foras
Where Scottish innovation meets the world
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Since 2022, we've taken 100+ of Scotland's top founders and startup leaders on international trips, connecting them with global VCs, angels, and buyers in Silicon Valley, Helsinki, NYC, Lisbon, Austin and London.
Our mission is to ensure that Scottish startups gain global exposure and opportunities. We believe in Scotland's potential on the world stage, and we love to highlight our talent at international events.
With 550+ applications across six programmes, it's clear there's a strong demand for international opportunities.
We also focus on bringing global companies to Scotland, leveraging our rich talent pool and cost-effective market entry to the UK. We drive inward investment while creating trading corridors between different ecosystems.
Peer to Peer Connections
encouraging meaningful friendships between founders and leaders to share challenges, wins, and support each other
Immersive International Trips
taking Founders outside of Scotland to experience world-leading events and cities to show them the art of the possible
Scottish Innovation to the World
showcasing that Scotland is ready to compete with the best startups of every sector from across the globe
Access to Global VCs, Angels & Buyers
connecting Scotland-based companies to smart money, founder-friendly terms & conditiones, and scale internationally
International Programmes
Austin
Mar 2024
We are gathering early-interest for future Foras programmes
Foras
[fo.raːs]
to go forth, outside, to look outwards, to meet, to open a forum for discussion, ‘for us’
Investment to create cutting-edge network for start-ups
With the team at StartupGrind Scotland, we launched the Scottish Government’s £42 million contract awarded to Edinburgh-based company, Codebase, to establish TechScaler, a programme for creating, developing and scaling tech startups on seven hubs across the country.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced this contract during the event, at the Barclays Campus in Glasgow. This is the largest investment by the Scottish Government into Scotland’s potential as an entrepreneurial nation.
Foras Alumni
Silicon Valley & San Francisco
StartupGrind Global Conference 2022
Alexander Macdonald
Hindsight
Allan Cannon
Krucial
Beena Sharma
CCU International
Ben Henderson-Palmer
Robotical
Chris Hughes
PresentPal
Claudia Freigang
Hearing Diagnostics
Colin Hewitt
Float
Elena Höge
Yaldi Games
Hamish Geddes
Lenz Labs
Hannah Mercer
DragonflAI
Jodie Sinclair
Theo Health
John Peebles
Administrate
Kevin Orr
Liftango
Lee Anderson
Coastr
Roy Hotrabhvanon
PlayerData
Sheila Hogan
Biscuit Tin
Thomas Gillan
BR-DGE
Tynah Matembe
MoneyMatix
Tzaritsa Asante
TZAR!
Wendy Lamin
Holoxica
Helsinki
SLUSH 2022
Alex Lu
PortF
Cally Russell
Unfolded
Christian Arno
Pawprint
Janani Prabhakaran
Unbaggaged
Dagmara Aldridge
Zumo
Pooja Katara
SENSEcity
Ross Toomer
Care Reality
Victoria Fullarton
Toto Sleep
Duncan Di Biase
Brillband
New York City
Tartan Week NYC 2023
Chris Downie
Pasabi
Laura Garcia Caberol
Touchlab
Dr Dave Hughes Novosound
Leah Hutcheon
Appointedd
Ian Mackenzie
Trojan Energy
Ian Kerr
Raven Controls
Ishani Malhotra Carcinotech
Michael Cockburn Desana
Monica Camino Moreno
Dialexy
Paul Mooney NCTech
Jude Cook
Sharein
Dr Rotimi Alabi
RAB Microfluidics
Dr Kate Cameron
Cytochroma
Rowan Armstrong
Bioliberty
Lisbon
WebSummit 2023
Anne Marie Alexander
Within Eve
Ash Penley
ZOEX
Asha Anderson
DragonflAI
Barry Leaper
LiberEat
Beena Sharma
CCU International
Cara Bielecki
PresentPal
Charlie Winton
OK Positive
Dr Damla Khan
Selfily
Danae Shell
Valla
Elaine Ford
Electrek Explorer
Hamish Livingston
Willo
Hilde Frydnes
Together
Jo Halliday
Talking Medicines
Karen Robinson
Three Robins
Lisa Venter
Snappy Shopper
Matthew Freer
Infix Support
Mo Khan
Lokali.Shop
Natalya Ratner
Robotical
Nicholas Guy
No Logo
Nikki Gibson
SWURF
Rachael Brown
Creative Entrepreneurs Club
Rachel Jones
SnapDragon
Sarah Morgan
Nano-Lit Technologies
Sean Walker
Bondd
Stephen Elliot
NeuroBright
Wes Beard
konversible
Yemi Scott
XRology
Austin, Texas
SxSW 2024
Aldin Wilson
Trapar
Don Smith
1nhaler
Ana Betancourt
Black Goblin
Hamish Geddes
Lenz Labs
Anne Lanc
Ionburst
Camila Jimenez Pol
Konpanion
Colin Gray
Alitu
Damien Roux
Drimify
Janis Roddie
Everyday People
Jennifer McLean
Raven Controls
Joe Gibson
Gibson Robotics
Mathew Norbury
FC Labs
Daniel Marrable
Forumm
Sheena Johnstone
Nursery Story
London
London Tech Week 2024
Alex Gordon-Furse
Playmaker
Alexander MacDonald
Hindsight
Allan Cannon
Krucial
Angela Prenter-Smith
Neve Learning
Amy Ma
Danu Robotics
Ashraf Attia
Predictiva
Beena Sharma
CCU International
Edward Hogg
SolvedBy.AI
Eilidh Mutch
Your Spin
Jules Salmond
CienDos
Hamish Geddes
Lenz Labs
James Logan
Arctech Innovation
Janani Prabhakaran
Unbaggaged
Mathew Norbury
FC Labs
Mike McCudden
InfinitX
Milly Tamati
Generalist World
Sarah Morgan
Nano-Lit
Scott Fairbairn
ThermaFY
Vanesa Kelly
HVS
Vladimir Scutelnic
Cleanifiq
Sponsors & Partners
Let’s work together!
If you have an international project or need support with having the right people in the room for your event and need a passionate and experienced team to lead on the planning and delivery, talk to our team today.
Supported by
International
Foras Team
16 years of experience in operations, people, leadership development, and events. A tech-for-good advocate, she builds communities and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion. She is an entrepreneur and worked at C-suite in the private sector. Caro is a proud neurodivergent woman and has been pivotal in the growth of Startup Grind Scotland as Head of Operations. She volunteers at CodeYourFuture and has been recognised as "Unsung Hero" in the 2023 Scottish Founders Survey.
6 years of experience in Sales & Marketing for Scotland-based tech startups BackHug and Frog Systems as well as London-based MedTech Scale-Up Patchwork Health. During his time as the Chapter Director of Startup Grind Scotland, he grew the chapter to 6,000+ members and hosted some of Scotland’s top founders from Ooni's Darina Garland to Current Health CEO Chris McCann. He is also the founder of Auzi, the world’s most fashionable hearing aids.