Here's your Campfire for the 20th of November, 2023.
💼 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
💊 Glox Therapeutics, a spin-out company from the universities of Glasgow and Oxford raised £4.3 million in seed funding led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Scottish Enterprise to help develop precision antibiotic therapies. TS SS.
🍺 Workbrew (secure deployments and onboarding of Homebrew packages for businesses) raised $3.2m from undisclosed investors. CB
🚑 The University of Glasgow and Kadans Science Partner have begun construction on a health innovation hub in Govan, Glasgow, with a focus on precision medicine and digital health. UKTN
🍺 Glasgow-based Bounce Back ( 'hangover cure' drinks) has landed in Asda and Costco and raised £1 million investment, led by Bravo Drinks (LSIP). IN
🔋 Edinburgh-based Mocean Energy raised £2.2m in new funding from Equity Gap, Scottish Enterprise and Old College Capital, alongside a £500,000 grant from Norwegian impact investors Katapult Ocean, and MOL PLUS, to drive the commercialisation of its wave energy technology. ACS UKTN
💻 ScotlandIS announced open entries for 2024 Digital Technology Awards, showcasing tech innovation and talent. FS
👩💻 The Pathways Forward programme, led by Ana Stewart, will convene a discussion on Thursday aimed at trying to address the gender imbalance in access to capital. DGT FS
📣 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!
💸 Black Friday Deals
Here are a few tools we've seen around the matrix that might be worth taking a look at (Campfire doesn't make anything from any links we share), and are offering lifetime deals for Black Friday:
🎙️Sessions: Team meetings, webinars with lots of customers, and cool collaboration tools
🏓 Retable: Airtable competitor that seems pretty solid and inexpensive
🎨 Truconversion: HotJar/MS Clarity competitor for generating heatmaps and customer UX tracking
📖 Storipress: CMS, SEO-optimised publication management, blog hosting
🦸 Collaborative, not transactional.
"ShepWedd’s understanding of the unique requirements of a tech startup have been immensely helpful to AdInMo on our growth journey. At each step ShepWedd have provided robust guidance in navigating complex legal and regulatory landscapes, especially around investment and employee compensation schemes.
Their lawyers, particularly Stephen Trombala and Gavin Charlton, have consistently offered astute advice and practical solutions tailored to our unique challenges.
The AdInMo executive team have been pleased overall with the level of professionalism, attention to detail, and personalised care that ShepWedd offers. Our interactions with ShepWedd have always had the feel of collaboration rather than transactional events, and we highly recommend to any ambitious startup aiming for legal expertise." - Kristan Rivers, CEO & Co-Founder, AdinMo
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 starttoscale@shepwedd.co.uk & set up a chat.
📅 Events
💻 21/11, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Digital Scotland 2023: DigitalScotland is the largest annual gathering of public sector technology professionals, where global govtech leaders share technology insights and lessons in digital transformation, leadership, skills, cultural change and data-driven innovation. MORE INFO
🤝 21/11, 12:00 🗺️ Dumfries: AccelerateHER + Techscaler Meetup: South of Scotland: The AccelerateHER and Techscaler by CodeBase teams are excited to be joining forces in bringing dedicated meetups to life across Scotland for this community and peer-support building activity to grow. Meetups where you can come together, hear inspiring stories from fellow women and non-binary founders, and connect for ongoing peer-support. MORE INFO
💼 21/11, 16:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Hiring to Scale: MBM Commercial, Barclays Wealth and Barclays Eagle Labs have come together to for an exciting series where we dive deep into the world of scaling your team! Whether you're a startup or an established company, finding and hiring the right talent can be a daunting task. But fear not! Our event series is here to guide you through the process, providing valuable insights and practical tips. MORE INFO
👸 21/11, 17:30 🗺️ Stirling: Digital Skills 4 Girls [Stirling]: Digital Skills 4 Girls is a monthly workshop for girls and non-binary people who want to learn new digital skills or develop existing skills. The recommended age for attendance is 10-15. MORE INFO
🧑💻 21/11, 19:30 🗺️ ONLINE: How to become an Angel investor with £1,000: Demystify angel investing myths and learn how you can strategically navigate and derive value from the investment landscape. MORE INFO
🙏 22/11, 09:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Founders Open Day Glasgow: Wellness Theme: A day for founders from all stages to get together, take part in fireside chats and see what Eagle Labs & CodeBase can offer the community. MORE INFO
💻 22/11, 09:30 🗺️ Dumfries: Coworking Day [South of Scotland]: We’re excited to invite our tech and business community, and anyone wishing to connect with our local community to our coworking days, taking place at Flourish in Dumfries. We're hosting these coworking days every Wednesday from 25th October - 13th December 2023, where you can join us for startup chat, networking, and to get to know you local tech-curious peers. MORE INFO
🤝 22/11, 12:00 🗺️ Stirling: AccelerateHER + Techscaler Meetup: Central Scotland: The AccelerateHER and Techscaler by CodeBase teams are excited to be joining forces in bringing dedicated meetups to life across Scotland for this community and peer-support building activity to grow. Meetups where you can come together, hear inspiring stories from fellow women and non-binary founders, and connect for ongoing peer-support.. MORE INFO
🌐 22/11, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Cyber Scotland Connect: November Meetup!: Cyber Scotland Connect is proud to host an in-person event at CodeBase Edinburgh, with some excellent speakers lined up! MORE INFO
📂 22/11, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: OpenUK meet-up: Join fans of open source at the OpenUK meet-up. Hosted by Craig Wylie, Engineering Lead in Cloud, Lloyds Banking Group @TheWylieKyote, Speakers: Amanda Brock, CEO, OpenUK @AmandaBrockUK and Mike McQuaid, CTO and Co-Founder, Workbrew @MikeMcQuaid MORE INFO
