🍕 Ooni win, Deep tech accelerator first cohort,
Plus the common pitfalls and possibilities facing spinouts
Here's your Campfire for the 17th of February, 2025.
💼 Johnston Carmichael are a leading accountancy and business advisory firm, with offices throughout Scotland, in Newcastle and London. A partner owned firm for over 85 years, they have grown to offer core and specialist services to business of all sizes. With specialist sector teams, they are fast becoming one of the most trusted advisers for entrepreneurs, founders and businesses that are successfully scaling. Talk to the team today to discuss what growth stage your business is at.
🌊 Updates
🍕 Edinburgh-based pizza oven maker Ooni has won two legal battles against Chinese manufacturer Foshan Hanshi, totalling £100,000 in damages and a court order to halt sales of infringing Flamo ovens. The UK Intellectual Property Office also ruled Foshan Hanshi’s registered designs invalid. Ooni, founded in 2012, says the rulings reinforce its commitment to protecting its award-winning designs. TH IN
🎯 15 startups have graduated from Glasgow-based Infinity G deeptech accelerator (a collaboration between the University of Glasgow and the Smart Things Accelerator Centre), which supports companies in AI, quantum computing, biotech, robotics, and more. Companies in the first cohort included Glanadair (cold plasma decontamination, AevaSpec (radiation detection systems), Flora Wind (SME-focused wind turbines), ForceBiology (drug assessment), Hoofsmart (micro-doppler radar system for assessing cattle lameness), Orthovis (bone visualisation for surgeons), Quantcore (AI market trading analysis), RX Watt (long range wireless power), Scotia Biotech (portable concussion diagnostic device), SepSense (sepsis early diagnosis), and Unravel Health (women’s hormone monitoring device). FS DGT
🌐 London and Aberdeen-based Restrata, a resilience software platform serving global enterprises, has secured investment from Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) to accelerate product development, expand AI-powered features, and grow in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. SBN
💰 ESG360°, London and Glasgow-based fintech firm (AI-powered ESG compliance) has secured a £1 million grant from Scottish Enterprise to expand its Glasgow office, creating 30+ jobs. SS DGT
🏆 The Scottish Government’s CivTech programme has awarded £9 million to 14 AI projects tackling public sector challenges. Innovations include AI for firefighter safety, automated teacher support, drone-based wildlife monitoring, and business growth tools. Full list here. DGT
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The pitfalls and the possibilities of spinouts
By Robert Gelb in partnership with Johnston Carmichael
Last time we dove into the advantages that university spinouts have in comparison with other types of startups. In the final part of my conversation with Shaun Millican, Partner and Head of Business Advisory and Technology & Life Sciences at Johnston Carmichael, I wanted to dive into the common founder mentalities and pitfalls he's seen in his years working with new spinouts.
Academic vs Commercial Grounding
One of the primary challenges is the difference in origin between academic and commercial endeavours. Shaun points out that, "A typical startup often begins with the problem, and they're focused on creating a commercial fix for that problem. An academic, on the other hand, most likely started their research to prove something or to build on what was there before". Because of this, the understanding of what's required when it comes to commercialisation can be mismatched.
Blindspots when it comes to knowing what's needed
The (admittedly biased) stereotype I have of a research-focused academic is one that has an over-confidence which blinds their lack of understanding of what's required to get something off the ground commercially. Shaun disagrees with this as an over generalisation, but admits that for some, it can be challenging because, "they know they're clever. Their assumption is that they absolutely know their stuff and this research is typically their baby." The vast majority of academic founders and teams he's experienced, however, are more open-minded, especially the earlier-career ones. "They're more open to the idea that they don't know everything. In fact, they know they don't know everything, which is a great place to start."
And a big part of what they most likely don't know, are the challenges they face commercialising their product (for all the reasons we spoke about in part 1). Bringing on a commercial cofounder is an obvious solution, however underplaying and misunderstanding the scope and need of this person often reveals the lack of commercial awareness.
"If they don't recognise the need to bring in commercial experience and crucially to incentivise that commercial experience," Shaun says, "frankly, they won't get off the start line."
