Tag: entrepreneurs

University supported companies celebrate EDGE Awards success

Innovators to share in £150K prize fund and other business growth support measures

A host of University of Edinburgh students and alumni who have founded their own startup companies are celebrating after taking honours at this year’s Scottish EDGE Awards.

Xiaoyan Ma, founder of Danu Robotics, an innovative business focused on developing sustainable technological solutions for the benefit of the environment, was named among this year’s main award winners. The company secures £75K in grant funding to accompany its award.

Three other company founders, which have also been supported by Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the University’s commercialisation service, were named as Young EDGE winners. They include Alex Hodson of Podspectrix; Niall McGrath of Robocean; and Elena Höge of Yaldi Games.

Meanwhile Ioannis Stasinopoulos of Prozymi Biolabs, a further EI-supported startup, was named as a Wildcard EDGE award winner. Between them, the four companies will share a further £45K in grant funding along with their awards.

The annual Scottish EDGE Awards, aimed at identifying and supporting Scotland’s up-and-coming, innovative, high-growth entrepreneurial talent, recognises and supports entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Funded by the Hunter Foundation, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and private donors, the competition is delivered twice annually and has to date supported 395 early-stage Scottish businesses with over £15m in award funding.

The winners from this year’s Scottish EDGE Awards will share in more than £150K ingrants and benefit from other forms of support and mentoring to help them maximise their growth aspirations.

John Lonsdale, Head of Enterprise Services from Edinburgh Innovations said: “We congratulate all the University of Edinburgh students and alumni in their success at this year’s Scottish EDGE Awards.

“We are delighted to have supported these emerging companies, all of which are focused on developing innovative solutions to some of the key challenges facing society.

“As an organisation committed to helping University of Edinburgh startups reach their full potential, Edinburgh Innovations is proud of its role in supporting entrepreneurs who are driving economic growth in Scotland and beyond.”

Applications open for EBS Incubator

Edinburgh Business School helping support entrepreneurs

  • Applications are now being accepted for the Edinburgh Business School Incubator
  • The scheme is designed to provide early stage entrepreneurs with office facilities and expert advice to advance their ideas
  • Deadline for applicants is Monday 13 June 2022

It has helped entrepreneurs take the next step in their careers and now the Edinburgh Business School (EBS) Incubator at Heriot-Watt University is back for another year!

Applications are being accepted from early-stage entrepreneurs looking to access facilities and a suite of expert support and advice to advance their ideas.

The EBS Incubator, provides specialist, one-to-one mentorship, free desk space as well as dedicated training and workshops to encourage, support and develop entrepreneurship.  

And against a backdrop of rising inflation, applicants will be pleased to learn that there are no costs involved. Their only financial obligation is to fund their own Public Liability insurance.  

A space in the Incubator is for one year although there may be an option to extend.

Anyone can apply, providing they are not a full-time undergraduate or taught postgraduate.

Professor Laura Galloway is leading the Business Incubator at EBS. She says there has never been a more important time to encourage growth in the sector. “The cost of living crisis and rising inflation has created a perfect storm among small and medium sized enterprises,” she said.

“To access the support needed to help drive forward these ventures, which are vitally important to the UK economy, means there has never been a more important time for dedicated schemes, such as our EBS Incubator, to be made available.”

Since its launch in 2018, the EBS Incubator has assisted more than 50 companies and played a pivotal role in helping participants access grants and other finance and refine their offerings.

Professor Galloway, adds: “The Incubator’s aim is to create a diverse community of new-start firms and provide them with support that would help them take their business ideas and ambitions to the next stage.

“That’s why today I am calling on all fledgling entrepreneurs who would benefit from the dedicated, tailored support, to get in touch.”

Among the current Incubees include the digital communications platform, Tecive, whose Director, Mael Abgrall, spoke of the benefits of the scheme, saying: “The incubator helped us reach the next stage for our start-up, greatly improved our focus and helped us take the steps to grow our business.

“Additionally this was a great opportunity to meet, work and get feedback from like-minded people.”

For further details or to apply visit the Edinburgh Business School website.

The deadline for applications is noon on Monday 13 June 2022. 

Applications will be considered by a committee who will decide which businesses are shortlisted to give a five-minute pitch explaining their business and how the incubator will benefit them.

Opportunity for food and drink students to THRIVE

New and future food and drink entrepreneurs are invited to pitch their business ideas for the chance to win a free place on a weekend interactive programme.

Applications are now open for the two sessions which are part of THRIVE – a collaborative initiative launched by Queen Margaret University, Abertay University and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) to support sustainable growth in the country’s food and drink sector.

