Entries open to start-ups for EIE investor showcase

Scotland’s biggest investor showcase, Engage, Invest, Exploit (EIE), today opened for entries to take part in next year’s event.

Lesley Eccles, co-founder of EIE alumnus FanDuel

The annual conference is due to be held in Edinburgh on 12 May and Gordon Stuart, director of operations at organiser Informatics Ventures, praised the state of the country’s technology scene as he launched the call for participants.

He said: “All signs are pointing to our tech ecosystem moving onto the next level and what we’re finding is that UK and international investor interest in our early stage companies is significantly higher than ever before.

“There is definite feeling that on the back of the successes of FanDuel and Skyscanner, investors don’t want to miss ‘the next big thing’ coming out of Scotland.”

While FanDuel – co-founded by Lesley Eccles – is one high-profile example of a firm to have come through the EIE system, more recent success stories include fashion app Mallzee and biofuel specialist Celtic Renewables. Both have completed major funding rounds this year.

Informatics Ventures has bolstered its team in recent months, with Steve Ewing joining as programme manager and Chris van der Kuyl taking up the chair of its advisory board.

EIE launched in 2008 and the Informatics Ventures team is due to run its third event in London next month.