Eco-system builders connect people, ideas and inspiration - Nick Murray

The term “ecosystem builder” might sound like the latest business buzzword, but the sentiment behind the moniker is a vital component in connecting entrepreneurs with opportunity, not only within Scotland’s borders, but on a global scale. In an age where most information on business growth, scaling, and investment best practices is readily available online, the true differentiator for successful ventures can lie in the often underestimated power of meaningful connectivity.

As humans, we crave more than just data. We yearn for reassurance, shared experiences, and relationships that go beyond the digital realm. Despite feeling this sense of collaboration amongst my peers in business support, leaders of growing businesses can often overlook the potential of supportive peer relationships due to an unblinkered focus on their internal challenges. Enter the ecosystem builder – an unsung hero weaving the connective tissue between people, ideas, and inspiration, creating a holistic space where authentic human connection aligns with business opportunity.

Foras embodies these values as an entrepreneurial community group connecting peer cohorts to each other, and to international opportunities. Bringing individuals together in new locations fosters reflection, vulnerability, deeper connection, and the opportunity for genuine conversation. The concept of a bonded group creates a safety net for individuals engaging in business opportunities on a global scale, allowing them to ‘hunt as a pack’, debrief, and energise with cohort members, fostering resilience and shared growth, benefiting their individual aspirations.

On such excursions, themes emerge once the superficial conversations have moved on, and the mask of the LinkedIn persona is removed. Challenges of scaling, customer acquisition, board governance and stories of the predatory nature of local funding options in Scotland are common tropes amongst our startup leaders once the comfort of the cohort dynamic is established.

Nick Murray, front centre, with Foras Co-Founders Dec McLaughlin and Caro Melendez and members of a 48-person cohort delegation at the offices of Portuguese startup success story Unbabal in Lisbon, Nov 2023

A more positive trope is the excitement around the evolving ecosystem connectivity for economic development in Scotland. Public sector involvement has shifted from a top-down approach to supporting initiatives like Techscaler and the Ecosystem Fund, as suggested in Mark Logan’s 2020 roadmap towards a modern Enlightenment Era in Scottish business. This shift empowers those at the coalface of business support, and bolsters grassroots organisations like ours to scale operations to impact more lives and businesses.

Indeed, for Foras, the open collaboration we preach is also what we practise. Within the delivery team of a recent project, that saw a delegation of 48 startup community representatives engage in a cohort programme to Lisbon, we had representatives from ten different support organisations, including the Scottish Government, Scottish Development International, Pathways Forward, TechScaler by Codebase, Johnston Carmichael, Campfire, Bracken Grove Leadership Coaching, and Thornton's LLP.

The group's depth of insight, specialist experience, and network is indicative of Scotland's business community’s USP. Unlike the often impenetrable networks in larger ecosystems such as London, Scotland, by virtue of its population, boasts one degree of separation and a willingness to connect, directing individuals to the right resources to accelerate aspirations swiftly.

In a world where connections often seem distant or transactional, the ecosystem builders are breaking the mould. They are not just creating networks; they are nurturing a culture of stewardship, collaboration, and shared success, and a genuine impact underpinned by an often unquantifiable element of business growth – the human touch.

Nick Murray is a Co-Founder at Foras

Nick Murray is a Co-Founder at Foras, running immersive international cohort experiences fuelling entrepreneurial ecosystem development for Scotland. Applications are now open for a startup cohort programme to Austin, Texas and for a Leadership Renewal Retreat in Central Scotland.