Techscaler – the new £42m national network for tech startups – has launched its first scaleup programme in partnership with one of the world’s leading tech education content providers.
The startup programme – delivered by Edinburgh-headquartered CodeBase – is to partner with Silicon Valley’s Reforge as it seeks to support the growth of tech companies founded in Scotland.
Backed by the Scottish Government, following a recommendation of Mark Logan in his influential Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER), Techscaler is a distributed network of seven startup hubs across Scotland, and also accessible remotely.
Founders in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen, Dumfries, and Inverness will all be able to access world-leading startup education courses, expert mentorship and guidance and join an extensive community of like-minded professionals through events and workspaces.
The first cohort of scaleup companies who are part of the Reforge programme were announced on Wednesday in Edinburgh; they were: Amiqus, Chauffeur Drive Systems, CodeClan, Cyacomb, Dyneval, For-Sight, Grafterr, Krucial, Kythera AI, Phlo Technologies, Loveelectric, MarkToMarket, On-Line Booking Co-Operative for Scotland, Relaymed, Robotical, Valla, and VeryConnect. In total, there are 47 individuals from the 17 companies taking part.
Eligible organisations that become Techscaler members can receive free access to Reforge courses and education, worth thousands of pounds per year, as part of their membership. Alongside access to Reforge courses, the cohort will be supported by Techscaler’s Education team through mentorship, study groups, and expert help and advice from local industry operators. Overall, the collaboration between Techscaler and Reforge aims to empower tech entrepreneurs and employees in Scotland with the practical knowledge, guidance, and resources needed to take their businesses to the next level.
Shona Marsh, head of education programmes at CodeBase, said: “The partnership with Reforge brings Silicon Valley playbooks, scaleup experience and best practices to Scotland, to help companies accelerate their growth. We have some fantastic people in the first cohort, from interesting and impactful scaleups, and with their own strong experience to add value to the community, and they now get the chance to learn from experts who have been instrumental in the growth of some of the world’s best known tech groups.
“Participants will be able to learn from the successes and failures of those who have been there and done it before through Reforge case studies, so it will be invaluable for the cohort to immerse themselves in the key principles that have underpinned so many successful ventures.”
Fareed Mosavat, chief development officer at Reforge, said: “We have already developed a great working relationship with CodeBase, and we’re excited that the first Techscaler cohort has joined Reforge. Our team greatly looks forward to working with talented founders and executives from the Scottish tech scene.”
Marlou Siemerink, senior product manager at Cyacomb, said: “From first impressions Reforge is a really great platform with fantastic content. We feel privileged and energised to gain access to such valuable insights from industry operators who have done it before, and we’re looking forward to meeting with and learning alongside other startup specialists.”
Global scale-up professional development platform Reforge specialises in connecting product and growth professionals with the insights, strategies and frameworks of tech executives who have launched and scaled some of the leading companies of the last decade including HubSpot, Slack, and Zapier.
Participants have grown into executive leaders at companies like Roblox, Plaid, Github, Adobe, Dropbox, Shopify, Credit Karma, GoogleGithub, Adobe, Dropbox and Shopify. Reforge’s founder and CEO Brian Balfour was previously the VP of Growth at HubSpot, one of the world’s biggest direct marketing and sales platforms.
Reforge will deliver advanced training for the established companies in the Techscaler cohort, principally online, who are gaining traction and looking to scale.
Techscaler was awarded to CodeBase, the UK’s largest technology incubator, by the Scottish Government in July 2022. Partners include HubSpot for Start-ups, AWS, Barclays Eagle Labs and San Francisco-based Reforge.
Opportunity North East – founded by oil industry tycoon Sir Ian Wood – and based out of Aberdeen, has also been involved in the process, alongside Stirling Council, which works in partnership with a CodeBase outlet based in the city.
Following a soft launch in November, Techscaler is now up and running with a range of programmes and courses, including Startup Basics, Startup First Steps, and Startup Next Steps, online and in person across the seven regional hubs. The Startup Basics course was launched in December and can be accessed at any time via the Techscaler online community. First Steps begins soon – with enrolment for the upcoming cohort open until April 5, and Next Steps is set to start in September.
Earlier this year, CodeBase launched CodeBase Bridge: Playbooks for Building Startups, a course for postgraduate students at the University of Edinburgh. Funded by the Edinburgh Futures Institute, the accredited, elective course is for students with early-stage startup ideas, who are keen to learn more about technology, startup thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurship.