Did any of you see the article in the Metro last month about light sabres?
A ‘light sabre’ device has been built by adapting blue lasers from home cinema projectors. Sound cool? Well it’s not…it’s hot…hot enough to quickly set your skin on fire and blind you instantly.
Yet this device, which the manufacturer says is Continue Reading »
Posted in Humour, Local News, Opinions | 23 Comments »
How do Scottish startups stack up in the global landscape? Scottish Lean Circle is investigating the matter, and early feedback is very exciting. Sounds like they’ve got great responses from around the world, and now it’s time for Scottish folks to chime in too!
COOL, I WANT MY STARTUP INCLUDED IN THIS! Great, go for it 🙂 Announcement from Gordon Guthrie of Hypernumbers below:
So we wrote a little benchmark questionnaire: http://io99.tiny.hn
and got it tweeted around the world. About 35 companies from Chile to
Wellington and San Francisco to Helsinki have chipped in their responses. Continue Reading »
Posted in Local News | Leave a Comment »
Last week, our victim for the 60 second interview was Phil Leggetter from Kwwika (pronounced “Quicker”). Phil was an ex-Londoner but is now living the the beautiful seaside of Broughty Ferry by Dundee. I caught up with Phil to find out more in-depth what Kwwika is and what problem it helps to solve.
Posted in Beta Invites, Local News | Tagged kwwika, real time web | 5 Comments »
Tuesday 6th July: Launch Lab – Pitch & Photo Session, 9am at Picture This (65 Brunswick Road)
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. This week 3 attendees will have a chance to practice pitching their business, getting helpful feedback on the pitch or even the idea itself. There will also be a photo shoot to make use of the venue, so get affordable product shots or business pics if you need em! How’s that for multi-tasking?
Thursday, 8th July: The Pitch 2010, 10am-4pm at Royal College of Physicians (Queen St)
The Pitch 2010’s live, one-day Edinburgh conference is aimed at start-up and small business owners, tackling the issues that matter to Scottish entrepreneurs, providing practical advice and insight. The event will offer Scottish entrepreneurs the chance to hear from people who have worked their way from start-up to success, and continue to do so despite the currently challenging economic climate. The is a one-off opportunity to network with fellow entrepreneurs and gather insight from some of the people who have been there and done it.
Posted in Events | 3 Comments »
The TechCrunch Europe Summer Pitch Battle is going down on the evening of 14th July in London, and we’re rooting for you. Yes, you. The event is open to anyone, and the first round entails a 60 second zero-Powerpoint pitch about your project or startup. From there, 7 or so pitchees will be selected to elaborate with a 3 minute slides-backed presentation, and one winner will be crowned.
Now, how awesome would it be to have a Scottish startup scoop up the glory? The World Cup may not have been our best stage, but I have a good feeling about this one. At the very least, you can get down there and get in the game and/or go cheer for fellow Scottish startup clansmen. Tickets are decently priced at £30 (note: full refund if you’re chosen for a 3 minute pitch) and can be booked here. Continue Reading »
Posted in Events | 2 Comments »
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) have teamed up with British Airways to offer 15% off all flights for Scottish SMEs. The discount applies to up to 10 employees, and is valid for any flight originating in the U.K.
Last year, BA gave away nearly 3000 business class tickets to Scottish companies and startups looking to expand their operations overseas. A number of Edinburgh-based entrepreneurs, including some from the Edinburgh Pre-Incubator Scheme, took advantage of the initiative.
Details about the offer from UKTI’s site: Continue Reading »
Posted in Local News | 1 Comment »
Life as a pedestrian is about to get more convenient and efficient at Newcastle University, where WhipBikes is bringing self-hire bikes to the community. While the startup is first implementing a bike scheme down south, I think this could have great potential for Edinburgh next! We met WhipBikes founders Robert Grisdale and Jack Payne earlier in the year at Enterprisers, and we’re very excited to note they are up for a Shell Livewire Award at the moment. I’m sure they’d appreciate any extra votes (today’s the last day – vote here) if you are taken by this idea too! We caught up with Rob for the latest:
What’s WhipBikes all about?
WhipBikes is a self-service bike hire system designed especially for universities. It’s all about making student travel easier and greener, quite literally.
From late September, Newcastle University will be home to the first ever scheme. Students and staff can register on our website (www.whipbikes.co.uk) to get access to all 150 of our awesome bikes, which can be found Continue Reading »
Posted in Local News | Tagged bike rental, Jack Payne, Newcastle University, Robert Grisdale, WhipBikes | 7 Comments »
Have time on your hands? Want to pick up some cool freelance work to help pay the bills? Seton Design agency, based in Edinburgh, is looking to bring on a freelance developer to help out with their projects. We interviewed the owner Andrew White for the scoop!
So, Seton Design, what do you do? We are a design agency creating brands across the print and online media.
Who are you looking to bring onboard? A flexible freelancer with .net/php programming skills
What kind of projects would I be working on? Continue Reading »
Posted in Jobs | Tagged developers in demand, development work, freelance, Seton Design | Leave a Comment »
Our 60 second interview this week is with Sam Collins from Loud Street Ltd. Loud Street’s first product is Bloop, a tool for helping people meet other interesting people at meetings and events.
Sam originally graduated in 2009 with a MEng in Civil and Fire Engineering, but quickly discovered that civil engineering wasn’t his calling. He’s worked with Yadster and Loc8 Solutions before setting up his own startup – Loud Street Limited. Sam was also the co-founder of Techmeetup. Continue Reading »
Posted in 60 Second Interview | Tagged Bloop, loud street, sam collins | 9 Comments »
This post is part of our “Crowdsourcing: Wisdom from the Community” feature which contains guest bloggers from the local Edinburgh Startup Community. This post from Gordon Guthrie, CEO of Hypernumbers.
Lets talk about magic. In my opinion one of the most important books for software developers is Magic By Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee.
I first came across it in this article by (The Mighty) Tog – the famous UI expert from Apple’s early days.
A magician does what he does by a combination of technical skill and psychologically controlling the spectator. He has what is known in the trade an attack. Continue Reading »
Posted in Guest Blogger | 3 Comments »
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