Pauline Barnaby, FVC’s Development and Fundraising Manager was one of the judges on the Wild Card Scottish EDGE Judging Panel which took place on 1 November at the Tollbooth, Stirling.
She was invited by Scottish EDGE to be part of the panel who were tasked with the important job of deciding which of the 18 early stage businesses pitching live on the day, would be awarded funding. In the end, seven lucky businesses were selected receiving a total of £75,000 between them which will be presented at the prestigious Scottish EDGE Round 13 Final event to be held over the 5 and 6 December at the Royal Bank of Scotland Conference Centre in Gogarburn.
Established in 2013, Scottish EDGE is a competition aimed at identifying and supporting Scotland’s up-and-coming innovative, high growth potential entrepreneurial talent and has awarded over £11million to date. It is supported by the Hunter Foundation, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Government with 286 of applications being submitted for this year’s round. Applications for Round 14 will open in late January 2019 and requires the completion of an online application and submission of a 3-minute video pitch.
Scottish EDGE CEO, Evelyn McDonald, said: "Stirling was the location of Scottish EDGE’s first venture away from its native Edinburgh Finals venue last year and we were delighted to return to the area again this year for our Wild Card EDGE Final.
“Our expert panel of judges had their work cut out trying to shortlist seven winners from the exceptional early-stage businesses who made it this far. We look forward to presenting those winners with their funding award at the ceremony which follows the live Scottish EDGE Finals on 5th and 6th December in Edinburgh.
"We'd welcome any budding entrepreneurs along to the live final to get a flavour of the EDGE competition, and we fully expect to see some of this round's Wild Card EDGE winners on the Scottish EDGE stage sometime in the future pitching for up to £150,000."
Pauline Barnaby, FVC’s Development and Fundraising Manager, added: “I was delighted to accept the invitation to be a judge on the Scottish EDGE Wild Card panel as the Scottish EDGE do amazing work in encouraging entrepreneurs. It was a fantastic and slightly nerve-wracking experience, but it was inspiring to see so many great business ideas put forward with enthusiasm and passion.”
More information https://scottishedge.com/#intro