Free programme looks to plug Scotland’s tech start-up support gap
“Scotland has a wealth of up-and-coming talent, but it can be difficult for new founders to access capital and support” – Owen McLennan, Dentons
An initiative has kicked off to close a funding gap and provide fresh support for Scotland’s most promising technology start-ups.
Applications have now opened for Round One, the investment readiness programme for pre-seed technology start-ups. Its founders have described Scotland’s start-up ecosystem as a “sleeping giant”, with the country home to world-class talent, elite universities and pioneering technological innovation. However, too few companies make it through the earliest stages of venture creation, Round One noted.
The programme is being delivered by Alex Rowe and Bruce Walker who, together, have some 25 years experience supporting early stage founders, in partnership with legal firm Dentons, RBS NatWest Accelerator, and funded by The Ecosystem Fund.
This year’s programme welcomes two new partners: PXN Ventures, ranked as the largest venture capital fund in the north of the UK with some £670 million of assets under management, and Cooper Parry, an accountancy and advisory firm rapidly expanding its presence in Scotland.
The eight-week programme is open to Scotland-based founders with a live minimum viable product who have not yet raised equity investment and are preparing to raise within the next 12 months. Delivered primarily in person across Glasgow and Edinburgh, the curriculum covers fundraising fundamentals, financial modelling, investor prospecting, valuation, legal mechanics and pitching, among other areas.
The free programme is now in its second year. Round One’s 2025 cohort heard directly from venture capital funds collectively managing more than £250m, including Ada Ventures, Twin Path Ventures, Sure Valley Ventures and SolidBond, alongside a number of active angel investors.
For the 2026 cohort, investors Eka Ventures, Ascension and Singular have already confirmed to join. The programme also brings in later-stage operators and exited founders, who will discuss their experience of raising, scaling and exiting.
The 2025 inaugural cohort saw ten founders complete the programme - a number of whom have gone on to secure equity investment.
Alicja Dzieciol, co-founder and chief executive of SilviBio, a biotech start-up producing sustainable horticultural products, said: “The quality of speakers they brought in was exceptional. Having founders paired with their actual investors gave us invaluable real-world insights. We were successful in securing £750,000.”
Owen McLennan, a partner at Dentons, said: “For the second year running, we’re pleased to partner with Round One on its game-changing investment readiness programme. We support the vision of Alex and Bruce to develop a thriving ecosystem in Scotland between entrepreneurs, investors, industry and advisers.
“Scotland has a wealth of up-and-coming talent, but it can be difficult for new founders to access capital and support. Working with Round One, we can draw on Dentons’ depth of legal expertise, local knowledge and networks from across our teams in Glasgow and Edinburgh to benefit a new generation of innovative start-ups.”
Alastair Moore, investment director at PXN Ventures, added “Scotland is full of talented pre-seed businesses with global ambitions and compelling solutions, and our ability to nurture this talent is vital to continuing the growth we’ve seen in Scotland’s early-stage and scale-up ecosystem.”
Applications for Round One 2026 are open until August 21.
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