“Reflections on the Scottish Spinout Summit: lessons for the North East’s growing ecosystem” Jordan Byers, Northern Accelerator Senior Manager
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Scottish Spinout Summit. I attended, as I joked to a few people, very much as an infiltrator from the North East of England. But what I found was a hugely welcoming, collaborative, and energising community. I left with plenty of ideas and further conviction that regions like ours, outside the “Golden Triangle,” are charting an exciting future in innovation and spinout creation.
One message from the day stood out strongly: Scotland is not only focused on creating spinouts, but on ensuring they stay, scale, and succeed in Scotland.
That long term commitment is something every region working to grow its innovation economy can learn from and echoes Northern Accelerator’s ambition to further grow a strong and supportive ecosystem.
Importantly, and very much emphasised throughout the day, universities cannot do this alone.
1. A cohesive ecosystem with real government backing
The level of alignment across Scotland’s universities, investors, ecosystem partners, and government was striking. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes addressed the summit, with a passionate and well-informed speech based on an empathetic knowledge of the challenges spinouts face. A knowledge built through personal conversations with spinouts.
This was further emphasised when Chief Entrepreneur Ana Stewart, addressed the audience with her reflections and ambitions. The event saw the announcement of new funding routes and renewed support for developing spinouts.
This national level buy in is something I deeply admire, and something that truly accelerates the development of a thriving spinout pipeline. It was a reminder that government support isn’t an optional extra in building a world class innovation economy; it’s a critical enabler.
From funding mechanisms to policy frameworks, the public sector plays a vital role in bridging gaps – especially during the difficult early years.
2. Supporting Companies Through the ‘Valley of Death’
One of the most repeated themes was the importance of post spinout support.
It’s not enough to help talented academics create a business. We need to help those businesses survive.
The so called “valley of death” – that precarious point where a spinout needs capital, market traction, and development runway – is where many promising ideas stall.
Scotland’s focus on continuing support well beyond incorporation was inspiring, and something we’re strongly aligned with through Northern Accelerator.
3. Inside the Mind of an Investor
Hearing directly from investors in a very honest panel session was refreshing and insightful. Their key messages resonated:
- Strong founding teams matter more than ever.
- Spinouts must demonstrate both technology readiness and commercial readiness.
- Universities that act pragmatically and entrepreneurially significantly increase investibility.
Working in a constructive, flexible, and collaborative way will enable universities to move promising opportunities forward at pace.
4. Talent, technology, capital — and teams
The summit emphasised three key pillars spinouts need: technology, talent, and capital.
But the conversations also highlighted something more nuanced: the critical role of the academic founder team. Having committed, engaged academics who understand – and feel supported in – the commercial journey is essential.
It made me reflect on how important our Future Founders programme is in the North East. When we combine that with Executives into Business, we help build strong leadership teams that blend academic expertise with commercial experience — a combination investors consistently look for.
5. Sharing IP and Showcasing Innovation
I was interested to hear about early thinking around a Scotland wide Intellectual Property (IP) showcase platform. Making IP more discoverable is a powerful way to attract investor interest and accelerate commercialisation.
Through our new SCENE project, Northern Accelerator will look to showcase the IP pipeline from our partner universities, so we will follow this journey with interest and look to share experiences where we can.
Final Thoughts
I met so many brilliant people at the Scottish Spinout Summit — generous with their insights and clearly passionate about building something special. What stood out most was the cohesiveness: a shared vision across institutions and sectors, fuelled by collaboration rather than competition.
As we continue strengthening the North East spinout ecosystem, it’s encouraging to look to Scotland as both an inspiration and a partner. Regions outside the Golden Triangle have enormous potential — and by learning from one another, we can ensure innovative companies not only start, but stay, scale, and succeed in our regions.
PS. I must also mention the delicious coffee made for me by a robot barista named ‘Mo’. I’m told Mo was invented and built by PhD students in robotics at the University of Strathclyde. He’s installed at the Technology and Innovation Centre and I highly recommend his services!
