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Archive for the ‘Local News’ Category

Events Menu: 24th-30th May

Posted in Events, Local News on 24 May, 2010| 1 Comment »

Plenty going on this week, but do check out the upcoming ‘Sign up now for…’ list at the bottom too if you want first dibs on tickets!

Monday 24th May: ELEVATOR Business Networking, 6pm at Why Not? (George Street)

A free monthly event from PSYBT, ELEVATOR is for anyone 18-30 involved in a startup or who’d like to set up a company. Mingle with like-minded people, learn from the evening’s presenter, shout out in the quick pitches, and enjoy free drinks and a light supper too! I’ve somehow never made it but hear great things from folks who have gone. For more info, contact Rosie Dowie on 0131 347 9831 or edinburghelevator@psybt.org.uk, but I think you can just show up from 6pm.

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Free Startup Pitch Workshops in London: TechCrunch + UKTI

Posted in Events, Local News on 21 May, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Pitching, pitching, pitching… It’s a subject we hear about endlessly, yet pitching performances locally rarely seem to satisfy an investor audience. Want to blow someone’s socks off next time you’re trying to sway new customers, getting investors to part with their cash, or even recruiting for your team? TechCrunch Europe and UK Trade & Investment have teamed up to offer free pitch training in London on Monday 7th June – so go sharpen your skills and give us a new standard to aspire to!

Info from Mike Butcher’s recent post on TechCrunch, so thanks Mike:

TechCrunch Europe and UK Trade and Investment are organising a series of pitch workshops to help startups hone their pitch for events. These are free.

The next on is on 7th June 2010. It is free to attend for qualified UK-based startups, which means any startup in Europe that also has a UK base of course. It gives you a chance to possibly pitch at a forthcoming TechCrunch Europe event as we tend to look at those startups coming through this UKTI filter.

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The Converge Challenge: Time for Researchers to think Business!

Posted in Competitions, Local News on 21 May, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The latest Business Plan Competition from Heriot-Watt is trying to pull innovations from researchers and academics. If you recognise any of these acronyms as research pools you’re a part of – ERPem, ScotCHEM, SISCA, SIPR, SIRE, MASTS, SUPA – then you’re eligible! Get your applications in by 11th June 2010, with more details below.

Heriot-Watt Business Plan Competition – The Converge Challenge

Are you a member of Heriot-Watt or a Heriot-Watt Research Pool?
Do you have an idea for an innovation?
Would you like to win an award to the value of £10,000 (more…)

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Want to launch a web business in 48 hours?

Posted in Events, Local News on 20 May, 2010| 2 Comments »

Think back to last weekend… Friday, Saturday, Sunday… how much did you accomplish? Well ok, it may have been pretty busy, but what if someone suggested you should brainstorm, develop, and launch a startup in a single weekend? In what sounds like SICamp for web apps, Launch48 is coming up in the London area 4-6th June. Tickets are £29.95 for students, or £49.95 for grown ups. Thoughts from Sam Collins of Bloop and TechMeetup below, followed by the Launch48 details – it sounds incredible, so grab your ticket asap if you want to take part…

Launch48 is a really badass event – hackers and startup people get together for a weekend and build and launch a startup in 48 hours. I know there’s a bunch of things *like* this around the world, but Launch48 have been doing it for a while and they do it really well. I was at Seedcamp with a company from Launch48 last year – so yeah, that’s the sort of standard we’re talking about. (more…)

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Events Menu: 17th – 23rd May

Posted in Events, Local News on 17 May, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Tuesday 18th May: Launch Lab, 9am at Renroc (Montgomery St)

The Launch Lab is a weekly session geared toward anyone who owns or is starting their own business. A highly varied group of energetic, intelligent people gather to exchange ideas, share critiques and encouragement, and feed each others’ vitality. At the beginning of each session there is a 5-10 minute presentation on any aspect of entrepeneurship; thereafter we discuss the talk then get down to the business of networking, gossiping, and drinking coffee.It’s a wonderful bunch of folks!