Incentivisation
Shaun explained the disconnect that some academic founders showed when discussing incentivisation for prospective commercial cofounders. "We sometimes see academics understanding the need to incentivise once success has been delivered, but fail to see the need to incentivise someone to give up a successful job to join a high-risk startup, and go on a ten to 15 year journey hoping for a liquidity event."
It's something that can often kill spinouts before they've even begun. "When I see this," Shaun says, "I'm asking if it will spend another 12, 18, 24 months being in the university, not spinning out because they can't actually build a commercial team around this."
Misunderstanding of value as it pertains to equity
Equity and especially how that equity is distributed, while not limited to spinouts, is also often a sticking point that can harm both the initial launch and the ongoing growth of the business.
"The first difficult conversation you're going to have, even before you talk about the university's stake, is about equity," Shaun explains. How is the equity going to be split? What are the determining factors here, and what's everyone bringing to the table? "We see situations where a senior academic who is likely continuing to remain in the university with their prestigious career and salary and pension to match, who will have perhaps a paid consulting contract for a day a week, will sometimes overstate their equity position."
Like it or not, the success of any startup, including spinouts, lies in the execution of the commercial strategy. It's about what's to come versus what's already happened. Equity conversations are often challenging because of the fact that the majority of equity is about securing what's required for future performance, not a reward for past contributions. "Once a company has been spun-out," Shaun notes, "the academic founder isn't necessarily driving the pace anymore. It may be driven by a board, or a CEO, or investors, and the academic founder may only be providing support from a technical consulting basis and who isn't even in the business day-to-day."
So what does Shaun suggest? "Be mindful of these pitfalls and be open to embracing what you don't know. Ask lots of questions and always think about what you're not aware of. Be open-minded and clear-eyed about what and crucially who it's going to take to make this endeavour successful."
Through understanding the common issues that arise when academic founders make that transition into the commercial world, you can have the conversations you need to in order to make that spinout a success. Because if a spinout is able to figure these challenges out, and when great matches between academic and commercial founders are present, the results can be impressive. "If the team is aligned on pace, who sets it when, and who's best placed to drive the business forward, then post-spinout, the acceleration can be quicker than other kinds of startups," Shaun says. It's all about alignment.
This is part three of a series of articles covering university spinouts, written in partnership with Johnston Carmichael. The first part, about the challenges and opportunities faced by spinouts can be found here. The second, about the advantages that spinouts have over other types of startups can be found here. Johnston Carmichael is a full-service accountancy and business advisory firm that works with founders and startups (including many spinouts) from pre-launch through exit, and beyond. Find out more information or get in touch with Shaun and the team for a chat here.
📅 Events
🌎 18/02, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Globally Connecting Conference: The Globally Connecting Scotland conference is a premier gathering designed to inspire, connect, and empower senior executives, investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers. With a philosophy rooted in the values of the Scottish Business Network, the event will focus on leadership, innovation, international collaboration, and climate action, alongside additional dynamic activities to foster networking and collaboration. MORE INFO
🚀 18/02, 10:00 🗺️ TBA: Marketing Bootcamp for service-based businesses: Want to solve your Marketing headaches? Reach a bigger audience, create a bigger impact? This FREE Marketing Bootcamp is for you! MORE INFO
💰 18/02, 10:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Investor Ready Workshop: Scaling innovative businesses through investment: Join Potter Clarkson and Thorntons for this in-person workshop to get investor ready at Barclays Eagle Labs Glasgow. MORE INFO
♀ 18/02, 18:30 🗺️ Online: Women in Business - Online Programme: A 5-week pre-start and early-stage online business programme for women. MORE INFO
