CodeBase

We're proud to announce we will be delivering the DigiTay Tay Cities Travel and Tourism Accelerator, a three-year digital adoption programme built to put real technology in the hands of the people shaping how visitors experience this region. 🤝

Delivered in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Traveltech Innovation Hub, the programme will support up to 100 travel, tourism, and hospitality SMEs across Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, and Northeast Fife through themed cohorts, one-to-one mentoring, and practical technology trials.

Here's what's on offer:

▶️ Up to £2,000 in grant funding for technology trials
▶️ One-to-one mentoring and themed cohorts
▶️ In-person sessions across Dundee, Perth, Fife, and the wider region
▶️ A peer network built for the sector

The goal is simple: affordable, outcomes-led digital tools that make Tay Cities tourism businesses more resilient, more productive, and better equipped to deliver experiences that bring visitors back. ✈️

Watch this space for exciting updates on everything we're building together.

£8 billion is lost in global hotel operations every year. Most of it is preventable and yet hotels are still reacting to water leaks, compliance failures, and energy waste long after the damage is done.

Iniotech is changing the odds.

Co-founded by Michael Burns and Andy Davies, Iniotech designs and deploys wireless sensor systems that give hotel operators real-time visibility into risks before they become costly incidents.

With over 800+ sensors already live across a premium UK hotel chain and a proven, scaling model, they're now actively fundraising to bring their solution to hotel groups across the UK and beyond.

With a founding team that knows this problem inside out and real traction already behind them, Iniotech is definitely one to watch. 🚀

Read all about our Ones to Watch via the link in the comments.

Samuel Weatherstone relocated to Edinburgh, co-founded ESK with no external funding, and grew the company from £250k to just under £4 million in four years. He then ran a year-long private equity process, approached 50 firms, and closed a round with Maven. He also had a baby during it.

His story isn't short on lessons. A few that stood out:

▶️ Getting the finance function in place early is the foundation everything else is built on, not an admin task to defer
▶️ A co-founder relationship works when it's built on trust first and complementary skills second
▶️ A closed door, including a six-month negotiation that went nowhere, often forces the outreach you should have made sooner
▶️ Cash generation is the signal that tells you whether to push forward or pivot, and cutting through the noise to see it clearly is harder than it sounds

ESK now operates across 34 countries, five continents, and 150 cities. North America is next.

None of these realisations happened in isolation. Having the right scaffolding around you matters, and for Samuel, that in part came from Callum at Techscaler, a mentor who knew the Scottish funding landscape, a community of founders navigating the same questions, and a network built from the ground up in a city where he was starting from scratch.

Read the full case study via the link in the comments!

We’re at Dublin Tech Summit! 🚀

Over the next two days, founders, investors, and operators from across global markets are in one place, sharing ideas and shaping what comes next.

Earlier today, our COO Richard Lennox took to the Accelerate Stage for a panel on what it really takes to build startups that last, alongside DC Cahalane of Sure Valley Ventures, Ted Calouhi of Duku AI and Yola Jones of Seluna.

The panel covered ground on the fundamentals that actually move the needle beyond the programme stage, from customer insight over technology to the value of surrounding yourself with advisors who actually understand your context.

One line from Richard that stuck: "Generic advisors will give you generic advice."

A good reminder that being in the right room changes everything.

For more from the summit, keep an eye on the Techscaler socials. 🔔

International expansion is an exciting yet complex milestone for any scaling tech company. Celtic Link is making it easier.

We are thrilled to be partnering with the Republic of Work, Cork's internationally recognised innovation hub, to launch the Celtic Link, a cross-border programme designed to lower the barriers for startups and SMEs looking to expand internationally.

Through this pilot programme, Scottish founders and Techscaler members gain a supported landing pad in the heart of Cork, unlocking direct access to Ireland’s thriving ecosystem and a gateway into the wider EU single market.

What this means for founders:

▶️ Low-Risk EU Market Entry: Explore relationships in the Irish market without the upfront complexity of international expansion.

▶️ Physical Workspace Access: Complimentary or discounted desk access at Republic of Work

▶️ Ecosystem Integration: Connect with Irish investors, founders, and mentors

Likewise, we are excited to welcome Irish startups into the Techscaler network, connecting them with our hubs, mentors, and scaling programmes across Scotland.

To mark the launch, we'll be hosting joint events in both Edinburgh and Cork, watch this space for details on how to get involved.

Read all about the partnership via the link in the comments.

Dr Zoë Russell spent 16 years as an ecologist before co-founding a climate tech company.

Sixteen years at NatureScot, a PhD spent counting grouse in the Scottish Highlands, and a very unexpected pivot into software project management later, she co-founded Rethink Carbon. The company now builds digital infrastructure for the UK voluntary carbon market, supporting woodland planting and peatland restoration projects through a platform that takes what used to take days and does it in minutes.

Through Techscaler's International programme, delivered by CodeBase, Zoë spent time in Singapore meeting experts across the Southeast Asian carbon sector. What she found there changed her sense of scale entirely.

Three things that stood out from her journey:

▶️ Demand validation is its own discipline. Knowing who actually has the problem, not just who commissioned the solution
▶️ Preparation is what makes international visits pay off. Arriving informed means leaving with something useful
▶️ Complementary co-founders aren't a nice-to-have. For Rethink Carbon, they were the whole model

Read the full case study for a front row seat to Zoë's journey so far. Link in the comments!

Cutting-edge microscopy has often come at a price most labs can't afford, until now.

Co-founded by Dr Peter Tinning and Dr Ralf Bauer, Northern Light Microscopy is building microscopy systems that are reshaping how bioscience discoveries are made, by offering imaging at a price point every researcher can access.

Spun out of the University of Strathclyde, they've since secured backing from Innovate UK and Scottish Edge and recently closed a £1m pre-seed round.

Their flagship product AMIS has already outperformed established systems costing significantly more, with international expansion on the horizon.

NLM are one of the most notable deep-tech companies we've featured in this year's Ones to Watch report.

Find out more in the full report at the link in comments.

Fundraise source: DSW Ventures.

Collaborating with the NHS as a founder can be challenging. What if you could help change that?

If you're a health-tech or medtech founder in Scotland working out how to engage the NHS as a client or partner, your insights could directly shape a new model designed to make that process clearer and more effective.

Join us and NHS Forth Valley for an interactive focus group about the challenges and opportunities of NHS collaboration with NHS colleagues and fellow founders.

📅 Tuesday 19 May, 10am–12pm
📍 Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert

Register via the link in comments.