Starting a new business is daunting. It's a fact, you have so many decisions to make and often taking on so much risk with limited resources. I know this can especially be the case in the tech sector. However here in Scotland there is a vibrant startup ecosystem with numerous resources available to founders. As active participants in the Scottish tech scene, we've compiled this essential list of free resources that every Scottish startup founder should know about.
We've created this list with two rules:
- Avoid public sector support such as Scottish Enterprise and TechScaler. This sort of support is typically well funded and has the ability to market itself. Instead we're trying to shine a light on really good resources that might fly under the radar
- Be free for founders to access and something we would use. Money can be tight as a founder so we're only including 'free' resources and ones that pass our sniff test for quality.
Community Events and Meetups
I feel Scottish tech community is generally really welcoming and supportive in nature so my advice is get out there and network within the community. Here I've collated some regular free events you should consider attending. This is just a handful of the best events, theres many more and ones that address particular niches (EdTech, Data Science, MedTech etc) or tech stacks (Python, Ruby, PHP etc).
Find the communities or networks that fits your needs but here's some pointers for where to start:
RookieOven
Hands up this is one I organise and run and have done since May 2011. RookieOven is a long standing, free to attend informal gathering of people working in or interested in tech and startups. There's a good mix of new founders and established founders that have raised millions and occasionally the odd investor.
- Monthly meetup in Glasgow focused on tech startups and founders
- Held at The Raven on the first Monday of each month
- Casual networking environment perfect for meeting fellow entrepreneurs
- Free to attend with no booking required
Tech Meetups
TechMeetup is a great series of community run networking events that take place across Scotland. There are chapters in:
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh
- Stirling
- Inverness
- Aberdeen (coming soon)
Tech Meetups have been a really valuable for me at various points in my career to not only network but also learn from the speakers. I've been at talks held by team members from FanDuel, Skyscanner, Stripe, Heroku and many more established companies as well as local startups.
GlasgowJS / EdinburghJS
Chances are doing a software product in 2025 you'll have to touch some Javascript (or Typescript) at some point. These meetups are really well organised with a mix of formal meetups with talks and informal pub meets.
All ability levels are welcome at the meetups. I would encourage you to get along meet peers, learn and network.
Online Communities
Face to face networking isn't for everyone - it can be intimidating and frankly hard to fit in around a busy schedule. Online communities are really valuable and here are some particularly well suited to Scottish founders:
Scottish Technology Club
The Scottish Technology Club Discord server is an active group focused on Scotland's tech community. The Discord server is moderated by Jamie (who organises GlasgowJS and EdinburghJS) with channels for:
- Dedicated channels for different technologies and interests
- Job postings and opportunities
- Event announcements and discussions
- Mentoring and advice from experienced professionals
I would also recommend subscribing to the mailing list to keep in the loop on whats going on in Scottish tech.
TechMeetup Slack
The TechMeetup community have an online presence through Slack. The community is less active than the Scottish Technology Club discord but still worth joining.
Add Jam's Support for Startups
At Add Jam, we're passionate about the Scottish startup sector - we've done a huge amount of work to support Scottish tech through our RookieOven activity over the years. Adding to that we're now offering free 1:1 mentoring sessions. Simple book a slot on Calendly and you can tap into our experience. If you need help
Book a free 30-minute session at a time that suits you with our experienced team to discuss:
- Technical architecture
- Product strategy
- Development planning
- Technology choices
- Growth strategies
How to tap into this support
The Scottish startup ecosystem is rich with free resources, and this list is just the beginning. We recommend:
- Join the Scottish Technology Club Discord
- Attend your first Meetup
- Book your free mentoring session with Add Jam
Building a startup is challenging, but if you're based in Scotland you don't have to do it alone. The Scottish tech community is there to help and there are many excellent resources that are completely free to access.
Need specific technical or product advice for your startup? Book your free mentoring session with Add Jam today, and let's discuss how we can help you build your tech business in Scotland.
