The shortlist for the first Scottish Tech Startup Awards, which recognise the people and companies leading the way in building Scotland’s digital economy, has been announced with organisers saying that it “reads as a roll call of some of the most exciting businesses in the European tech industry – all based right here in Scotland”.
Launched by the team behind Turing Fest, the inaugural awards, sponsored by Smartsheet, received more than 200 nominations from across the Scottish tech ecosystem, highlighting outstanding growth, technological innovation and community development work in a wide range of industries and sectors.
“I’m excited about the strength of this shortlist,” said Brian Corcoran, chief executive of Turing Fest, “it’s a fantastic illustration of how much energy and growth potential there is in the Scottish tech ecosystem right now — and there are definitely some difficult decisions ahead for the judges!”
The judging panel includes technology leaders and investors including Sandy McKinnon, partner at Pentech, Sitar Teli, partner at Connect Ventures; and Calum Forsyth, chief executive of Seed Haus.
“Scotland has the foundations of an extremely strong digital economy, but it’s going to take a concerted effort and close collaboration between the tech community, industry and government to make this country a global hub for technological innovation and output,” added Corcoran.
“We have a shortage of talent and of growth capital, but we do have a very good community — a key ingredient in any robust tech ecosystem. With these awards and Turing Fest, we’re committed to working to nurture and strengthen this community from the bottom up.”
The winners will be announced on Thursday 29 November at the awards party in Edinburgh’s Central Hall. The finalists are:
Startup of the Year, presented by CodeClan
Scaleup of the Year
Ecosystem Award
- Gillian Docherty, The Data Lab
- Alisdair Gunn, Framewire
- Michael Hayes, RookieOven
- Colin Hewitt, Float
- Barry McDonald, CodeBase Stirling
Diversity in Tech Champion, presented by Care Sourcer
- Melinda Matthews-Clarkson, CodeClan
- Maria Gutierrez, Women Who Code Edinburgh
- Mozafar Haider, Code Your Future
- Freda O’Byrne, Prewired
- Morna Simpson, Girl Geek Scotland
CEO of the Year
- Jude Cook, ShareIn
- David Ferguson, Nucleus Financial
- Christopher McCann, Snap40
- Andrew McGinley, Care Sourcer
- Ed Molyneux, FreeAgent
Investor of the Year
- Niki McKenzie, Archangels
- Marc Moens, Pentech
- Andrew Sloane, Accelerated Digital Ventures
- Paul Walton, angel investor
- Gareth Williams, angel investor
Tech for Good Award
B2B Company of the Year
B2C Company of the Year
Agency of the Year
