Standing Out From The Crowd: YCF Scotland Conference 2018

Each year YCF’s annual conference takes a broad theme that gives a variety of speakers the opportunity to set out their own knowledge or experience in different ways. We have talks by industry professionals –investors, analysts, business advisers – interspersed with presentations by entrepreneurs from early stage high growth companies.

At last year’s conference, several speakers emphasised the need for young companies to highlight their differences from competitors, not only when making sales, but also when convincing investors or potential acquirers that the business has value. This year’s conference picks up this theme, and will look at ways in which companies can stand out from the crowd – not only with their products or services, but also for example with their culture and values, their choice of business model, or their strategy on raising finance.

Speakers

Simon Acland, chair of the Green Angel Syndicate, investment committee member for
Angel Co-Fund, formerly CEO of early stage VC firm Quester
Raj Saxena, joint managing director of VC fund Velocity Capital
Gemma Hamilton, investor at BGF (Business Growth Fund)
Kerry Sharp, head of Scottish Investment Bank
Bruce Walker, founder and CEO at FutureX
Richard Simpson, joint managing director at Tayburn
John Peebles, founder and CEO of Administrate
Olly Dmitriev, founder of Vert Rotors
Rachel Jones, founder of Totseat and SnapDragon
Sabrina Malpede, founder of SMAR Azure and ACT Blade
Craig Clark, founder of Clyde Space
Lisa Thomson, founder of Purpose HR

Young Company Showcase

There will also be eleven early stage companies exhibiting and featured in our Young Company Showcase brochure, participating in the conference and giving their views on what works and what doesn’t in the present entrepreneurial eco-system.

The conference will include three sessions, starting with registration at 8.30am and closing at approximately 4:00pm, with plenty of networking time at the breaks.

Speakers and presenters at previous YCF conferences have included a wide range of organisations active in this sector, from across the UK and further afield, including the following:

Investors and funders:

Albion Ventures - Alida Capital - Archangels - Cambridge Gateway - Carbon Trust - Cisco Systems - Converge Challenge - Coppertop (Ian Ritchie) - Crowdcube - Design Council Spark - Enterprise Ventures - Horizon 2020 SME Instrument - IBM - Investing Women - IP Group - Kelvin Capital - London Stock Exchange AIM - Lundbeckfonden Ventures - Mercia Technologies - NESTA - Octopus Ventures - Ohio TechAngel Funds - Par Equity - Parkwalk Advisors -
Pentech - Piton Capital - Quester - Scottish EDGE - Scottish Equity Partners - Scottish Investment Bank - Seedrs - Sigma Technology - Silicon Valley Bank - Start Up Loans Company - SyndicateRoom - YFM Venture Finance

Young company entrepreneurs:

Aquapharm BioDiscovery - ATEEDA - Axeon - Big DNA - Biopta - Blipfoto - Calnex Solutions - Cascade Technologies - Craneware - Ecometrica - Ergon Equine - Glen Communications - Kymata - M Squared Lasers - Mallzee - Memex - Mpathy - NuCana BioMed - Red Spider Technology - Rocela - Safetray (G-Hold) - Skyscanner - Sunamp - Tissue Solutions - Wolfson Microelectronics - and many others

Analysts, advisers, and others:

Ascendant - Beauhurst - BIA Scotland - BioCity - Entrepreneurial Exchange - FD Solutions - Global Corporate Venturing - GlobalScot - Innovate UK - Invrep - Lloyds TSB Scotland -
Marks & Clerk Scotland - MIT Entrepreneurship Center - Noble Group - PERGALI - ScotlandIS - Scottish Enterprise - Scottish Funding Council - Scottish Institute for Enterprise