🤖 Konpanion's robot launches, MI:RNA Raise, Legado deal, Papcup's non-invasive cervical cancer test
Plus Turing Fest, the UK's first gluten free brewery, and Risk Capital marketing report form SE.
Here's your Campfire for the 8th of July, 2024.
💼 Want to create template legal agreements in minutes for free? Check out what Shepherd and Wedderburn making available for Campfire readers below in the ‘Asks and Offers section’. Also follow the Start to Scale LinkedIn page for useful videos and posts designed to help founders.
🌊 Updates
🩷 Turing Fest starts tomorrow (technically tonight). Check out our guide (and score a £200 discount) here!
🤖 Edinburgh-based human-centric robotics company Konpanion has launched its new robot, Maah, designed to emulate the emotional support and physical comfort of a pet. DGT SS
🐾 Edinburgh-based veterinary diagnostics company MI:RNA raised $4 million (£3.13m) in Series A funding from investors across three continents including NovaQuest, Kyoritsu Holdings, VANE, Animal Health Angels, Companion Fund I, LLC, following on from Gabriel, Equity Gap, and Scottish Enterprise. SFN
📈 Edinburgh-based fintech Legado, which specialises in streamlining communications and business processes, has signed a new deal with wealth management firm Quilter (£111.6 billion in assets under management). FS
🎗️ University of Edinburgh spinout Papcup has developed a non-invasive test kit for cervical cancer that screens for cancer-causing HPV strains in menstrual blood, potentially eliminating the need for painful smear tests and providing results in as little as 15 minutes. IN BBC
🍺 Edinburgh-based Bellfield Brewery, the UK's first gluten-free brewery, has secured a listing in 40 Asda stores across Scotland. Three of its core beers—Lawless Village IPA, Bohemian Pilsner, and Mega City IPA—will now be available. IN
📊 Scottish Enterprise has released its risk capital marketing report for 2023: Scotland saw £575 million invested across 354 deals, a 41% drop in value and 17% drop in deal numbers from previous years. Despite declines, the report calls Scotland “a top performer in investment value”, especially in spinouts, which made up 32% of its total investment. Read full report here. ACS
📣 Asks & Offers
🚨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.
🗣️ Faur, a new Edinburgh-based strategic communications collective, is offering a free Communications Strategy to supercharge one Scottish startup. You can find more details here, and have until Wednesday, 17th July 2024 to register interest.
🥃 Are you a problem-solver driven by curiosity and a passion for your work? Do you thrive on deep, meaningful conversations and value fostering long-lasting relationships? Do you love whisky? If so, we invite you to become a founding member of Dram & Discourse. Learn more 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!
📅 Events
👨🏻🏫 09/07, 11:00 🗺️ Dundee: Dundee Presentation Club: Join us in the Abertay cyberQuarter for a chance to practice your pitches and public speaking in a friendly, supportive setting. MORE INFO
🎯 09/07, 13:00 🗺️ Stirling: Marketing Meetup with Scunnered Digital [Stirling]: Join us for a six-month event series dedicated to elevate your marketing skills, build connections and exchange ideas with fellow marketers. MORE INFO
🩷09/07-10/07: 🗺️ Edinburgh: Turing Fest: The cross-functional tech gathering of the year. A multi-track, 2-day conference that focuses on the elements of Build (engineering & product), Grow (marketing, sales and revenue), and Lead (people & company building). This year, there’s also an Invest track which brings with it some interesting speakers. MORE INFO
🩷🍹 09/07, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Turing Fest Investor Founder Mixer: Open to non-TF ticket holders), registration required. MORE INFO
🩷🤝 09/07, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Official Turing Fest Networking Drinks: Open to non-TF ticket holders, Registration Required) Sponsored & Hosted by Shepherd and Wedderburn, registration required. MORE INFO
🩷🌴 09/07, 19:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Turing Fringe Event: International Summer Mixer by Foras: Open to non-TF ticket holders, Registration Required). MORE INFO
🩷📢 10/07, 08:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Pitched your idea: (We’re running this! If you’re a super early stage founder you should come!) Sponsored & Hosted by Johnston Carmichael, registration required. MORE INFO
💼 10/07, 09:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Understanding and Implementing Value Stream Mapping and Management: Learn to think lean as we support you through the development of a continuous improvement plan aligned with energy transition priorities. MORE INFO
💻 11/07, 08:30 🗺️ Perth: Perth Tech Mornings: Open to everyone, join us in the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre in Perth Creative Exchange to connect with members of the local tech community. Come for a coffee, networking and build connections. MORE INFO