💼 19/02, 10:00 🗺️ Wigtown: Business & Community Networking (Wigtown): Join us at a town near you for one of our informal networking sessions, open to all! Find out all about SOSE and what we can do for you. MORE INFO
🦾 19/02, 17:00 🗺️ Online: AI for Marketing 101: This online event is designed for tech startup founders, co-founders, or small teams aiming to kickstart their marketing efforts or explore how to embed AI into their current marketing processes to support a lean approach. MORE INFO
🌐 19/02, 17:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: From Aberdeen to the World:Raising $65m+, Scaling Globally & Exiting- Chris Herd: Startup Grind Aberdeen is excited to welcome Chris Herd, one of Aberdeen’s most successful entrepreneurs, for an exclusive fireside chat. Chris will share his inspiring journey of building a global business, raising over $65 million in funding, scaling internationally, and successfully exiting to pursue new ventures. MORE INFO
🥼 20/02, 10:00 🗺️ Alloa: MedTech Expo: Accelerating MedTech Innovations and Investments: This event will bring together a diverse range of professionals, companies, researchers, innovators, and both new and established tech-led businesses from the Medtech sector. Attendees will include key players in medical device manufacturing, healthcare technology, digital health solutions, and biotech. MORE INFO
💼 20/02, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Online Office Hours with HubSpot for Startups: Meet with HubSpot for Startups for personalised advice on how HubSpot for Startups can help you! MORE INFO
🎙️ 20/02, 18:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Bits & Bytes Series - Andy McMahon & Mark Wilkinson: Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to learn and connect with like-minded individuals in our vibrant & growing AI community! MORE INFO
🧠 21/02, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Good Ideas: Catalyst: Catalyst is the perfect way to explore the potential of a new idea for social or environmental change. If you’re an early-stage innovator, in need of a change of direction or just passionate about finding a way to address a cause, Good Ideas: Catalyst is an entry point for you to explore the feasibility of a new idea. MORE INFO
💪 22/02, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Makers gonna make - Episode 5: Our monthly event puts emphasis on building, hacking and tinkering with other like-minded makers, followed by an opportunity to present what you did in a community where we help each other, we value honest feedback and help hold each other accountable. MORE INFO
🥂 25/02, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Co-Work Club Edinburgh: Tired of the home office grind but not ready for the daily commute? Say goodbye to crowded coffee shops and the endless search for a quiet Zoom spot. We've got the solution: Welcome to Co-Work Club @ Kimpton Hotel, Edinburgh. MORE INFO
⚡ 25/02, 10:00 🗺️ TBA: Marketing Bootcamp for product-based businesses: Want to solve your marketing headaches? Reach a bigger audience, create a bigger impact? This marketing bootcamp is for you! MORE INFO
🎯 25/02, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: Dundee Data Meetup: February 2025: Whether you're a data practitioner, a student, or simply interested in how data shapes our world, come along and be part of our growing community! MORE INFO
🤔 26/02, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Understanding co-ops (online): Learn how becoming a co-op could help your business thrive at this free online workshop hosted by Co-operative Development Scotland. MORE INFO
💡 26/02, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Inside Track: Tips and tricks from PR pros: Get the insider knowledge you need to make the media notice your growing business. MORE INFO
🤝 26/02, 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
🚀 27/02, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: ITSX Summit 2025 – Edinburgh: The Summit hosts 280+ IT Leaders, 20+ speakers and 15+ exhibitors. The programme will contextualise the evolution of the service desk and the future of customer experience and IT support with live presentations looking at actionable ways to improve process, operations, observability, and customer experience. MORE INFO
📈 27/02, 10:00 🗺️ Hawick: Expand your Ecommerce business via Online Marketplaces - Hawick: Learn how you can take an ecommerce business to the next level by registering for this one day event. MORE INFO
🩺 27/02, 10:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Barclays Eagle Labs at One Tech Hub Drop in Clinic Feb 2025: Drop in and let’s have an open discussion about your business goals and ambition and learn more about how your ecosystem manager here at Eagle Labs can support you and your business here at One Tech Hub. MORE INFO
💼 27/02, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Online Office Hours with Lawrie: Managing and Protecting Your IP: Meet with a Director and Patent Attorney from Lawrie for direct, personalised advice on IP! MORE INFO
🎯 27/02, 10:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Barclays Eagle Labs at One Tech Hub Drop in Clinic Feb 2025: Drop in and let’s have an open discussion about your business goals and ambition and learn more about how your ecosystem manager here at Eagle Labs can support you and your business here at One Tech Hub. MORE INFO
💡 27/02, 18:00 🗺️ Dumfries and Online: Ideation Workshop – Hybrid Event: Got the seed of an idea for a tech startup but want more guidance on what to do next? Got too many ideas to choose from and want to narrow it down? Not got an idea at all, but are interested in how you could find one? Join us for this interactive workshop which will show you how ‘falling in love with the problem’ can set you up to create an amazing tech solution. MORE INFO
🤝 28/02, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Founder Friday Coworking: Join us for a day of networking and inspiration! this is your chance to connect with fellow founders, share ideas, and maybe even spark your next big project. MORE INFO
🎯 04/03, 09:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Female Founders Co-Working Club: Stay inspired, motivated and connected throughout 2025 with the Female Founder Co-Working Club at Glasgow Eagle Labs! MORE INFO
👨💻 04/03, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: nocode.scot meetup #18: This month we'll be hearing from Liam Sanipe, who'll be joining us remotely from Canada to talk about build an AI-powered personal assistant, AI Jim! MORE INFO
🤝 04/03, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech Meetup Edinburgh - March 2025: The Tech Meetup is a monthly excuse for the tech community around Scotland to network, learn and share new ideas! Enjoy informative tech presentations from your peers, hear about exciting community projects and create new connections. MORE INFO
☕ Unfiltered: Open to everyone, join CodeBase to connect with members of the local tech community. Come for a coffee, networking and build connections, and stay for the hotdesking!
⛾ 05/03, 08:30 🗺️ Inverness, MORE INFO
⛾ 05/03, 08:30 🗺️ Stirling, MORE INFO
⛾ 05/03, 08:30 🗺️ Aberdeen, MORE INFO
💻 06/03, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Online Office Hours with Archangels: Meet with an Investment Manager from Archangels for direct, personalised advice! MORE INFO
🥂 06/03, 10:00 🗺️ Gretna: International Women's Day Celebration: A full-day event to inspire, connect & empower women to drive change and accelerate action. Don’t miss it! MORE INFO
💼 07/03, 15:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Office Hours: Get Funding Ready with Hybridan: Meet with Hybridan to find out how to get ready for funding! MORE INFO
🌱 10/03, 09:30 🗺️ Duns: Seeding Enterprise across our Communities workshop - Duns: Two-day course aimed at exploring early stages of starting a business aimed at women and under-represented groups in our communities. MORE INFO
🌿 10/03, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Greentech Futures: GreenHack: No hacking, tech or environmental experience is required, just a curiosity to learn and an interest in coming up with creative solutions to some of the most pressing environmental issues we are facing today. MORE INFO
🌱 12/03, 09:30 🗺️ Dumfries: Seeding Enterprise across our Communities workshop - Dumfries: Two-day course aimed at exploring early stages of starting a business aimed at women and under-represented groups in our communities. MORE INFO
🧩 13/03, 08:30 🗺️ Perth: Perth Tech Mornings: This is an opportunity to meet and connect with people from across the tech ecosystem. We like to run these events with minimal structure, to allow conversations to flow naturally over a coffee. You don’t need a background in tech to join us, we welcome anyone who is interested in chatting to our community and learning more. MORE INFO
💼 13/03, 10:00 🗺️ Online: Office Hours with Potter Clarkson: In this 25 minute one-to one session, you will receive direct, personalised advice from an IP Attorney for Potter Clarkson. MORE INFO
🌐 13/03, 10:00 🗺️ Dumfries: Selling Internationally via Ecommerce - Dumfries: Whether you are starting out, or expanding your retail operations, there are multiple opportunities to going global. MORE INFO
🥃 13/03, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Barclays Eagle Labs and CodeBase Quarterly Pub Quiz (March 2025): Join us for this month's pub quiz - bringing together the CodeBase and Edinburgh community for a bit of fun! MORE INFO
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire