Equity Gap is a group of private individuals set up to invest in and support emerging and growing businesses. The group are particularly interested in assisting young companies that have achieved the SMART award and businesses that have gone through a pre investment commercialisation process. They will consider other high growth companies but they must demonstrate a strong market and a clear investment exit strategy. Companies that Equity Gap invest in will be provided with ongoing business expertise and continuing support. Funding will typically be between £20,000 and £500,000. Where possible this will all be from Equity Gap, however they may work with other syndicates and Scottish Enterprise Co-Investment Fund to achieve the required funds. They meet once per month in central Edinburgh. At the meetings they usually have 2 presentations from companies, discuss current investments and review plans that they have received and circulated in the past month.

Equity Gap

They help companies to identify appropriate sources of finance, engage with funders and secure the investment they need to grow their business. They work closely with their portfolio companies to strengthen their management teams, make connections and accelerate growth. Their work also involves aiming to increase the supply of finance for businesses in Scotland. they want to help Scottish SMEs with growth and export potential to get this finance. Apart from supporting Scottish businesses, they also work with UK and international investors. This includes working with business angels, angel syndicates, venture capital groups and corporate investors. They operate across Scotland in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Because their work supports and stimulates the SME funding market in Scotland, what they do supports the delivery of the Scottish Enterprise business plan.

Scottish Investment Bank

Old College Capital is the venture investment arm of the University of Edinburgh providing growth and development finance into early and mid stage spin-out and start-up companies as part of syndicated venture capital rounds.

Old College Capital

The Guinness Ventures team have been investing in early-stage businesses since 2010. Guinness EIS provides scale-up capital to private companies and Guinness AIM EIS invests in AIM-listed companies. We invest in outstanding entrepreneurs and businesses with disruptive and ambitious growth plans. We have successfully supported the growth of over 100 companies since 2010 and are always excited to meet passionate entrepreneurs.

Guinness Ventures

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is an accounting firm that provides assurance, audit, tax, human resources, transactional, performance improvement, and crisis management services. It serves sectors such as aerospace and defense, healthcare, hospitality and leisure, industrial manufacturing, real estate, retail and consumer, technology, transportation and logistics, financial services, entertainment and media, chemicals, metals, banking and capital markets, automotive, private equity, and more.   PricewaterhouseCoopers was founded through a merger between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand in 1998.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's main economic development agency and a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The firm wants to stimulate Scotland’s economic ambition – creating an innovative, high-wage and highly productive economy with a competitive, international market presence and a focus on high value opportunities. Scottish Enterprise partners with the public and private sectors to identify and exploit the best opportunities to deliver a significant, lasting effect on the Scottish economy.

Scottish Enterprise

Growthdeck provides tax-efficient and growth investment opportunities to an expanding network of sophisticated private investors, partners and introducers. They carry out professional due diligence, provide ongoing and extensive business support and develop a close relationship with their investors. They also regularly host networking events that help connect growth businesses with sophisticated investors from across the world. Growthdeck attracts a wide range of growth businesses looking to raise money. But only the best will make it through their stringent due diligence process before being presented to the investor network. Their investment team has decades of combined experience in private equity (with the likes of 3i, Hotbed and Rockpool Investments). Growthdeck also retains a panel of high profile sector experts who provide unrivalled experience in assessing the quality of potential opportunities. They also provide hands-on support to their investee businesses throughout the lifetime of their involvement - from raise through to exit.

Growthdeck

SidebySide Partnership is an EIS Venture Capital firm that invests and mentors fast-growing technology businesses.

The SidebySide Partnership

Shot Scope

Shot Scope's statistic collecting technology is currently in development, led by a team of engineers and golfers based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Trials are planned on UK golf courses throughout 2015 with general release scheduled for 2016.

Shot Scope offers a range of golf performance tracking devices and GPS watches designed to help golfers improve their game. The company's products provide detailed statistics and analytics by automatically tracking shots and collecting data during rounds of golf. Shot Scope's flagship product is the V5 GPS golf watch, which offers features like full-hole mapping, hazard information, and automatic shot detection using small tags that screw into golf club grips. The V5 provides data on over 100 performance statistics, including strokes gained analytics, without requiring a subscription fee. Shot Scope's products come preloaded with over 36,000 golf courses worldwide. The company also offers other devices like the X5 GPS watch and PRO LX+ laser rangefinder that combine GPS, shot tracking, and distance measuring capabilities.