There are up to 60 places available on the online Saturday workshops in November which will bring together expertise from all three institutions, as well as external industry professionals.

They will help students and recent graduates gain an understanding of the skills and knowledge they need to start a business in the sector – whether that be offering new food and drink products or a service to the industry.

Dr Carol Langston, Reader in Rural Entrepreneurship at SRUC, said: “This programme is an ideal opportunity for a student or recent graduate to really explore their business idea and commence planning their start-up journey. 

“It is also an invaluable occasion to build their personal network in the Food and Drink sector – which is vital to helping to build a successful business.”

Dr Jon Wilkin, of Abertay University, said: “These workshops will be hugely valuable for students and recent graduates looking to get into the food and drink sector.

“With COP26 coming to Glasgow this year, the eyes of the world will be on our approach to sustainability, and this project is a great example of an initiative that can help new businesses or entrepreneurs set up ventures with climate change in mind.”

Miriam Smith, Innovation and Enterprise Manager at Queen Margaret University, said: “Venturing into the world of entrepreneurship is an exciting but daunting prospect for anyone, especially when funding and knowledge is limited.

“So many business ideas don’t even get off the ground. We want to ensure our graduates have the very best chance of success and are equipped to develop their business idea so they can turn it into reality.

“THRIVE will provide students with an outstanding insight into the food and drink industry by equipping them with the essential skills for product development along with  marketing, legislative, and business knowledge that will be essential in executing their vision and creating a sustainable food business.”

THRIVE is aimed at third and fourth-year students, as well as recent graduates, with applicants asked to pitch their ideas as part of the process.

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/THRIVEApplication or for more information email: foodanddrink@sruc.ac.uk.

Business accelerator supports young Scottish entrepreneurs by offering £250,000 in startup grants

A business accelerator that supports budding entrepreneurs is offering £250,000 to young people across Scotland who want to grow a digital business. 

The sought-after scheme from TwinklHive provides grants and mentorship to individuals aged 18 to 24 and enables young people to commit and pursue entrepreneurship as a full-time career path and make their business dreams a reality.  

The combination of funding and dedicated support on offer has been designed to provide a unique educational experience and equip successful applicants with the knowledge and skills to grow successful and sustainable businesses.

To apply, the young entrepreneurs must have a validated concept for a technology-enabled business and a clear vision. Their idea should also be focused on solving a real problem for their customers, as the scholarship is looking to develop the next mission driven founders and cultivate startups that will make a real difference to society. 

Each successful applicant will receive a grant of up to £40,000. The scholarship is a full-time position that is set to run for six months, with the opportunity to apply for follow-on investment from the TwinklHive accelerator at the end of this period. 

The applicants are not required to pay back the grant, which also covers the founding team’s salaries of up to £20,000 for the six month period.

Set up in 2019, TwinklHive was created by the entrepreneur Jonathan Seaton, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of the global educational publisher Twinkl. Jonathan started Twinkl with his wife Susie Seaton in their spare bedroom over ten years ago. The business now operates in over 200 countries and regions and has over 790 team members based at its offices in Sheffield and around the world. 

Since its launch, TwinklHive has supported a variety of mission-led founders from startups in the tech sector, including EdTech, FinTech and HealthTech. The accelerator is working to continually extend its support to the startup ecosystem more widely, including assisting and supporting young and aspiring entrepreneurs with their scholarship scheme.

Alongside the non-repayable grant, candidates will receive mentorship and support from Jonathan and the current startup founders from within the Hive. Candidates will also gain access to the accelerator’s expansive business network. All support and mentorship can be accessed virtually to suit candidate’s locations.  

Jonathan Seaton, Co-Founder and CEO at Twinkl and TwinklHive, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to now be in a position to offer support and mentorship to young individuals in Scotland.”

 “We have all been living in unprecedented circumstances due to the pandemic. Covid has undoubtedly impacted the job market, and people are looking to find new opportunities and explore new directions as a result.

“For young people who  are looking for a new direction or to pursue their business ideas, it can be an exciting yet daunting time. Through the TwinklHive scholarship we endeavor to support young entrepreneurs looking to take that leap and pursue and grow a business of their own.

“When my wife, Susie and I founded Twinkl,  we experienced first hand the difficulties young entrepreneurs face when trying to get a business venture up and running. It can be difficult to get investment and having advice from people with experience is invaluable. We hope that we can provide the same kind of advice that helped us all those years ago and give people the opportunity to make a difference to their own lives and to others. ”

Amber Jardine, Hive Manager at Twinkl, said: “The scholarship was created to support young people who are passionate about building a sustainable business. I am so pleased that this year we are able to open this opportunity nationwide and I am looking forward to the prospect of working alongside mission-driven entrepreneurs with innovative solutions.”

