❤️🩹 Sentinel trauma raise, UK Budget impact for founders, BBB 5 year strategy, New Scottish Gov life science strategy
Happy belated 🏴 St Andrews Day! It’s a pretty brief one this week. Here's your Campfire for the 1st of December, 2025.
💼 Last week, the UK Chancellor announced the government’s Budget. Curious about what it means for founders? Johnston Carmichael has a full analysis of the budget that goes into detail that’s relevant to founders as individuals, and as leaders of tech and life science startups. Read the PDF here.
🌊 Updates
📲 Glasgow-based Sentinel raised £1.2m for its AI trauma-support app, securing investment from Strathclyde University, SFC Capital, and Scottish Enterprise. FS DGT
💰 The British Business Bank has published its new five-year strategy, outlining plans to “prioritise scale-ups, take on greater investment risk, and expand regional access to finance across the UK”. DGT
🏴 The Scottish Government released launched a new life sciences strategy aimed at growing the sector to “£25bn over the next decade”. The plan sets out targeted investment in “personalised medicine, health technology, medical devices, and net-zero-aligned innovation”, and emphasises a “triple helix” model linking industry, academia, and the public sector to “drive economic growth and healthcare impact”. Read the strategy doc here. IN
📣 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.
🏴 The New Story of Scotland is seeking 12 Scottish businesses, from early-stage startups to established companies, to feature in a new filmed series showcasing the ideas and people shaping Scotland’s next chapter. Applications are now open.
👭 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
☕️ Unfiltered Series: Open to everyone, join CodeBase to connect with members of the local tech community. Come for a coffee, networking, & build connections!
☕ 02/12, 09:00 🗺️ Inverness: MORE INFO
☕ 02/12, 09:00 🗺️ Dumfries: MORE INFO
☕ 02/12, 09:00 🗺️ Stirling: MORE INFO
☕ 03/12, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: MORE INFO
☕ 03/12, 08:30 🗺️ Aberdeen: MORE INFO
☕ 04/12, 09:00 🗺️ Dundee: MORE INFO
☕ 04/12, 09:00 🗺️ Glasgow: MORE INFO
🧩 02/12, 17:30, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech Meetup Edinburgh 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
🍺 03/12, 19:00, 🗺️ Aberdeen: People, Planet, Pint: Sustainability Meetup
A relaxed evening with founders, community leaders, and climate-focused professionals in Aberdeen. MORE INFO
🎄 04/12, 19:30, 🗺️ Glasgow: Tech MeetUp - Christmas Party Our December event will be a chance for everyone in the Glasgow Tech Community to come along and enjoy some downtime with like-minded people to end the year of events in style. MORE INFO
🎄 04/12, 19:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Christmas Drinks Enjoy a glass (or two) of mulled wine, connect with fellow Swurfers, and get into the holiday spirit. It’s the perfect mix of networking, laughter, and a little Christmas magic. MORE INFO
💻 08/12, 17:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Blockchain Scotland Meetup An industry-focused evening bringing together Scotland’s blockchain developers, researchers, and tech leaders. Connect, learn, and enjoy dinner and drinks with the community. MORE INFO
🎤 09/12, 10:00, 🗺️ Glasgow: Techscaler Showcase A full-day event spotlighting founders from the Catalyst accelerator with panels on AI-native startups, scaling lessons, and community insights. MORE INFO
🍸 10/12, 19:30, 🗺️ Edinburgh: End of Year Holiday Party, A festive night with food, drinks, music, and a chance for Scotland’s startup and tech community to celebrate the year together. MORE INFO
✨ 10/12, 18:00, 🗺️ Glasgow: TecTonic Night Summit: Year-End Exchange
A year-end creative and innovation meetup at The Dockyard Social, bringing together founders, makers, mentors, and the wider tech community for talks, networking, and a celebration of Scottish innovation. MORE INFO
🎉 10/12, 19:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: The Ultimate Holiday Party: Startups, Investors & Friends an end-of-year holiday bash bringing together founders, investors, and the wider tech community for drinks, music, and festive chaos. MORE INFO
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire