🏄♀️ Smart Protein, Tax Changes, IoF in Glasgow, Surf's (soon) Up
We're back!
Happy new year! Here's your Campfire for the 8th of January, 2024.
💼 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
⏱️ 1 day left to apply for the Foras fully-funded trip to SXSW in Austin! Supported by the Scottish Ecosystem Fund 2023–24. Foras
〽️ Scotland's income tax rate changes has drawn concern from tech sector trade bodies, predicting a significant negative impact. The alterations prompt debates on how they might affect companies' abilities to attract and retain talent. FS
📈 Growth capital investor BGF (British Growth Fund) has announced its successful exit from Kick ICT (the Bellshill-based independent IT managed service provider) with a 2x money multiple (MM) and a 38% internal rate of return (IRR) on the investment. DGT TS TH
🦅 Barclay’s Eagle Labs has received additional funding to expand complimentary mentorship offerings for early stage founders. More information can be found here.
🏆 Two Scottish startups, one based in Falkirk and another in Troon, have been nominated for the Earthshot Prize, a prestigious global recognition for eco-friendly initiatives. The nominations come as part of a shortlist featuring 150 companies worldwide. TS
🎖️ Stirling Business Excellence Awards has issued a call for nominations for its Innovation Awards, inviting startups in the region to showcase their innovative contributions. TS
🥗 Glasgow-based Smart Protein has announced the launch of a new range of “premium active and wellness nutritional supplements” online and across 142 Tesco stores. TH
🚀 Building in IoT? A partnership between the UK government, Glasgow City Council, the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC), and £2.5m in private sector funding has been launched with the aim of transforming Glasgow into Europe’s largest smart things and IoT innovation hub, aiming for 100 new companies in 2024. SFN DGT UKTN
🎤 Brian Coburn, founder of BR-DGE (Edinburgh-based online payment gateways), gave an interview where he provided insightful perspectives and words of wisdom, especially to early-stage founders. The interview covers topics related to the company, its founding, and Coburn's experiences in the business landscape. Read the full interview here.
💼 Scottish social enterprise Elevator has launched IMPACT! - a fully-funded, purpose-led business support programme aiming to help organisations align business goals with core values, and will be delivered to three cohorts in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. IN
🏅 Local honours: Mark Logan was awarded an OBE for services to the economy, and Gerard Grech, who led Tech Nation for over a decade until it closed last year, has been awarded a CBE for services to the technology sector. UKTN
🏄 Cowabunga coming: This summer, the first inland surf resort in Scotland is due to open just outside of Edinburgh. TH
📣 Asks & Offers
✍️ 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!
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
🖥️ 09/01, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech Meetup Edinburgh: It's the same great Tech event, but we are bringing in a more tech-focused range of speakers moving forward. 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, 12:00 🗺️ 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
🤝 11/01, 18:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Tech Meetup January 2024 - Glasgow: Join us at Civic House, Glasgow on the first Thursday of each month (2nd Thurs in January to let folk settle into 2024) or our free event featuring two talks on tech with soft drinks and pizza. MORE INFO
💼 16/01, 11:00 🗺️ Online: Tech Clinic - Unlocking Success: How Data and AI can support your business: Discover how strategic data planning can be a game-changer for your business, whether you’re just starting out or more established. From saving time, minimizing errors, and enhancing user experiences, it can bring control, innovation and commercial opportunities. MORE INFO
⚖️ 17/01, 14:00 🗺️ Dumfries: Intro to Techscaler (South of Scotland) - Dumfries: If you’re interested in finding out more about Techscaler and what support is available then we’d love to have you join us! 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
♀️ 19/01, 12:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Founders - Lets Talk Menopause: Join us for an empowering and enlightening menopause meet up. This is designed to foster open conversations and share insights about the menopause journey for those scaling their start-up business. You maybe going through this chapter yourself or would like to learn more to help manage your team.. MORE INFO
⛑️ 22/01, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Startup Founders Meetup: Each month, we'll have a combination of tactical fireside chats with experienced entrepreneurs and plenty of opportunities to network with other founders, potential cofounders, and investors. MORE INFO
🔧 23/01, 12:00 🗺️ Online: Using Tools to Supercharge your Fundraising Process: Join HubSpot for Startups and CodeBase to learn the key elements of managing a fundraising process! MORE INFO
🧑🏫 23/01, 12:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Presentation Club: A space to practice presenting and pitching in a safe, low-stakes environment, with the opportunity to get feedback from peers.. MORE INFO
👔 23/01, 19:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Building Feedback Loops with Jobs to be Done (JTBD): Join us at ProductTank Edinburgh to kick off the new year with an inspiring and engaging meetup! We're excited to welcome product professionals, enthusiasts, and newcomers to our first event of the year, themed around Jobs to Be Done. 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
🏡 24/01, 12:00 🗺️ Galashiels: Hometown Hub + Techscaler Launch | Stow: The new partnership between Techscaler and Hometown Hub is bringing the Techscaler programme south and will ensure delivery of all Techscaler events and support throughout the Scottish Borders! MORE INFO
🍕 24/01, 18:00 🗺️ St Andrews: Eden Tay Founders Community: Join the EdenTay Founders Community for entrepreneurs coming from the Tay Cities universities 🚀 .Join us for an exceptional collaboration between the entrepreneurial centres from the three renowned universities in the region: Abertay (Bell Street Ventures), St. Andrews (St Andrews Innovation), and Dundee (Centre for Entrepreneurship). 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
⌛ 25/01, 17:15 🗺️ Edinburgh: CodeBase monthly Quiz - Edinburgh (January): Join us for this month's pub quiz - bringing together the CodeBase and Edinburgh community for a bit of fun! 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
🤝 30/01, 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. 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
🍺 01/02, 00:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Aberdeen - 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
🇬🇧 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