The scholarship is open to people across the UK and applications are open now. If you or someone you know would like to apply, please email hive@twinkl.co.uk where further information will be provided.

The closing date for applications is Friday 11th June.

For more information about the scholarship and to find the application form visit the TwinklHive blog.

For more information about TwinklHive visit: www.twinkl.co.uk/hive 

Morrisons opens aisles to British entrepreneurs

Morrisons is offering British entrepreneurs a fast-tracked route to a national market through a programme called ‘Growing British Brands’.

The ‘Growing British Brands’ programme will give businesses the potential to sell products in all 497 Morrisons stores as well as listings in other parts of the business including Morrisons.com, Food Boxes and wholesale channels like Amazon.

Morrisons will also offer promotional plans and favourable payment terms to help these businesses scale up.  

To support these emerging British businesses, Morrisons has assembled a team of experts to find brands with game-changing, innovative products that need a helping hand to get to the main stage. 

The team will offer successful applicants to the programme advice and support covering every aspect of retailing, from production to packaging and marketing and logistics.

Entrepreneurs with products ranging from food and drink to beauty and homewares are being encouraged to apply to the ‘Growing British Brands’ programme by clicking on the ‘Supplying Morrisons’ link at morrisons-corporate.com/suppliers.

This formal programme follows a very strong response to a recent call to arms from Morrisons CEO, David Potts, who encouraged British entrepreneurs with the next big thing to get in touch.

David Potts, Morrisons CEO, said: “There are thousands of people with great ideas, but getting them to market at scale is often a long, risky and complicated process.

“Morrisons started with just one shop over 100 years ago and is now one of Britain’s biggest retailers. We know and understand the entrepreneurial spirit and want to play our full part in helping the next generation of British brands quickly reach national distribution.  

“For too long, small businesses have lacked the opportunity and perhaps confidence to scale up a great idea capable of supplying hundreds of stores at serious volumes.  We hope that this programme can provide the support, guidance and confidence for great brands with great products to lift their horizons, to think big and to reach new customers all around Great Britain.”  

Victoria Prentis MP, Food Minister, said: “Our manifesto was clear that we want people, both at home and abroad, to be lining up to buy British.  “The ‘Growing British Brands’ programme will boost small businesses, encouraging them to scale up and reach thousands of potential new customers.

“Our food and drink businesses are renowned for high quality products and standards of animal welfare. They form a core part of our agri-food sector which supports over four million jobs and provides £121 billion to the UK economy. I welcome this announcement by Morrisons to further support entrepreneurs in this vital sector.”  

Morrisons launched its Local Foodmakers programme in 2017, and has since launched over 1,300 products from local foodmakers, growers and producers.  This new programme aims to uncover those suppliers who have the ability to be stocked in stores nationwide. 

The ‘Growing British Brands’ programme launches today at morrisons-corporate.com/suppliers.

Hink Differently!

Scottish entrepreneurs invest DigitalBoost Development Grant to help businesses

Scottish entrepreneurs Lee Fitzpatrick and Jake Murray have joined forces to create a digital enterprise with a difference. Funded with the support of the DigitalBoost Development Grant, Hink is on a mission to help businesses solve real problems, in a post-pandemic era, using the power of creative thinking.  

With the capabilities of supporting business owners and organisations of any size, across any industry, using a diverse mix of creative exercises and business tools, the Hink approach replaces open discussions and brainstorming with a structured process that leads to more ideas, clearer decisions, and better outcomes.  

Lee Fitzpatrick, Co-Founder of Hink, said: “2020 was a year of significant change, where even the smallest challenges have become difficult to navigate.

“We’ve been inspired by the resilient approach taken by business leaders and their teams during this period. Our workshops have been designed to facilitate the clear and creative thinking that is required, right now.” 

Hink’s workshops include Quick Fire Decision Making, Lightning Sprint, Lego Serious Play, and Design Sprint 2.0, provide an unbiased environment for teams to safely express and explore. Using creative problem-solving techniques to ensure that their workshops are interactive, and goal orientated, their aim is to deliver value and clarity for everybody involved. 

Lee continues: “We believe that matching the right person with the right problem, is the key to a successful workshop outcome. That’s why we’re growing a network of workshoppers from across the globe to help solve your business challenges.

“From culture and team building to brand positioning and product development, there’s no business problem we can’t solve thanks to our diverse team of Hinkers.” 

Funded by The Scottish Government in conjunction with Business Gateway, the £10m DigitalBoost Development Grant was launched in 2020, to help businesses do more online and support the Scottish Economy in these challenging times.

