Since Informatics Ventures began in 2008, a lot has changed in the Scottish start-up scene. There were no accelerators or competitions like Converge Challenge offering structured support to fledgling companies and enticing cash prize injections. Instead, the entrepreneurs of the noughties had to seek out their own mentors through networking or with the support of Scottish Enterprise – the only real player at that time. To grow their businesses they had to turn to the Angels early. So what has changed and how did we get to where we are today?
There's no denying #Entrepreneurship and #Start-ups are current buzz words but what was the catalyst for their prevalence? The good old US of A! With the objective of spreading the entrepreneurial spirit Cambridge-MIT was formed with Cambridge as the vehicle to disseminate this spirit throughout Universities and local networks. The union was a best practice model that other regions were intended to, and did, replicate. At Informatics Ventures, the Edinburgh-Stanford Link was established in line with this and presented setting up your own business as a viable option for students graduating. The Silicon Valley Speaker Series was developed in tandem to inspire the entrepreneurs of the future and is still in existence today, albeit under the banner of iVTuesday.
As the years went by the rising number of entrepreneurs created sufficient demand for the eco-system and support network that we now see today. It's hard to pinpoint is the origin of the cultural shift that has led to today's #GoDo attitude, but what is clear is the amazing array of opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop their ideas in accelerators such as Entrepreneurial Spark to more recently established UP focusing solely on techmedia start-ups. In addition to accelerators you have the likes of Codebase and Tech Cube who not only provide the necessary office space for companies post accelerator stage, but also foster a community among fellow entrepreneurs who can learn from shared experiences and ultimately raise the bar for all. Throw in the support from Scottish Edge, Scottish Enterprise SMART awards and cash prizes from the likes of Converge Challenge and entrepreneurs now have many more options to bootstrap their businesses before seeking funding.
So what's next? Well the new buzzword is #scale-ups. Really it's just a natural progression along the life cycle of a business but it's been gaining a lot more attention following the recent report by Sherry Coutu on the subject…and the race for unicorns! In line with this Informatics Ventures is also moving into its next phase as it embarks upon an ambitious new three year programme. Recognising that there is now an abundance of high quality support for Scottish start-ups in the earlier phases of their business, we are moving along the growth curve to support Scotland's technology entrepreneurs with established businesses focusing on growth and securing investment. Whether it's seed rounds or A rounds, we have the right platform for you through our flagship investor conference Engage Invest Exploit (EIE) which takes place in Edinburgh on the 14th May and in London in November. We are here to help you move through your business journey and to do that, why not join us on ours?
By Nicola Hogg
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