸 19/12, 17:30 🗺️ Stirling: Digital Skills 4 Girls [Stirling]: From coding and gaming to digital design and video, DS4G is a friendly and supportive environment to learn new skills and meet new friends. MORE INFO
🤝 19/12, 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. We're dedicated to fostering an inclusive community where individuals from diverse backgrounds can come together to share knowledge, spark ideas, ignite curiosity, foster collaboration, and promote responsible data practices. Each month, we'll be featuring different themes, so check out our updates on our socials and Eventbrite page. MORE INFO
🎊 20/12, 18:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Holiday Meetup 2023 [Tech Meetup, ESC, Startup Founders Meetup]: Join the hosts of the Tech Meetup, Entrepreneur Social Club, The Startup Founders Meetup, and Startup Grind Scotland for the final final meetup of 2023! No speakers, just conversations! Dress Code: The theme is "holiday party", however you decide to interpret that :). MORE INFO
🎯 🔥 02/01, 09:00 🗺️ Online: Goal together (Campfire Official): Start your year off with space and time to reflect on the last year, get jazzed about the year to come, and set some goals that are grounded and achievable. You won't be asked to share anything, speak, or have your camera on. MORE INFO
🩺 10/01, 12:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Medtech Forum: Join us for our Edinburgh Medtech Forum where we bring together healthcare, medtech and healthtech professionals from around Edinburgh. MORE INFO
🎨 11/01, 00:00 🗺️ Online: An Introduction to Innovation by Scottish Enterprise: This webinar provides an introduction to the tools & techniques you need to start or move to the next stage of your innovation journey. MORE INFO
🤝 17/01, 20:30 🗺️ Striling: TechMeetup Stirling: TechMeetup is about meeting other people involved in tech, learning something and chatting. All are welcome and there is no minimum knowledge level needed to attend and all the talks are aimed at people who have no knowledge of the subject.. MORE INFO
💼 18/01, 12:00 🗺️ Online: Selling Your Business Masterclass by Scottish Enterprise: Aimed at business owners considering an exit from their company, this online session will give attendees the opportunity to hear market-leading IT support and solutions company Microtech Group and building supply merchants Caley Timber & Building Supplies explain what they considered in choosing employee ownership and how things have worked. 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, 11:30 🗺️ 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
🗃️ 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
🔋 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
🌉 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
🎯 Deadlines
🇬🇧 Upcoming Innovate UK deadlines:
Transport Decarbonisation Demonstrators Applications close 8 January 2024
Smart Grants September 2023 Applications close 17 January 2024
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