In the picture, left to right: Joy Lewis, founder of Adopt an Intern; Andrew Holloway, Head of Entrepreneurial Taxes at Johnston Carmichael; Zoi Kantounatou, Co-founder of FutureX
- One tech entrepreneur will win a top prize package, which includes a funded place on the FutureX Silicon Valley Accelerate Programme.
- FutureX has partnered with Johnston Carmichael and Adopt An Intern, with additional backing from IBM and STV, to give the overall winner over £200,000 of business support.
- On October 31st, three finalists will pitch against each other on the main stage at Startup Summit 2018.
- Previous winners of the Startup Summit Competition include Cameron Graham, CEO and Founder of StoriiCare, and Tarryn Gorre, CEO and Founder of Kafoodle.
FutureX have today opened applications for the annual Startup Summit Competition for UK-based tech entrepreneurs. Startups making it to the final will pitch on the main stage at Startup Summit 2018 on October 31st, going head to head for the top prize of a funded place on the Silicon Valley Accelerate Programme and over £200,000 worth of business support from IBM, STV, Adopt An Intern and Johnston Carmichael.
Each year, FutureX accepts a cohort of rising tech leaders on their Silicon Valley Accelerate Programme, where they are given the opportunity to connect with some of the global players in the tech industry and pitch to potential investors. In previous years, delegates have met with leaders from brands including Google and Facebook and investors including DFJ Ventures, Y-Combinator, Silicon Valley Bank and Rocketspace.
Previous winners of the competition include Cameron Graham, CEO and founder of StoriiCare, and Tarryn Gorre, CEO and founder of Kafoodle, who said of the programme:
SVA was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both the company and me. It has allowed me to be a better leader and to implement my learnings from a valuable week into the day-to-day running of Kafoodle. - Tarryn Gorre, CEO and founder of Kafoodle, 2017 Winner of the Startup Summit Competition
The competition semi-final will be hosted by Johnston Carmichael, who have joined Startup Summit as a gold sponsor for a second consecutive year. As Scotland’s largest independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, JC has worked with some of the country’s most innovative and high growth businesses. JC will provide all semi-finalists with a free consultation, and coach the three chosen finalists on their pitch. Made up of over 700 staff, Johnston Carmichael act for over 14,000 SMEs including past finalists of the Startup Summit Competition.
Andrew Holloway, Head of Entrepreneurial Taxes at Johnston Carmichael said: “Our specialists have a wealth of technical and industry expertise and advise start-ups and scale ups at all stages of their growth journey. We’re really looking forward to this year’s competition and getting to know the entrants who help showcase the world-class tech ecosystem we have here in Scotland.”
FutureX has also partnered with Adopt An Intern to give the three finalists a recruitment package worth £1,500. AAI is a not-for-profit company specialising in graduate recruitment with social mobility and inclusion at its core. They have facilitated over 1450 paid internships in 900 businesses cross-sector since 2010.
Commenting on the partnership, Adopt An Intern CEO and founder, Joy Lewis, said:
“Over the last few years, we’ve watched FutureX grow into an incredible force for good in the business community in Scotland. As we both promote the importance of social impact in an entrepreneurial mindset, it became clear that we should transform our admiration of each other’s work into a more formal partnership. We’re thrilled to be working to support the Startup Summit competition finalists to grow their teams with talent as diverse as their businesses.”
Zoi Kantounatou, co-founder of FutureX, said:
“At FutureX, we know a key part of success comes from finding the right people to help you along the way, whether that’s through financial advice, recruitment or any other aspect of business. Every business supporting and sponsoring this competition is championing a values-driven approach in their respective field, and we’ve personally seen the benefits of that. We couldn’t ask for more aligned partners to help us host this year’s Startup Summit Competition.”
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