The grant was open to all businesses across Scotland who were looking to enhance their service or organisation using digital technology, platforms, and innovation. 

Effective decision making and creative problem solving can accelerate the growth of businesses and the team at Hink are dedicated to facilitating growth and change that will ultimately contribute to better business and a better world.  

Currently, all Hink workshops will be delivered remotely via Zoom through interactive software facilitating an engaging environment, however, the long-term plan is to bring businesses together physically in an inspiring and engaging environment, when it is safe to do so.  

Hink is currently offering free 45-minute support sessions for all businesses across Scotland, providing them with the opportunity to discuss their challenges, meet experienced workshoppers, and explore workshop solutions.

For more information visit www.hink.co 

Edinburgh women part of upsurge in young entrepreneurs starting their own businesses

  • Number of young people (18-30) setting up businesses nearly doubles in last decade
  • Innovate UK’s Young Innovators programme sees 87% increase in applications over last year
  • Data shows young innovators putting energy into health and digital technology ideas

New data released by Innovate UK, points to a dramatic increase in the number of young people setting up their own businesses in the last decade – with the number nearly doubling (98% increase) from 2009 to 2020.

What’s more, despite the pandemic – and in some cases inspired by the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns – numbers continued to jump in 2020, with a 15% increase in the number of young people starting their own businesses from 2019.

This trend mirrors the increased appetite seen by Innovate UK for its support programmes for 18-30 year olds. The Young Innovators Awards, which recognise young people from across the UK with great business ideas who have the potential to become successful entrepreneurs and future leaders in innovation, saw an 87% increase in applications this year.

This growth combined with the high-quality of applications, led Innovate UK to award 64 Young Innovators, double any previous year.

In particular, young innovators are responding to the needs of the pandemic, with a growing number of business ideas for health and in digital technology.

From socially-aware robotic companions for people living in care homes to projects tackling childhood incontinence and arthritis, double the number of this year’s winners had health projects compared to the 2018 competition winners (13% vs 27%).

Similarly, from a project connecting knitting enthusiasts online to an online marketplace where burgenoing gardeners can sell their home-grown produce, an even greater increase was seen in digital, with 31% of the projects in this field, compared to 13% in 2018.

This trend also reflects the latest report from the UK Business Angel’s Association (UKBAA), which found the sectors where Angels were investing most were Healthcare, Digital Health and MedTech, Bio Tech, Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals, Software and FinTech.

The UKBAA report these industries and education technology, e-commerce and gaming have been performing better since the onset of Covid-19 – given their role in helping consumers deal with the many challenges of lockdown.

Young Innovators capitalising on this demand include Iona Mackenzie (26, (ABOVE) from Edinburgh), whose Talk and Grow business aims to take the stress out of finding a therapist with an online matching and booking platform to pair clients with local counsellors and Elena Höge (28, (below) also from Edinburgh), who is creating educational games like Wholesome, a mobile forest school experience that teaches children and adults about nature, including how to forage and cook with wild food.

Reflecting on the start-up journey, sustainability entrepreneur Alex Newnes (27, from Aberystwyth), who is producing a fully degradable and non-toxic alternative to plastic, said, “We started PlantSea Ltd with nothing but passion and an idea.

“Since then, we have won awards, networked, and learned an awful lot along the way! None of us knew what the road would look like for a biotech”.

Musician and founder of online music tuition service Starling Music Academy, Rhiannon Jeffreys (27), from Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, says, “I have been amazed to see how quickly your network can grow, just by having conversations.

“Even people in a completely different sector may be able to put you in touch with someone they know who is in your sector, and I love the idea of being able to do that for others in the future.”

Similarly, Young Innovator Chris Elliot (23, from Reading), creator of Untrapped, a onestop student rental portal, says: “I think the number of new skills you learn as an entrepreneur is surprising. In the last year I’ve gained more skills than any other period of my life.”

Emily Nott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Innovate UK says: “With 2020 proving to be an incredibly difficult year, it is inspiring to see so many young people continuing to take steps to develop their own business ideas and innovations.

“It is this generation of innovators who have the potential to tackle some of the big challenges we’ll face in the wake of pandemic and we must do all we can to support them and to encourage others to follow in their footsteps”.

If you’re an inspiring young innovator, check out how Innovate UK could support you here: https://ktn-uk.org/programme/young-innovators/

Can Do Collective elects Hazel Jane as their new Convener

The Can Do Collective – a connected community of enterprise support organisations and leaders on a mission to build a world-leading entrepreneurial, innovative and creative society – has announced the election of Hazel Jane, who is Entrepreneur Engagement Manager for Tech Nation, as their new convener. 