Sports Tech

Shot Scope appoints new chairman amid global expansion drive

Shot Scope offers a range of golf performance tracking devices and GPS watches designed to help golfers improve their game. The company's products provide detailed statistics and analytics by automatically tracking shots and collecting data during rounds of golf. Shot Scope's flagship product is the V5 GPS golf watch, which offers features like full-hole mapping, hazard information, and automatic shot detection using small tags that screw into golf club grips. The V5 provides data on over 100 performance statistics, including strokes gained analytics, without requiring a subscription fee. Shot Scope's products come preloaded with over 36,000 golf courses worldwide. The company also offers other devices like the X5 GPS watch and PRO LX+ laser rangefinder that combine GPS, shot tracking, and distance measuring capabilities.Key customers and partnershipsShot Scope has partnered with the National Golf Foundation, PGA Golf Retirement+, and TROON to promote its products. The company claims that on average, Shot Scope users lower their scores by 4.1 strokes. Shot Scope's products are sold through major retailers in the UK, US, and Australia, including American Golf, Dick's Sporting Goods, and GolfBox.

Hexoskin is a company that manufactures smart clothing, specifically smart shirts that monitor various health metrics. The Hexoskin smart shirts are embedded with textile sensors that can track heart rate, breathing rate, minute ventilation, blood oxygen levels, steps, calories burned, and sleep patterns. The shirts connect to the Hexoskin Connected Health Platform, which collects and transmits the health data securely. Users can view their data in real-time on the Hexoskin app via Bluetooth connectivity.
Hexoskin's smart shirts have been extensively used in scientific research, with over 100 publications featuring them. They are particularly valuable for research in the fields of cardiac, respiratory, activity, stress, cognitive, and sleep studies. Renowned organizations like NASA, SpaceX, and the Canadian Space Agency have employed Hexoskin's technology for research purposes, with the company's Astroskin product receiving the 2022 International Space Station Research Innovation Award for Human Health in Space.
In terms of product offerings, Hexoskin's smart shirts are machine-washable and come with a connected device that provides up to 36 hours of battery life and 100 days of recording capacity. The company's shirts have found applications in various industries, including healthcare, sports and fitness, military and defense, industrial, and entertainment.

Hexoskin

Athos is a technology company that has developed a patented system for smart clothing that measures muscle activity using electromyography (EMG). The Athos garments, which include shirts and shorts, are embedded with sensors that detect the electrical signals produced by muscles during exercise. These signals are transmitted to a core unit that connects to a mobile app, providing real-time feedback on muscle effort, fatigue, and imbalances.
The Athos system is designed to help athletes of all levels optimize their training and performance. By visualizing muscle activation patterns, users can identify areas of weakness, correct form issues, and monitor progress over time. The app includes a library of exercises and leverages AI to provide personalized insights based on the user's muscle data.
Athos was founded in 2012 by Christopher Wiebe and Dhananja Jayalath, two electrical engineering students who recognized the potential of EMG technology to revolutionize fitness tracking. The company's mission is to empower athletes with unprecedented insights into their body's movement and performance, enabling them to train smarter and more effectively.
In October 2020, Athos Group, the parent company of Athos, reported significant growth and expansion in the off-duty law enforcement market through its subsidiary companies, including Summit Off Duty Services and RollKall. RollKall, a comprehensive off-duty staffing solution acquired by Athos Group in May 2020, had powered over 1.97 million hours of off-duty jobs across the country as of October 2020.

Athos

Atavus is a leading sports technology company specializing in tackling education and player safety solutions. Their flagship product, the Atavus Tackle System, offers a comprehensive training program that focuses on developing proper tackling techniques aimed at improving performance and reducing the risk of injuries. This data-driven approach emphasizes shoulder-led tackling, which eliminates unnecessary head contact during tackles, thereby minimizing the likelihood of concussions and other head-related injuries.
The Atavus Tackle System provides coaches with an extensive online library of coaching resources, including drill videos, practice plans, and detailed tackle plans tailored to help players master the shoulder-led technique effectively. By prioritizing fundamentals and skill acquisition, Atavus empowers coaches to instill safe and efficient tackling habits in their athletes from the grassroots level.
Atavus initially started as a rugby skills platform in 2011 before transitioning into the football domain, where it has gained widespread adoption among professional, collegiate, and high school programs. Notable early adopters of the Atavus Tackle System included the Seattle Seahawks, the University of Washington, and Ohio State University football teams. In 2019, Atavus was acquired by Phoenix Sports Partners, a sports technology and data investment fund.
Under the leadership of Kerry Carter, a former professional football player who assumed the role of CEO in January 2024, Atavus has expanded its offerings to include a software-as-a-service model, making its tackling education platform accessible to a wider market. The company has also forged strategic partnerships, such as the one announced with Hudl in April 2024, to combine Atavus' player safety expertise with advanced performance tracking technologies.

