2020 has been quite the year - so it came with no shock when we announced in July that we would move Startup Summit, usually held in historical Edinburgh, online.
We were ready to embrace the new challenge! Bruce Walker, Co-founder of FutureX, the team behind Startup Summit, closed up the article with a positive outlook:
“Our entire team at Startup Summit and FutureX, alongside all our partners, stand ready to meet the challenge and use the power of entrepreneurial action to supercharge high-growth, high-impact start-ups and entrepreneurs – no matter where they are in the world – at a time when the world needs sustainable companies that scale." - Bruce Walker, CEO & Co-founder, FutureX
In October, we were delighted to welcome back Sir Tom Hunter and James Watt, Co-founder of BrewDog, to our (virtual) stage!
In the lead-up to the event, we were excited to hear that The Hunter Foundation announced support to finance the Scottish technology ecosystem!
“There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. People think ‘oh my goodness, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and it’s time to hide away’ but it’s not, it’s time to be bold.” - Sir Tom Hunter
On a lighter note, we smiled at the bet James Watt (BrewDog CEO) lost to his wife and were over the moon to hear it hadn’t stopped him from his mission to sustainability.
“BrewDog has recently purchased over 2,000 acres of forest just north of Loch Lomond and intends to plant one million trees as well as returning 550 acres to peatland restoration, which acts as a carbon sink.” - James Wat
Joining the speaker lineup this year were David Wilding from Twitter UK, Alice Zagury from Paris-based The Family and investor Priya Guha from Merian Ventures. DIGIT caught up with each of them and brought attention to some key issues facing entrepreneurs and businesses in 2020.
Priya talked about the need for increased diversity in tech, a message we’ve always been huge advocates for. Following the Black Lives Matter movement, this message has become imperative for everyone building a business.
“It is clear we need to focus on how underrepresented founders have access to the same capital, but the only way you’re going to get those decisions is when you have a diversity of voices within investment committees, for example.” - Priya Guha, Partner, Merian Ventures
Alice made a strong case for the power of community - something we couldn’t agree with more as we launched the free trials to access FutureX Plus, the hub for better business at SUS20.
“It’s even more important right now to have your support system and to be surrounded by a community of peers and people who can take care and help each other out” - Alice Zagury, Co-founder and CEO, The Family
Finally, David invited us to rethink how we can use social media in times of crisis to better understand our audience and reach new people. His top tip? Using Twitter to broaden your horizons.
“I always advise people to follow well on Twitter too – find the people who are interesting and interested and take advantage of the fact you’re not limited on Twitter to an existing network of people you know.” - David Wilding, Director of Planning, Twitter UK
One of the highlights of Startup Summit every year is our Startup Competition, where we hear from the best tech for good entrepreneurs across the UK! This year, they were in to win a whooping £65k+ of business support, including a fully-funded place on FutureX’s Silicon Valley Scale programme.
SUS20 media partner Startups Magazine caught up with each semi-finalist and finalist to get to know them. Even if there was only one winner, they are definitely all startups to keep an eye on: Konglomerate Games, Futrsm.pl, CyberShell, Social Good Connect, Frog Systems.
On Day 2 of SUS20, the three finalists pitched live at the event and the winner made it to the press with one of the greatest headlines we’ve seen in years: Frog to cross the Pond after pitching prize win!
“Winning the competition offers us an exciting platform on which to build our profile as we look to market and scale the business, and to promote Scotland’s thriving tech for good community, of which we are proud to be a part.” - Phil Worms, Founder, Frog
As the event closed, we thought back on the positive messages we heard throughout SUS20. We were truly overwhelmed with the opportunities highlighted for entrepreneurs and the support both people and organisations were willing to offer to each other.
"I am delighted that Tide was able to participate in Startup Summit this year, an event highlighting that there are opportunities for small businesses in the midst of this extremely challenging crisis. It can be easy to focus on the negatives in a time like this, particularly when faced with another national lockdown, but I hope that we were able to shed some light on the areas of opportunity, to help small business owners to look at where they may be able to find a way through, and maybe, come out stronger on the other side." - Oliver Prill, CEO, Tide
We’re also proud to have been able to create a space, albeit virtually, where people could learn and connect to make their business thrive -- you can read more about it in our reflection piece here.