Following the completion of Bird.i’s first investment round in May 2016, I decided to move the business to Glasgow in Scotland — a decision which surprised my family, friends and colleagues. Although the quality of the local universities, talent pool, the affordable cost of living, the BREXIT status and support from Scottish Enterprise were all key to that strategic decision, I also knew something big was happening over there and I wanted to be part of it.

I was lucky enough to have previously worked with Glasgow-based space start-ups Clyde Space and Spire, and also seen impressive tech incubators Code Base Base in Edinburgh, so I knew that the technology ecosystem in Scotland, whilst smaller than in London, was genuine and well-integrated. With that I mind, I decided to choose Glasgow as Bird.i’s new home.

Now two years down the line, when asked if I have any regrets about the decision, my response will always be the same:

NOT AT ALL!

From both personal and professional perspectives, I’m incredibly satisfied with the decision and now feel the time is right to start giving back to Scotland, and specifically Glasgow.

So, when I had the opportunity to meet Peter Sturrock, Senior Director of Engineering at Skyscanner, we started to discuss the strength of the tech ecosystem in Edinburgh and how we could replicate this environment in Glasgow, without the underlying network a place like Code Base helps to breed.

We both agreed that starting small with a thematic round table would be more effective for cultivating relationships and discussions than diving straight into a larger “Meet-up” type event (which would inevitably attract recruiters and consultants.) We knew to get the most out of the sessions, we’d have to limit participants to only a few companies with key people.

First Glasgow CEO dinner

At first, I struggled to find enough engaged participants from my space network, since many of my contacts are focused around building spacecraft, not software. Thankfully, a new opportunity arose with Andrew Sloane, Co-founder & Investment Lead at Accelerate Digital Ventures.

Alongside the Silicon Valley Bank and Scottish Equity Partners, Accelerated Digital Ventures decided to gather a dozen CEOs from Glasgow around a networking dinner to help foster the exchange of knowledges and experiences, and I took my chance to test the appetite for a round table.