Scotland’s accelerator centre for internet of things (IoT) companies has signed a deal with a specialist wealth management firm to address the funding gap for early stage startups.
The Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) in Glasgow is to work with Murphy Wealth to try and make it easier for young companies to access vital growth capital.
It will also try and ensure there is a sufficient ‘talent’ in the local market to sustain an IoT cluster in Scotland and drive success at a global level.
STAC CEO Paul Wilson said: “From the outset, STAC has been strongly supported by the Scottish investment community, but we have to recognise that the successful evolution of Scotland’s angel syndicates, who are now investing more frequently in scale-up companies than seeding startups, means there is void in access to capital for early stage companies. So, we are working to plug the gap.”
Adrian Murphy, CEO, Murphy Wealth, said: “Paul and the STAC team have made incredible progress in the eighteen months since the accelerator was launched. In common with our own firm, we support entrepreneurs, albeit at a different stage of the entrepreneurial journey, and we share a strong belief in how transformational entrepreneurs and fast-growth tech companies can be to the wider economy. We also share STAC’s ambition to create world-beating companies from a base in Scotland, and are pleased to be strengthening our relationship with STAC to help make this happen.”
In partnership with Murphy, STAC will launch ‘STAC Invest’, an online platform showcasing Scotland’s high potential IoT and smart devices startups to local and international investors.
In January, STAC launched a new IoT recruitment platform, ‘STAC Jobs’, in partnership with Jordan Talent Solutions aimed at improving recruitment and retention in Scotland’s growing IoT industry.
Wilson added: “Our STAC-supported companies have international perspective from day one, it’s built into their DNA, and to plan for international growth you need access to capital and talent. The partnerships with Murphy and Jordan underpin this approach.
“The IoT and smart device market in Scotland is heating up, we’ve seen merger and acquisition activity with companies like Pelion, Sonos, and Current Health, and Waire, IOpt, Krucial, Kingdom Technologies, and Beringar are among next wave of sector players building investment and market momentum. With STAC’s Jobs, Space, and Investment, we have the acceleration support in place to support internationally competitive businesses.”
STAC will be accepting applications for its third cohort of companies on 1st March. Currently, the accelerator is supporting 23 companies with 70 employees from its base at Skypark in Glasgow, with a new 250-desk facility and fully equipped labs planned for Q2 2023.