Atavus

Rank One is a company specializing in sports team management applications for K-12 athletic directors, certified athletic trainers (ATCs), and coaches. The company's flagship product, Rank One Sport, is a FERPA-compliant platform used by nearly 2,000 K-12 schools across Texas and over 1,000 schools in 25 other states. Rank One Sport offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to meet the needs of Athletic and Fine Arts directors, including schedule management, roster access, student information management, and form handling.
In September 2018, Rank One expanded its offerings with the launch of Rank One Health, a mobile application integrated with Rank One Sport. Developed in collaboration with the Children's Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Rank One Health aims to standardize student-athlete injury documentation nationwide and reduce risk for schools. The app provides a secure communication system between ATCs, team physicians, healthcare providers, and school administrators. It improves reporting and tracking of student-athlete injuries for sports medicine professionals in K-12 school systems. Rank One Health's injury documentation software is based on nationally recognized standards and evaluation methodology recommended by the Children's Health Andrews Institute.
Key customers and partnerships
Rank One's primary customers are K-12 schools, with a strong presence in Texas and 25 other states. The company collaborated with the Children's Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine to develop Rank One Health, leveraging their expertise in pediatric orthopaedics and sports medicine. This partnership aimed to implement a standardized, user-friendly mobile application for managing sports-related injuries in school settings.

Rank One

TeamSnap is a leading provider of sports management software and the online community for everything related to youth sports. Its platform serves as a comprehensive solution for sports organizations, teams, coaches, players, and parents, offering a suite of integrated tools to simplify and streamline various aspects of managing sports programs.
The company's core offering, TeamSnap for Business, is designed to help sports organizations support and grow programs for families and athletes. It provides a centralized workspace where administrators can manage registration, collect signups, organize and collect program fees, launch websites, update content, create and share schedules, communicate with members, source sponsorships, and organize tournaments. This solution caters to organizations of all sizes, from small clubs to large associations.
TeamSnap also offers TeamSnap for Teams, a web and mobile application tailored for coaches, administrators, players, and parents to manage team activities, communication, and logistics. This user-friendly platform simplifies administrative tasks involved in managing a sports team, such as scheduling, communication, and tracking player availability.
Furthermore, TeamSnap for Brands is an innovative suite of products that revolutionizes how brands can engage with families through youth sports. It combines TeamSnap's digital audience of over 25 million youth sports parents, players, coaches, and administrators with its network of sponsorable leagues and tournaments. This offering allows brands to run digital, physical, national, and local campaigns at scale, reaching over 25 million parents, coaches, and athletes, representing more than USD 2.4 trillion in spending power.
In November 2022, TeamSnap acquired LeagueSide, America's leading community sports sponsorship platform, further enhancing its ability to connect brands with youth sports communities both online and in local communities.

TeamSnap

Technology solution providers for sports venues, which includes solutions for stadium management, connectivity and entertainment, and video assistant referee (VAR) technology

Platforms and devices that aid the training process and/or measure player statistics and other metrics, such as health and movement data, to improve player performance

Platforms that assists the management of teams, leagues, tournaments, and other sporting events

Providers of sports data for other sports-related platforms

Online media platforms that distribute sports-related content

Online sports betting platforms and platforms where virtual teams composed of proxies of real players of a professional sport compete based on player performance in actual games

Companies that develop apparel products equipped with technology to track and improve performance

Platforms that enable fans to engage with sports brands and other fans, and developers of solutions such as audience behavior and sentiment analytics, and audience engagement

Some solutions in the "team and league management platforms" segment operate a B2B SaaS model

Used by platforms to simulate real game scenarios in training

Used by platforms to spot trends in tactics, athlete performance, and training

Some stadium tech solutions and training support/performance analytics solutions offer a certain level of personalization

Shot Scope

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