The 3-month Funding Accelerator programme is designed for startups looking to raise their first or second rounds of equity investment, in the £100,000 to £1 million range.

Research indicates that while early-stage startup funding in the UK dropped by only 7% in Q1 of 2024 against Q4 of 2023, the year-on-year quarterly decline was closer to 25%.

Lauren Wilson, Scaleup Programme manager at CodeBase, said: “Scotland’s tech startup scene is going from strength to strength, but getting early-stage funding can feel like a major uphill battle.

“It is also time consuming and can take founders away from running the business. So, we want to give them the knowledge,tools and networks to navigate the investor community, with a view to giving them the best chance of success.”

Founders and executives on the pilot programme will be exposed to areas including valuation and financial planning, investor engagement, pitching, building ‘data rooms’ for investors, maximising advisory services, through to negotiating and closing deals.

The first Funding Accelerator cohort numbers 10 startups - Seeker, 20 Photos, PracTest, Rethink Carbon, RAVEN, beEmbedded, Nursery Story, Tax Torch, Afterword, and Unbaggaged - and started earlier this month, running until February next year. 

Zoe Russell, co-founder and chief operating officer at Aviemore-based Rethink Carbon, a startup that has developed a technology platform to maximise sustainable land management, said: “As a startup planning to raise investment, Funding Accelerator ticks a lot of boxes for us - specifically the focus on financial forecasting, investor outreach, and understating valuations.

“We also love the collaborative working environment with other founders and their insights. By the end of the programme, our goal is to finalise a terms sheet with investors.” 

For more information on Focused for Business and the Funding Accelerator: https://focusedforbusiness.com/ and https://focusedforbusiness.com/raising-equity-investment/funding-accelerator/