Hunting as a pack

Don’t get isolated.

Especially leaders on the startup journey. Now more than ever we’re able to exist for weeks without actually ever seeing someone in person. We’re perhaps dulled from realising this in our virtual connected world.? The metaverse might be gaining momentum,? but there’s something powerful about connecting in person, sharing stories and being physically together.?

I’m just back from a great trip to San Francisco and the Bay Area with an incredible cohort of Scottish tech companies. Was it worth the disruption to my routine, the long haul flights, jet lag and overflowing inbox on my return? Absolutely. What follows are some reflections on some of the learnings from the trip.?

Government + Grass roots = Where the magic happens.?

The Silicon Valley trip was organised by the Startup Grind Scotland team, and made possible by a new government fund dedicated to building the tech ecosystem in Scotland which came on the back of the Mark Logan report championed by Kate Forbes.? This kind of grass roots project boosted by government support is a winning formula. The Startup Grind team have been interviewing the local startup ecosystem for years, and have a great understanding of what’s going on.?

Nick, Dec and the team didn’t try to give the impression that they knew exactly how to nail a trip like this.? They pulled together a great team but used the experience of people like Stephanie and Laura who have delivered trips like this before to build on what’s gone before. Kudos.?

Spending time outside your context

I often don’t appreciate the power of a context shift until it happens.

When you're tethered to your desk,? it's hard to think outside the box. It's hard to just turn on creativity.? When things get hard we often look for distractions, check in on Slack or open our email.? Being out of context forces a change, opens up space to think, there is time to listen to a podcast or go for a walk.? You are forced to engage with your day differently.??

Travel builds your network.? ?I met a bunch of brilliant people on this trip, both on the cohort, and some of the people that connected with our group while we were out there.

Foster Serendipity (facilitated and organically)

The trip took a huge amount of intentionality from the SG Scotland team. This was evident from the communications before we set out, and as we arrived.? Props to Caro and Anna on this - they did a fantastic job.??

People generally want to help! Scots are very welcome in the US! Events are the perfect place to meet new folks - all out of their comfort zone and open to connecting.?

Building Trust?

Often it’s the gaps in between the meetings - the chats over meals or the conversations on a bus, or walking through San Francisco were where great conversations were had, and trust is built.

Trust creates deeper availability to be willing to speak or hear the truth. It allows us to be honest, vulnerable and consider where we might need to rethink our positions on the world.? Nick and the team facilitated these conversations so well, and created the spaces to let them happen.

Opportunities are global not just local

We have a lot going on in Scotland. Travel often makes you appreciate what you have at home. The Startup Grind Global conference - pulled together some high profile speakers, but I couldn’t help thinking that our local Turing Fest is operating at a higher level. Frankly, it's simply better organised, on a par for speaker quality, and as the word gets out, we should see an international draw here.?

At our visit to UserTesting, we heard from CEO Andy MacMillan talking about why they as a publicly listed company chose to set up their European headquarters in Scotland. Access to talent, great universities and preferable to London and Dublin - this is a good sign of things to come.

At the same time it was great to meet Cameron Graham, founder of Storii Care - who’d just moved out to the US to set up shop, getting the best of both worlds, access to the US market, while maintaining an engineering team in Europe and the UK.

Ultimately now more than ever we can build global businesses and compete on a global scale.? Sometimes it’s just a mindset shift that needs to happen in order to realise that.??

Hunting as a pack

Travelling out as a group brings strength in numbers. Not only do you create opportunities to build a network, but it's much more time effective for advisors and investors to come and meet a group.? It's also? easier for companies to open their doors and welcome a delegation of companies.? I probably wouldn't have been able to walk into UserTesting's offices and get a meeting with the CEO, or get a full presentation of the groundbreaking work Nvidia are doing - just turning up on my own!

Final Thoughts

Spending time with other people who are working through similar issues to you is a great investment of time and money for a leader.? Whether you’re further on and can give advice, or whether you’re earlier stage and can learn to move faster.??

Everyone has their challenges. Whether it's personal circumstances or difficulties at work. For whatever reason it seems common to convince ourselves that other people have their shit together more than we do.? When these challenges are shared - we can either help by simply listening, offer advice, or know who to go to in future when you hit a problem like that.?

We often only see the success posts,? but when there is a strong ecosystem, built on tech hubs, meetups, and community events, the relationships form in the gaps.? That’s what has happened in Silicon Valley, and after more than a decade of being part of the Scottish ecosystem - I can really see the green shoots of it happening here too.