🍳 11/07, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Professional Breakfast - Networking: This, our 3rd meetup, will provide a further opportunity for the room to get to know each other through a networking activity - looking to bring together the professional services network and founders network together. MORE INFO
🤖 11/07, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Data Science & AI Meetup: An Introduction to AI Agents and a talk about ML from Physics Research to Media Content-Creation. MORE INFO
🏠 18/07, 11:00 🗺️ Online: Utilising AI to future-proof homes: A free-to-attend webinar that will explore how emerging AI technologies can be utilised to assess and manage the climate risks facing UK properties. MORE INFO
⛓️ 18/07, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Blockchain Scotland Meetup: Welcome to the Monthly Blockchain Scotland Meetup at the Bayes Centre in Edinburgh. The event takes place at the ground floor in G.03. MORE INFO
🍺 18/07, 18:30 🗺️ Dundee: Dundee - 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
🔌 23/07, 12:00 🗺️ Kirkcaldy: Unplugged Kirkcaldy: This event aims to bring together entrepreneurs, techies, creatives, students, investors, and other regional stakeholders to network and share ideas. It is open to everyone. MORE INFO
📢 23/07, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Founders Live Edinburgh: For the first time ever in Scotland! Founders Live is an unforgettable competition sweeping the globe where five handpicked companies take the hot seat, with only 99 seconds to pitch their company and describe their value proposition in front of an eager audience. MORE INFO
🔗 24/07, 09:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Engaging in Lean: Join us and become a cultural enabler that delivers sustainable improvement through engagement, lean and supporting behaviours. MORE INFO
💬 24/07, 11:00 🗺️ Dundee: Barclays Eagle labs at MSIP July Drop-in Clinic 2024: Drop in and let’s have a chat about your business goals and ambitions here at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc. MORE INFO
🔌 24/07, 12:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Presentation Club: Join us for a supportive and friendly afternoon of public speaking practice for people in the tech startup world. MORE INFO
🚀 24/07, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: AI, Cryptocurrency and the Third Sector: Our fourth and final event in the series is a roundtable presenting the expectations and uses of cryptocurrency in the Third Sector. MORE INFO
🏖️ 25/07, 16:00 🗺️ Dumfries: South of Scotland Summer Social: We are excited to invite you to our first Summer Social in the South of Scotland, where innovation meets community! Whether you're a seasoned tech professional, a passionate hobbyist, or just curious about the tech world, this is the perfect opportunity to connect, share ideas, and have a great time, in a relaxed and informal setting. MORE INFO
👥 25/07, 17:00 🗺️ Stirling: The Social at CodeBase Stirling: Open to everyone, this is an in-person celebration to connect and catch up with the CodeBase and Central Scotland community. MORE INFO
🎯 25/07, 17:15 🗺️ Edinburgh: Barclays Eagle Labs and CodeBase monthly Quiz - Edinburgh (July): Join us for this month's pub quiz - bringing together the CodeBase and Edinburgh community for a bit of fun! MORE INFO
👾 25/07, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: Cyber for Startups with Declan Doyle: Join us in the Abertay cyberQuarter or online via Zoom for a hybrid discussion with Declan Doyle of the Cyber and Fraud Centre about the importance of cybersecurity for startups and how to make it a primary concern from the very beginning of your business. MORE INFO
🦅 30/07, 10:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Eagle Has landed - Barclays Eagle labs July Drop in Clinic: Drop in and let’s have a chat about your business goals and ambitions here at One Tech Hub. MORE INFO
🍻 30/07, 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
📅 31/07, 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
📣 The Tech Trailblazers Awards are open for nominations The first independent global awards dedicated to enterprise tech startups, have opened nominations for their 13th edition. Covering 13 tech categories, along with Firestarter, Diversity, Investment, and individual CxO leadership categories, these awards recognise and celebrate cutting-edge enterprise tech innovation from young startups worldwide. Learn more here. (SS)
🇬🇧 Upcoming Innovate UK deadlines:
UK-Taiwan CRD 2024 Applications close 17 July
Innovate UK Smart grants: April 2024 Applications close 24 July
Europe Quantum Technology CR&D 2024 Applications close 28 August
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire