YCF Annual Conference 2022. Beyond the Basics

As always, we take a broad theme that gives a variety of quality speakers the opportunity to share their knowledge or experience in different ways. This year, we focus on the business essentials which are crucial to a young company’s ability to survive and grow.

Over the lifespan of a business, founders have a number of critical decisions to make. Some of these, made early in the development of the company, have effects long into the future. Founders starting out need to know the basics (and many founders start with little business experience), but getting the basics right is essential for future-proofing the company’s continuing progress.

Our speakers will be highlighting the issues which they consider basics in a number of different contexts – staffing, marketing, operations, and finance – and explaining how getting these right can accelerate a company’s development, and making the wrong call can create a legacy which takes a long time from which to recover.

Speakers

The conference will be chaired by Lynne Cadenhead, chair of Womens’ Enterprise Scotland.

We have invited our sponsors to make joint presentations with client companies, so that they can highlight some of the ‘basics’ in different areas and discuss how they have been addressed succesfully in real world cases:

Finance: Steedman with client company Letting Cloud

Legal: Burges Salmon with client company Curadh MTR

IP: Marks & Clerkwith client company Pneumagen

We are particularly pleased to welcome three company founders who have taken their businesses to a new level by means of an exit for their investors, and have taken a big step forward as they reach the next stage of development:

Tommy Cook, Calnex Solutions (IPO on AIM in 2020)

Willie Biggart, Spoonfed (trade sale to 365 Retail Markets in 2021)

Mike Allan, Exterity (trade sale to VITEC in 2021)

Additional speakers include:

Kevin Parker, KKI Associates: The Past and Future: 25 years of technology commercialisation in Scotland

Gary Torbett, Scottish Enterprise, Team Leader Financial Readiness: Prepare for funding; What is right for your business?’

Rowan Morrison and Svein Clouston, Rationale: Marketing early stage growth companies: Why brand matters

Adrian Smith: Then and now – from YCF’s first conference to its 20th anniversary

Audience

Over the past five or more years we have been able to fill the 150 places available (120 last year due to COVID restrictions). The audience is likely to be a mix of 25%-30% delegates from young companies, 20% – 30% investors, with the remainder professional advisers, universities, incubators, public sector agencies – all working with young companies to help them grow and develop.

Those who are not yet subscribers can book a special package of a ticket to the conference plus a six-month subscription at the introductory rate of £250 + VAT.

Sponsors

Burges Salmon:  the independent law firm which delivers the best mix of advice, service, and value

Marks&Clerk:  intellectual property for young companies

Steedman & Co:  provide proactive accounting, tax, and business advisory services, specialising in early stage start-ups in the tech and sustainability sectors

TalentSpark:  supporting exciting, inspiring tech and life sciences business growth with the very best talent