Smith & Williamson Power 100
We’re kicking off this month’s good news on somewhat of a personal note, with the announcement that Scottish EDGE CEO, Evelyn McDonald, has been recognised in the Smith & Williamson Power 100,
which celebrates those who help shape policy, champion, mentor, support and promote entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in the UK. The already meaningful accolade is given greater sincerity in that together with Fresh Business Thinking, Smith & Williamson
accepted nominations from the entrepreneurial community, and as such, Evelyn was recognised by her industry peers.
Commenting on the recognition, Evelyn said, “It’s an honour to be included in the Smith & Williamson Power 100 alongside so many inspiring people and even better to have been put forward by some of the businesses I’ve had the pleasure of supporting
over the last 25 years”.
A Squared deal
Scottish EDGE Round Two winner, TV Squared, who delivers TV analytics to advertisers in a $202 billion market, has raised $6.5 million (£5.2m) in a funding deal led
by Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital.
The firm’s technology, which is said to improve advertising campaign efficiency by up to 80 percent, has a customer base spanning more than 50 countries. Founder and chief executive Calum Smeaton said: “Global TV advertising is continuing to grow at an
astounding rate because TV is the most effective marketing channel.
“With 87 percent of viewers watching with second-screen devices nearby, TV is now even more powerful as a primary driver of digital activity. This funding will help us continue to provide advertisers with the technology they need to optimise TV for the
greatest response.
Care Sourcer gets slice of £20bn care market
Wasting no time following their Scottish EDGE Round 9 win in December 2016, Edinburgh based health tech startup, Care Sourcer has
secured a dealwith NHS England as it aims to “disrupt” the £20 billion market.
The deal was announced by the NHS England Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Healthcare, which has given a total of eight companies £700,000 to “develop innovations to increase efficiency and
relieve pressure in NHS acute care settings”.
Care Sourcer Co-Founder Andrew McGinley said; “The NHS contract is an exciting development for the company and comes at a time when we are actively engaged in securing the first round of external funding to take us into our next phase of growth.”
SMEs Set to Benefit from Appointedd and AEVI Strategic Partnership
Serial EDGE Alumni good news-er, Appointedd, is making headlines again with the announcement of
a strategic partnership with global payment transaction provider, AEVI, which will make Appointedd’s online scheduling and booking system available to over 500,000 SMEs worldwide through a range of banks and credit
card providers.
Commenting on the recent partnership, CEO Leah Hutcheon, said, “Through strategic partnerships with aggregators like AEVI and ABCN, who we partnered with last year, we plan to grow Appointedd as a truly global brand that works with smart people to power
businesses worldwide with the best scheduling technology.”
Pick a fuel, any fuel
Scottish EDGE Alumni, Uuni, who found success in round 8 of the competition, decided not to sit back on its gains and instead opted to step things up a notch. With four years of research and development in the
bag, the Edinburgh based start-up launched a crowdfunding campaign in support of its new product, the Uuni Pro – an evolution of the
first-generation wood-fired oven that additionally gives owners the option of using wood pellets, charcoal, or gas.
“We are delighted to say that within 4 hours of launching, we reached our $50,000 funding goal, and we’re now sitting at over $300,000 – 600+ % percent of target!” said Uuni founder Kristian Tapaninaho “We’ve been absolutely blown away by the response
to Uuni Pro from customers, press and retailers around the world.”
£1m raised in seed funding round
Glasgow-based marketing tech startup and Scottish EDGE Round Six winner, Adimo, has closed a £1m seed round based
off its work with Nestléand PepsiCo, with investors including; Scottish Investment Bank (the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise), ESM Investments, Galvanise
Capital and Patrick Griffith – co-founder and ex-chief executive of Havas Work Club.
Founder and chief executive of Adimo Richard Kelly said, “Our technology shortens the path to purchase, putting brands in baskets and provides behavioural data about customer decision-making to clients.”
Choose light!
Round Eight Alumni, Glasgow-based Blind Spot Gear, has hit the big screen after its highly revered lighting technology,
the lightweight Scorpion, was used in the production of the critically acclaimed T2 Trainspotting, having already been used
by the BBC, Sky Sports and National Geographic – as well as the hit television show Outlander.
Blind Spot Gear Co-Founder, Billy Campbell, said: “To have been involved in helping the filmmakers create the look and style they wanted for T2 Trainspotting has been an honour. No other lighting is as portable or as flexible, which is why they were so
popular on the production.”
Entrepreneur of the moment
Featuring second-time in a row in our good newsletter for an award win, the team at Glasgow-based Beauty Kitchen are celebrating after founder Jo-Anne Chidley received Entrepreneurial Spark Glasgow’s
– Entrepreneur of the Moment Award. The award recognises those who have built a viable new product or service which has the potential to gain
international recognition, and that have shown sheer determination, dedication and an ability for identifying and capitalising on small opportunities that can return big results.
Jo joined Entrepreneurial Spark’s Glasgow Hatchery after winning Scottish EDGE in 2014. Watch Jo detail her inspiring journey in our new video case study HERE.
Road testing a £1.2m funding round
Alex Papanikolaou, who won Scottish EDGE in Round 6 with his company Freedom One Life, has turned to Scottish EDGE supporting partner Johnston Carmichael’s
corporate finance director, Lyn Calder, to help complete R&D of his revolutionary wheelchair, in a £1.2 million funding round.
Alex, who has athetoid cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair on a daily basis, founded Freedom One Life in 2013 after finding that traditional power chairs fell short for anyone looking to live an active life. Having overseen the production of a prototype
on which he has personally covered more than 2,000 kilometres, Alex said that he had given it a “really good road test” and is ready to move to user trials involving 10 other people.
Good luck Alex!
That’s all from this month’s good news round-up. Something we’ve missed? Help us keep up to date with all the latest and greatest achievements of our inspiring alumni by sending news and stories to info@scottishedge.com.
Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or by subscribing
to our newsletter.