Wednesday 19th May: OpenCoffee Club, 10am at Informatics Forum Roof Gardens

This is the Edinburgh branch of the OpenCoffee Club which is an informal setting where entrepreneurs, developers and investors can drop in and network. Tea and biscuits aplenty! (more…)

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Vibio closes $1 million funding round

Posted in Local News on 16 May, 2010| 1 Comment »

Vibio.com – lead by CEO Simon Montford – has just closed a $1 million seed funding round (£680,000) with Scottish Angel syndicate group Archangel. Simon, who was an EPIS entrepreneur back in 2008, is a seasoned entrepreneur after starting iCollector back in the day, pre-dot com bubble. iCollector was an auction site, similar to eBay and he’s previously talked at techmeetup about his experiences.

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Royal Society of Hackers, Designers, and Watchmakers – Tomorrow!

Posted in Events, Local News on 14 May, 2010| 1 Comment »

There’s a new group on the town, and this one’s all about gathering talented people from different backgrounds and getting things done together. What better cause could you ask for? Initiated by Sam Collins and Hasan Veldstra, I just love the sound of this group and certainly encourage you to go along if you want to make cool stuff happen! The next meeting is tomorrow 15th May at 12pm at the Outhouse (12a Broughton Street Lane). His invitation below!

Hi all,

Tomorrow we’re going to meet again to have another Royal Society of Hackers, Designers and Watchmakers. In short, this “Royal Society” is just a chance for anyone who’s working on side projects, or wants to get involved on some projects to come along and work together in the the ace little web/tech community we have here. It’s not just for hackers, but also designers, product people, whoever really. (more…)

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A letter to a depressed VC: Healthy debate!

Posted in Local News, Opinions, tagged , , , , , on 14 May, 2010| 5 Comments »

VC Eddie Anderson of Pentech Ventures is being held accountable for curing his own depression. At TechCrunch Ediburgh on Wednesday, Eddie confessed he has become a depressed VC due to the lack of innovation in Scottish startups. Sitting next to TechMeetup founder Sam Collins in the audience, I was glad to see somebody else terribly frustrated with the fact that these accusations lacked a plan of action. Q&A did not due the issue justice.

Thankfully Sam has written him a brilliant letter, which has sparked a great debate in the last 24 hours (50 comments already!). Copy of the letter below, but please put your comments on the original post here so they are all in one place.

Dear Eddie,

First of all, thank for you for coming to Engage Invest Exploit/TechCrunch Edinburgh and being so open in your thoughts on the Scottish startup space. This letter would not be possible, nor could any progress ever be made without you first being so honest about your feelings – so please accept my appreciation. Those that know me will know I’m not a moaner – I write this letter with the sole purpose of resolving this problem and with your assistance, will commit time and effort to achieving the desired result. (more…)

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Wait, didn’t she fall off the edge of the Earth?

Posted in Local News on 12 May, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Hello there!  Yes, it’s been a while but I have an explanation.  I’ve been buried in NGOs!  That’s what it’s felt like.  (That’s non-governmental organisations for those who haven’t seen that acronym before!).

I have been working towards an aspiration to become a HIGHLY COMPETENT COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL!  Lofty aim, eh?  Can’t quite say I’m there yet, perhaps you’ve noticed…but am definitely putting my little heart and soul into it. 

Hence my sudden and inexplicable disappearance from StartupCafe.  But now it’s time my two worlds collided.  The plan is to drive my knowledge and experience of high-tech stuff, social media and entrepreneurship into the (more…)

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Wanted: Tech Savvy Partner for Alarming Prototype

Posted in Jobs, Local News on 11 May, 2010| Leave a Comment »

We’ve got a project seeking a technical partner to get this idea from concept to prototype, and then hopefully beyond. Asanka De Silva, MD of marketing strategy consultancy Strateegia, is looking to develop an electronic alarming device that can communicate with another object roughly 20-200 metres away. More info from Asanka below, and get in touch with him for details if you (or someone you know) may be interested…

I’m looking for someone with knowledge in either electronics or alarm systems or radio frequency products to develop an innovative product targeted at motor vehicle users in the UK & Europe. (more…)

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