Business operating
So... unexpectedly, due to family events, I’m back early from TECH WEEK by a16z New York. But why was I there, what did I learn, and what would I do differently next time?
Why was I there? Techscaler is the Scottish incubator designed to support & develop tech companies. The event was actually a week-long series of 1,500+ tech events and 40,000+ attendees across NYC.
It did not disappoint. Each of 8 companies selected was impressive (not surprising, given the huge number of applicants). Each was in a different sector and at a different stage, but all were there to make the absolute most of this incredible opportunity.
So, what did I learn? The sheer scale of achievement and ambition in New York is just… different.
I met startup founders who had raised $70M+ at Series A, and one who had just listed on NASDAQ. But it’s a broad pyramid, and those people were right at the tip. I also met dozens of founders who had been grinding for several years and were still pre-revenue. It made me realise how lucky Nick Thomas and I have been to have the support of our subscribers from day one.
I also learned a huge amount from the other cohort members. That’s one of the real strengths of the Techscaler community.
What would I do differently next time? Tech Week itself is an interesting beast. There’s no single venue; instead, you apply to multiple events on the app and hope for the best.
My biggest mistake? Revealing in the sign-up stage for each event that I wasn’t from the USA. I wanted to plug into the Scottish diaspora, but this wasn’t the way to do it. Because many events are sponsored by professional services firms looking for local business, I got turned down for a few sessions I would have loved to be at. Lesson learned for next time.
The events I did join were fascinating - including masterclasses on ‘how to pitch your business’ by the brilliant Jennifer Forbes Iannolo and the impressive LaunchLink Communications, Smooth Media and Pressto AI.
I won’t reveal my exact new pitch just yet… but the first time I road-tested it, the response was: “Wait... so ScotAi is like a smaller, British Palantir?”
After explaining that we are just a two-year-old data science, AI, and ML company working across energy, defence, and manufacturing… I had to admit that while the scale is slightly different (for now!), the parallels are there. It was humbling even to be mentioned in the same sentence.
Another useful session was on how to scale from 10 to 10,000 staff. Given how quickly we reached (and passed) 10 staff, this was particularly thought-provoking for the steps ahead.
So, as a note to myself: Think bigger. Be more ambitious. Be more NY.
(A quick legal bit: Palantir is a registered trademark of Palantir Technologies Inc. References to third-party trademarks are for descriptive purposes only and do not imply affiliation or endorsement).