🔢 23/11, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: DIGIT Expo 2023: DIGIT Expo is the largest annual technology event in Scotland. Attendees will experience a packed conference programme featuring keynotes, interactive workshops, and panels, alongside an extensive exhibition hall and networking area. The event will be held in-person at Edinburgh's International Conference Centre.. MORE INFO
🛷 23/11, 09:45 🗺️ Glasgow: Scottish Edge - EDGE22 Final: We're delighted to welcome back our fantastic partners and supporters to the exhibitor and networking atrium - on hand to offer expert advice on all areas of business growth. MORE INFO
🛠️ 23/11, 11:00 🗺️ ONLINE: Building your Sales Foundations as a Startup: Join HubSpot for Startups and CodeBase in this sales masterclass with Anna Gordon, Partnerships Manager at HubSpot for Startups UKI. MORE INFO
👥 27/11, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: NoCode Scotland Meetup #8: Whether you're a NoCode enthusiast or just looking to get started learning how you can build software without writing code, you're very welcome to come along! MORE INFO
🤝 27/11, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Startup Founders Meetup: A combination of tactical fireside chats with experienced entrepreneurs and plenty of opportunities to network with other founders, potential cofounders, and investors. This month: Danae Shell from Valla talks B2C marketing, TikTok, and beyond vanity metrics. MORE INFO
🍃 28/11, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: GreenTech Meetup!! (November): Come and enjoy some breakfast and chat with some fantastic people in the GreenTech community - hosted by Barclays Eagle Labs and CodeBase. MORE INFO
💼 28/11, 16:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Hiring to Scale: MBM Commercial, Barclays Wealth and Barclays Eagle Labs have come together to for an exciting series where we dive deep into the world of scaling your team! Whether you're a startup or an established company, finding and hiring the right talent can be a daunting task. But fear not! Our event series is here to guide you through the process, providing valuable insights and practical tips. MORE INFO
🤝 28/11, 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
💻 29/11, 09:30 🗺️ Dumfries: Coworking Day [South of Scotland]: We’re excited to invite our tech and business community, and anyone wishing to connect with our local community to our coworking days, taking place at Flourish in Dumfries. We're hosting these coworking days every Wednesday from 25th October - 13th December 2023, where you can join us for startup chat, networking, and to get to know you local tech-curious peers. MORE INFO
💵 29/11, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Innovation Tax Dojo: de-risk your value creation & product development: At the Innovation Tax Dojo, you'll gain valuable insights, practical strategies and open discussions on how R&D tax credits can help you balance innovative developments and cashflow generation. MORE INFO
🏭 29/11, 15:00 🗺️ Stirling: Tech Idea Factory: Idea Fest: This event, hosted in collaboration with the University of Stirling's Enterprise Programme, is a dynamic event designed to inspire innovation and collaborative thinking within the tech community. The event kicks off with an introduction to the programme, setting the stage for focussed participation. MORE INFO
🤝 29/11, 17:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Asian Founders Community Meetup: A dedicated event aimed at supporting and empowering Asian entrepreneurs on their journey to business growth. MORE INFO
📝 29/11, 17:15 🗺️ Edinburgh: Barclays and CodeBase, Edinburgh's monthly quiz!! - November 2023 edition: Join us for this month's pub quiz - bringing together the CodeBase and Edinburgh community for a bit of fun! MORE INFO
☕ Series: Unfiltered: A series of informal catch-ups with the digital tech community in Aberdeen, Stirling, and Inverness. Come for a coffee and stay for the hotdesking!
📆 06/12, 08:30 🗺️ Aberdeen: MORE INFO
📆 06/12, 08:30 🗺️ Stirling: MORE INFO
📆 06/12, 08:30 🗺️ Inverness: MORE INFO
📆 06/12, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: MORE INFO
📆 06/12, 08:30 🗺️ Dundee: MORE INFO
📆 06/12, 08:30 🗺️ Glasgow: MORE INFO
💻 06/12, 09:30 🗺️ Dumfries: Coworking Day [South of Scotland]: We’re excited to invite our tech and business community, and anyone wishing to connect with our local community to our coworking days, taking place at Flourish in Dumfries. We're hosting these coworking days every Wednesday from 25th October - 13th December 2023, where you can join us for startup chat, networking, and to get to know you local tech-curious peers. MORE INFO
🥂 07/12, 18:00 🗺️ Stirling: Tech the Halls: Central Scotland Festive Social: Join us for a festive social on Thursday 7 December in Stirling to celebrate everything the Central Scotland 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
💻 13/12, 09:30 🗺️ Dumfries: Coworking Day [South of Scotland]: We’re excited to invite our tech and business community, and anyone wishing to connect with our local community to our coworking days, taking place at Flourish in Dumfries. We're hosting these coworking days every Wednesday from 25th October - 13th December 2023, where you can join us for startup chat, networking, and to get to know you local tech-curious peers. MORE INFO
🥂 15/12, 17:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Tech the Halls: Glasgow & West Festive Social: Join us for a festive social on 15 December in Glasgow to celebrate everything the Glasgow and West 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, 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
🎯 Deadlines
🇬🇧 Upcoming Innovate UK deadlines:
Creative Catalyst: AI in the Music Industry Applications close 22 November
MyWorld Collaborative Research and Development: Round 2 Applications close 23 November
Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing in Scotland – R1 MFA and CR&D Applications close December 13
Transport Decarbonisation Demonstrators Applications close 8 January 2024
Smart Grants September 2023 Applications close 17 January
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