Elected every two years, the Can Do Collective conveners’ role is to drive momentum for the Can Do Movement across Scotland, building on its reputation as a beacon globally in entrepreneurial eco-systems and supporting the growth of this powerful community of inspiring entrepreneurial leaders, who in turn deliver impact for Scotland.

Hazel Jane commented: “As an entrepreneur engagement manager for Tech Nation covering all of Scotland, my primary role is very much speaking with founders, stakeholders and government as well as liaising with my colleagues across the rest of the UK, to understand what our eco-system looks like on a UK landscape and how we can be doing better, and how we can thrive.

“It is exactly these insights and experiences that I intend to bring to the Collective so that we can continue to support our business community to thrive here.”

Founded upon a shared belief that Scotland has always been a ‘Can Do’ nation, the aim of the community today is to work together to enable entrepreneurs of all kinds to flourish and to prove that by working collaboratively they can increase the odds of success.

Hazel continued: “I am fully committed to genuinely helping with the issues that we are facing in Scotland and the rest of the UK right now.

“Brexit, in particular, has hit businesses in ways that we didn’t imagine. This is something that we, as entrepreneur support organisations will have to think about and hopefully share a lot of knowledge around.

“With regards to the pandemic, I think that there are still a lot of unknowns, and it’s really important to touch on the fact that these challenges aren’t just financial – there is an immense amount of change for business owners and entrepreneurs, who are leading their employees into a world that we don’t yet understand. Successful business recovery in a post-pandemic era is also going to require a new world of working and I hope that we will be front runners, leading by example.

“I believe that the role of the Collective is to share genuine best practise and support one another to get behind movements. For me, this is about being able to reach a huge group of companies that work to drive entrepreneurship and, supporting them with information and advice that will help to drive change and growth from within. Everything that the eco-system is doing is for the greater good of all entrepreneurship in Scotland.”

The Can Do Collective is funded by The Scottish Government and supported by a dedicated team within the independent charity Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation. Made up of over 70 public, private and social enterprise support organisations from across all corners of Scotland, The Collective community represents 16 industry sectors.

Can Do Collective seeks new convener to help build Scotland’s future

The Can Do Collective – a connected community of enterprise support organisations and leaders on a mission to build a world-leading entrepreneurial, innovative and creative society – has announced it has opened applications and nominations as it seeks to elect a new convener. 

Elected every two years, a new Can Do Collective convener will take up the role in February 2021 and will drive momentum for the Can Do Movement across Scotland, building on its reputation as a  beacon globally in entrepreneurial eco-systems and supporting the growth of this powerful community of inspiring entrepreneurial leaders who in turn deliver impact for Scotland.

The Can Do Collective are seeking a convener who demonstrates a supportive, flexible and  strong sense of leadership, community and collaboration, and above all, an ability to bring people on the exciting and inspiring journey ahead for the Can Do Collective and for Scotland. 

Rachael Brown, current Can Do Collective Convener and CEO, The Future Economy Company explains: “Two years ago I took on the role of convener, knowing we had a big journey ahead of us.  In that time, the world around us has changed, and more than ever we need strong, entrepreneurial, fast leadership. 

“The Collective is testimony that a collective approach to impact and activity is possible and exactly what we need in a time of challenge. As we go forward, I would hope that Scotland continues to be a beacon for entrepreneurial spirit.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to be in the role of convener for the Can Do Collective over the past two years.  This is a role that is hugely important, and The Can Do Collective is a powerful economic and societal asset for Scotland.  I have every confidence that we will find the right person who will continue to drive the Collective forward.”

The Can Do Collective is funded by The Scottish Government and supported by a dedicated team within independent charity Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation. Made up of over 60 public, private and social enterprise support organisations from across all corners of Scotland, The Collective community represents 16 industry sectors.

Founded upon a shared belief that Scotland has always been a ‘Can Do’ nation, the aim of the community today is to work together to enable entrepreneurs of all kinds to flourish, and to prove there is greater power and success in working collaboratively. 

The application process for the role of convener is open to all partners of the Can Do Collective.  The closing date for applications is TOMORROW Friday 4th December, and the new convener will begin their role in February 2021.

To find out more, or to apply, visit https://candocollective.com/can-do-convener-applications-for-2021-23/

Helping women entrepreneurs in Scotland launch and grow their businesses

DSL Business Finance Ltd (DSL) has helped 157 female entrepreneurs to set-up and expand their businesses in Scotland in the last three years, with more than 30 per cent of the total money it lends going to women. Continue reading Helping women entrepreneurs in Scotland launch and grow their businesses